I present to you the the güisquil root, a Guatemalan seasonal delicacy. The güisquil, Sechium educe, is usually the dark green pear squash, the lighter yellowish pear squash is known perulero in Guatemala. Ichintal is the name of the root of the plant that produces Sechium educe also known as chayote, perulero, güisquil, huisquil, wiskil, chuchu, chaya, pataste, cho-cho, and pear squash, vegetable pear, tayota, sayote, in other parts of the world. The better known word chayote is a Spanish derivative of the Nahuatl word chayohtli.
Güisquiles are such an integral part of the Guatemalan diet that sometimes you find it in the most unusual dishes. Güisquiles are also very important vegetable from the milpa crop as mentioned by Charles C. Mann in his book 1491.
You can find güisquiles in caldos, in Guatemalan chilaquiles, which basically are two slices of güisquil with a piece of cheese between the slices and then wrapped with egg batter and fried.
Although most people are familiar only with the fruit as being edible, the root, stem, seeds and leaves are edible as well. The tubers of the plant are eaten like potatoes and other root vegetables, while the shoots and leaves are often consumed in salads and stir fries.
Ichintal is the name for the pear squash root we use in Guatemala. Ichintal is a delicacy only available for a short period of time.
Do you have a recipe for Ichintal? If so, please share it with the rest of us.
By the way, the pound of Ichintal is going at the super markets for Q16/$2 right now in Guatemala; probably a little less expensive at the mercados.
© 2014 – 2020, Rudy Giron. All rights reserved.
i found this thing in the soil. i thought that it was something else, i spent several days trying to figure out what that is until i found your picture. i didn’t know that this plant actually also grown its root. how interesting. i am going to eat it soon. 😉
How did you find for this root? I wonder how you manage to find my post.
Very good info….. Thanks
Any ideas where to find the “Chayote Root” in US?
I would start my search at the Mexican/Latino markets, even try the Asian markets.
Thank you so much for creating this post. How can I follow your work?
Subscribe to get notification whenever I post updates.
https://antiguadailyphoto.com/subscribe/
believe me we consume it too much in eastern Nepal with mutton meat. So tasty
That’s so interesting, what do you call it in Nepal?
ichintal is delicios you boi the root and folded in egg and topped with chirmol , the best , this is guatemalan stlyle
This is awesome! We are looking for some now in our back yard- in Los Angeles! My mom found one and she’s super excited!
Awesome. Good luck with the search.
Hi,
As a Guatemalan, I want to comment that the word ‘chilaquiles’ is not used in our lexicon. We use the word ‘chilaquilas’ (notice the second ‘a’ instead of the ‘e’).
Chilaquiles, refers to another type of food from Mexican origin.
In Guatemala, there are 2 types of chilaquilas, the one you described: 2 slices of güisquil and another variation that is made with 2 slices of ‘tortilla’. The rest of the ingredients and method of cooking are the same.
By the way, my grandmother served me so many times inchintal, but didn’t know that it is the root of güisquil, until I read your post 🙂
Too bad I can’t anymore surprise my grandmother telling her that for lunch I want to eat ‘raiz de güisquil’ ;-|
Thank you.
Güisquil and perulero are two different fruits. Take it from a native Guatemalan. It’s also “echintal”, not “inchintal”.