When living in Auckland I was introduced to a new vegetable (for me). I was soon told by older neighbours that they were made to eat it as children and hated it. The large pear shaped green fruit grew on a vigorous vine that gardeners often regretted planting or more likely, missed at weeding time. I used it in stir fry as it had a white almost tasteless flesh. It was also fantastic for making a lemon meringue pie as it boiled down to a translucent gooey blob, made tasty by sugar and lemon. Please tell me the name . and where I might find a plant.
you_not_i,
Nov 10, 1:34pm
choko?
cinderellagowns,
Nov 10, 1:36pm
yeah it will be a choko.
samsnan,
Nov 10, 1:36pm
Sounds like a choko to me. Yes I hated them 60 years ago and still do.
oh_hunnihunni,
Nov 10, 1:37pm
Choko. And if you find the fruit, plant it, they grow very easily.
Do not mistake it for the moth plant version, that we used to call the kapok vine.
The choko is an interesting vegie, it takes on the flavours of its sauces really well.
rhood1,
Nov 10, 2:05pm
Whohoo you are brilliant. now I just need a plant. thank you very much
Yep disgusting things. That's why you don't see them in supermarkets. Disguising them. just why bother.
oh_hunnihunni,
Nov 11, 3:42am
They are a very tasty addition to the plate, given the right treatment. Like any other food.
lilyfield,
Nov 11, 4:17am
Love chocos cooked with garlic and tomatoes, yummy
budgel,
Nov 11, 4:31am
I dont see how a choko could be called tasty without a lot of other flavour added to the dish. They do assume the flavour of whatever they are mixed with. I knew an old woman who used to bottle pears. In every jar she would put a choko along with the pears. By the time the jar was opened they looked and tasted just like the pears they were with.
oh_hunnihunni,
Nov 11, 5:00am
You could say that about a few veg, and a fair few other things we eat regularly. Pasta for example. Or rice.
amasser,
Nov 11, 5:31am
So you don't really need a choko as you could do that with grass?
budgel,
Nov 11, 7:44am
Well, the cooked choko had pretty much the same texture as the pears, I dont think grass would.
kam04,
Nov 11, 8:21am
I grew up with them too. We grew them and as a kid I would sell them to the local grocer, that was my pocket money. They were often used to bulk up various other edibles like mentioned above with bottled pears. Used in pickles and relishes to bulk up the vege content. They are just another variation of the marrow which is also tasteless on it's own, ok though with a half a pound of butter and pepper and salt :-p. I do see chokos in the New World supermarket we go to. They fetch a pretty good price.
wasgonna,
Nov 11, 8:26am
Bit like road-kill then.
oh_hunnihunni,
Nov 11, 9:23am
Nah, roadkill is a different colour.
oh_hunnihunni,
Nov 11, 9:24am
And marrows remember are just stealthy courgettes, which I seem to recall were fetching nearly 40 bucks a kilo not so long ago.
starseeker,
Nov 11, 10:29am
Chokos topped with cheese sauce are OK
articferrit,
Nov 11, 11:05am
Roadkill probably is too
jascas,
Nov 11, 1:34pm
Lol. that guy up North who only wants certain overseas people to pick his courgettes might end up with a heck of a lot of marrows this year.
wheelz,
Nov 11, 2:04pm
Royal Umbrella Grade AAAA Premium Thai Jasmine Rice. . This rice is the bomb!
budgel,
Nov 12, 5:11am
I had a really prolific choko growing, I even sold a few here on TradeMe, then it died. I dont miss it!
autumnwinds,
Nov 12, 5:43pm
Puerto Ricans and Cubans call them "Chayote", and if you ever get a chance to try their traditional dish of Chayote Relleno Dulces (Sweet Stuffed Chokos), don't turn them down, they're delicious! I'd give you a recipe, but that's not allowed any more, sadly.
oh_hunnihunni,
Nov 13, 3:27am
I have noticed courgettes seem bigger this year in my local fruit shop. Not growing my own this season because the corporate is putting a new path through my usual vege plot. Can't say bought ones taste the same, sadly.
But marrows do make good wine, if anyone needs an idea for the usual glut!
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