Today while walking through the streets of Coyoacán, we came across a bizarre-looking fruit neither of us had seen before. Mexico once again surprised us with the guamúchil.

Guamúchil is a strange looking fruit native to the Mexico region of Guerrero. Their unique pods twist and curl as they grow on the tree. Green husks of the legume blush with an intense red which hide a fleshy white or pink fruit inside. Enjoy this fruit raw by removing from the beans from the reddish-green shell. Remove the black seeds from the center of the pod and enjoy the white fruit. The fruit is spongy like a soft nut and has a mildly sweet flavor that is reminiscent of a white nectarine.

Find this exotic fruit in markets and especially in small towns and villages where you will see people selling them on the streets through January and August. In smaller cities, you will also find people not only using this as a source of food but as a medicinal plant that can help toothaches and oral ulcers.

This different fruit is worth giving a taste!

Find it the market and small towns on the streets seasonally between January and August. It can be found through the regions of Guerrero, Baja California, Oaxaca, San Luis Potosi, Quintanaroo, and Yucatán.

There are many ways to use and benefit from this fruit:

• Eat the fruit raw by removing the light fleshy beans from the husk. Remove the white flesh from the black seed at the center. Eat the white meat of the bean.

• Can be dried to preserve longer to eat later.

• Marmalade can be made of the fruit.

• Used as a medicinal plant for toothaches and oral ulcers.