Fruta Milagrosa

As you can imagine there is an incredible variety of tropical fruits in Latin America that many in the U.S. will never have the luxury or luck to try. Quite often, I am introduced to a new, interesting fruit. Not too long ago, I was in the local MAG office, when my friend Carlos, one of the MAG workers wanted to show me a fruit called Fruta Milagrosa (Miracle Fruit, also called Fruta Mágica (Magical Fruit)). Enthusiastically he explained to me that after eating one of these small fruits, which are about the size and shape of a blueberry, all foods that I eat will have a sweetish taste to them. The fruit is also similar in appearance to coffee. The fruit grows on a small bush. I’m not sure if this particular bush will grow much taller but it is currently about 3 feet tall. The fruit tastes similar to a sourer blackberry and has a seed inside.

As Carlos has a propensity to exaggerate, I skeptically believed him and ate the fruit. About 15 minutes later, I went to eat lunch in La Amistad. I had already forgotten that I had eaten the so called “fruta milagrosa” earlier, as I had put little belief into what Carlos had told me, as it sounded like something from a Lord of the Rings movie.

I put a good amount of “chilero” on my food because I like the spicy taste. I don’t have a weak tongue. I took my first bite of rice and beans and I was surprised by the fact that today, lunch had a sweet taste to it. I definitely didn’t notice any of the chile that I had poured on. I could literally eat the seeds of a hot chile pepper and not have any burning sensation. After a few more bites, I then remembered that I had eaten the Fruta Milagrosa, which must be the reason for the pleasant fruity taste to my food. Carlos didn’t exaggerate after all. This fruit, among many others that I have had the pleasure to eat here in Costa Rica, is definitely unique and unlike any other fruit that I have eaten in the U.S.

Eating Habits

It may be of interest to my family and friends to know what my eating habits are like in Costa Rica. Although I live on my own, I still keep much of what I eat pretty Tico. After all, there is nothing better than a plate of gallo pinto for breakfast or a typical casado for lunch. In the US, I almost always ate a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. In Costa Rica, I still eat my bowl of oatmeal. However, on the side I like to have a bowl of chopped papaya, pineapple, and coco, and a side plate of plátano maduro. I know it’s a lot of fruit and may even be too much, but I certainly am not gaining weight and when there is so much abundance, I figure why not take advantage of the extra vitamins.

For lunch, I eat at the local “soda” La Amistad. Doña Norma, the restaurant’s cook and owner treats me like a son and always serves me a riquísimo typical Costa Rican casado or soup. On Mondays she prepares my favorite, olla de carne, which is similar to a beef stew in the US. Olla de carne is loaded with ayote (a type of squash), chayote, plátano, yuca, camote (sweet potato), papa (potato), cilantro, cebolla (onion), etc. Thursday is another soup day, though it varies which type of soup. She sometimes prepares a sopa de pescado o pollo, but usually she makes a sopa de mondongo, which uses the cow�e99s stomach. The other days of the week, I eat the classic “casado”, which consists of a plate of rice, beans, a picadillo and/or salad with pollo en salsa, carne en salsa, bistek, or chuleta. I especially enjoy eating at La Amistad because I always have great conversations with the restaurant’s owner and its clients, as many work in the OIJ (the Costa Rican government’s FBI), the local courthouse, the hospital, or are older community members that have unbelievable stories about what Ciudad Cortés was like in the United Fruit Company years.

Around 4:00 PM, I like to have a cafecito with my friends from the Panadería Murillo. We like to drink our coffee strong, which we jokingly call “café con el “American Touch.” El cafecito gives me that extra boost to participate in my evening activities. Its always accompanied by a good conversation con mis amigos.

For dinner, I typically prepare my famous “sancocho” with an egg or a slice of cheese. The “sancocho”, which I have proudly nicknamed it, consists of a huge bowl of vegetables that I have either grown in my garden such as okra, yucca, green beans, and mustard, or that I have bought from one of the local farmers such as ayotes or elotes (corn). I also throw in all the spices that I have in my garden such as chile peppers, basil, oregano, ginger, tumeric, cilantro, and lemon grass. I have to say, it’s quite simple (or complex) – a huge bowl of boiled vegetables with a piece of cheese (which is also bought locally) – but I have never gotten tired of it. I’m so accustomed to always having fresh produce that when I go back to the US, not having access to the abundance of fruits and vegetables will be something that is difficult to get accustomed to.