Candied Seeds in Sweet Syrup

Question: in the Abastos Mercado (Oaxaca, Mexico) I bought some little round balls that were served in a dulce (sweet) cannella-flavored (cinnamon) syrup. I believe I was told they were Cocojito or Cocoitas (hable poco espanalo), but neither the folks at the hotel or anyone else could give me an English translation and I wasn't able to find it in the Lonely Planet World Food Guide-Mexico. Apparently, the eating method is to chew off the mushy outer layer, then crack the nut/seed thingy and eat the smaller seed (germ) inside.

Any help would be appreciated, even the correct spelling or name.

Hi pdaane,

I'm very envious of your trip! My guess here is that it's coyol (or coyolito?), which is the fruit of a species of palm, Acrocomia vinifera, also called coyol. Another name for it (just the fruit?) seems to be coquillo. It's described as having yellowish flesh and temptingly sweet.

Google brings up some references to dulce de coyol in Oaxaca and nearby areas, including a mention of it being sold in a market in another town in Oaxaca, but I haven't found a recipe for it.

You can, however, order "Miguel's Coyoles" at the following link:
http://www.latinmerchant.com/productdet ... tID=FV0024
Unfortunately neither the picture of the jar nor the accompanying text sheds much light on the problem here...


Anyway, does coyol sound possible?

Amata

Is it possible you are talking about tejocotes? I've had them in a syrup (en almibar) as you describe. I've also had them seedless in a tart; also in preserves with other fruit such as zapote or guayaba. I think I have seen them seeded, peeled, poached, and filled with pastry cream.

Bill/SFNM

Amata, Bill,

Thank you very much for your help. I believe that Amata’s description is closer to what I had. At least these things that I sampled did not appear to be like “little green apples” which is the description I find for tejocotes.

I was able to find this WEBSITE, using Amata’s suggestions of Coyol and Coquillo. After running this through the Yahoo Translator, it appears to be referred to as CoQuito. [I kept hearing the desk clerk saying “Coco” and “ito”, assuming it meant Coconut for Coco and the diminutive suffix or “Little Coconut”]

Los dichos o refranes mexicanos tienen un significado especial dentro de la cultura popular. Ahora vamos a comentar uno muy del Istmo, sobre todo referente al rio de los perros. En la ribera de nuestro rio crece un arbusto muy peculiar, el "Coyol" o "Coacoyul" como le llaman en Guerrero. Este arbusto da un fruto de color rosaceo o rojizo, cuya pulpa es muy fibrosa y no es muy abundante. Los niños que llegan al rio se pelean por este fruto al encontrarlo puesto que es muy dulce y sabroso. Pero lo más delicioso es el "coquito" o "almendra" que contiene.

The Mexican sayings or refranes have a special meaning within the popular culture. Now we are going to very comment one of the Isthmus, mainly referring to rio of the dogs. In the shore of ours rio grows a very peculiar shrub, the "Coyol" or "Coacoyul" as they call to him in Guerrero. This shrub gives a fruit of rosaceo color or reddish, whose pulp is very fibrous and he is not very abundant. The children who arrive at rio fight by this fruit when finding it since he is very sweet and flavorful. But most delicious it is the "coQuito" or "almond" that contains.

Again, my sample was about the size of a golf ball. I tried to slurp some of the pulp of the outside “whose pulp is very fibrous and he is not very abundant”. I never got to the point of cracking the “fruit” open to try the inside.

We were on our way back from the ruins at Monte Albon and Kelly went back to the hotel rather than be subjected to another one of my 5 mile winding through dank and fragrant stalls on a let’s just take a quick look mercado tours. I was deep into the Mercado de Abastos on the premier market day.

I saw these things in a bowl and after having been snubbed a few other places for taking pictures…I decided to be a bit more aggressive. There were two women and a man all about 60ish or 70ish enjoying a nice chat. I heard some comment and wheeled on them. I asked how much for these and pointed. I told the lady I only wanted 5 pesos worth when she told me they were ten. Then she suggested that I take 5 pesos of each item in the shop.

The man put about 4 little golf balls in a plastic bag and tied the bag. The women who was having a grand old time making jokes about the Gringo rushed over and untied the bag and rolled it down so I could try one of the fruits right at that moment.

I assumed it was an apple or plum, similar to tejocotes Bill mentioned. I realized that it was more like a jaw breaker once it was in my mouth. The old woman than made a the international sign (or is it motion or gesture) that I was to chomp down on the thing like a huge gumball.
Well after politely enduring several gringo jokes at my expense, I was not about to give her the satisfaction of seeing La Tourista hauled off in an ambulance in excruciating pain having broken molar on a petrified piece of fruit.

I simply smiled, gave them the thumbs up….international sign for if the guy in the next stall was not whacking coconuts with a machete, I’d flip you the bird.

Just kidding. I slurped some pulp and then retreated in embarrassment, having crossed off another item that I don’t need to try again.

Peter, thanks for the further information and the vivid tale!

What color were the fruits (on the outside)?

Amata

I am a bit color blind (color deficient, according to the USPS)...usually not in this range, but I have some trouble with autumnal tones of red and orange. The best I can describe they had a tone of preserved fruit, which is to say they were light to dark brown. By way of my qualifier, I cannot say if they were rose, reddish, reddish brown or whatever else prior to being prepared en almibar (in cannella flavored or infused syrup).