Tejocote

One of my favorite things is discovering fruits that I've never seen before.
Last week I discovered something new at a farmers market in the San Joaquin valley of California.

Most of the vendors and customers at this market are Mexican and not much English is spoken. Amongst the varieties of cactus fruit and persimmons for sale I found a small orange fruit called Tejocote. I suspect the name is a Nahuatl word. The woman I purchased them from told me not to eat them out of hand, but said they are used to make a punch for Christmas and New Year's.

Of course I ate one out of hand anyway. It is a fragrant fruit, with citrus-like notes, and a flavour a bit like apricot, but a pithy flesh and a large pit. The flavour is fresh and pleasant, but bitter. I can see why she recommended not eating it out of hand, but I can imagine the punch is nice. I wonder where I can get some?

There is a lot more info on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crataegus_pubescens