Mexican hawthorn is the English name of the fruit called tejocote in Mexico. I had never seen them before I ran across a bunch in the stalls behind Canino’s. When I picked one up and tried to eat it, the owner of the produce stall looked horrified. You don’t eat them raw, she told me, you use them to make punch.
I found more tejocote at Mi Tienda, the Mexican Central Market out on Spencer Highway in Pasadena. At Mi Tienda, the tejocote was sold in a plastic bag that also contained guavas. One bag of fruit, one gallon of distilled water and one cone of piloncillo were being sold together as a sort of punch kit. The tangy tropical fruit punch is served hot. It’s a traditional drink at Christmas time.
If you want to try it, you might find a free sample at Mi Tienda on the weekend.
This article appears in Dec 17-23, 2009.