Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Chayote
Summary
Chayote (Sechium edule), also known as mirliton and choko, is an edible plant belonging to the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. This fruit was first cultivated in Mesoamerica between southern Mexico and Honduras, with the most genetic diversity available in both Mexico and Guatemala. It is one of several foods introduced to the Old World during the Columbian Exchange. At that time, the plant spread to other parts of the Americas, ultimately causing it to be integrated into the cuisine of many Latin American nations.
The chayote fruit is mostly used cooked. When cooked, chayote is usually handled like summer squash; it is generally lightly cooked to retain the crispy consistency. Raw chayote may be added to salads or salsas, most often marinated with lemon or lime juice, but is often regarded as unpalatable and tough in texture. Whether raw or cooked, chayote is a good source of vitamin C.
Although most people are familiar only with the fruit as being edible, the root, stem, seeds and leaves are edible as well. The tubers of the plant are eaten like potatoes and other root vegetables, while the shoots and leaves are often consumed in salads and stir fries, especially in Asia.
The fruit goes by many English-language names around the world. The common American English name of the fruit (outside of Louisiana) is from the Spanish word chayote, a derivative of the Nahuatl word chayohtli (t͡ʃaˈjoʔt͡ɬi). The term chayote is also used in Puerto Rico. In Louisiana and Haiti it is known as mirliton (pronounced ˈmɪrlɪˌtɑn) also spelled mirleton or merleton in the United Kingdom (the r is often silent, e.g. Cajun me-lay-taw or urban Creole miʁl-uh-tɔ̃ns)
In Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, it is known as choko
In China, it is referred to as foshugua, meaning "Buddha's palms melon".
In the eastern Caribbean, the United Kingdom and Ireland, it is known as christophene, while it is chou chou in Jamaica.
In India, the vegetable is called chow chow among other names; in the east and north east, it is simply known as squash and is a very popular vegetable used in both vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.