Pepino

What it is

Pepinos grown in the US are usually round or egg-shaped, about 5–10 cm (2–4 in) long. Their flesh ranges from greenish to pale orange. The soft skin is edible, and a ripe fruit smells fragrant and gives slightly under a finger.

Varieties have travelled too. El Camino, an egg-shaped pepino, was released in New Zealand in 1982 from plants collected in Chile.

Where it comes from

Pepino comes from the temperate Andes of Colombia, Peru and Chile. Its growing range now includes Ecuador, New Zealand and California. The Andean fruit has a much older history than those newer plantings: people of the Chimú and Paracas cultures depicted pepinos on pottery.

How it's eaten where it grows

Herdsmen of Moche and Virú, in Peru, carry pepinos in their knapsacks to eat on long treks through the desert.

Ripe fruit makes a simple dessert, while not-quite-ripe pepino goes into salads much as cucumber does. It also turns up in fruit or spinach salads, or simply halved and topped with a squeeze of lemon or lime and a sprinkling of chile powder.

How it's grown

The bush reaches about 60–90 cm (2–3 ft) tall and 1.2 m (4 ft) wide. It likes warmth, shelter from wind and regular watering, much like a tomato. Growers start it easily from stem cuttings, and fruit can follow four to six months after planting.

A flower can set fruit without being pollinated. Pollen from nearby pepino plants can still help it produce a heavier crop.

When and where you'll find it

In San Luis Obispo, California, pepino usually fruits in summer; cuttings planted in spring can bear later that season. Melissa's, a US produce distributor, sells pepinos grown in Ecuador all year round.

If the creamy background of the skin still has a green tint, the fruit can ripen at room temperature, uncovered and out of direct sun. Fragrance and a slight softness mark the ripe fruit.