El Chayote

[Jaqui]

Is anyone familiar with the chayote? It's a smallish sqash-like vegetable. Any ideas on how to say this one is English?

[Rusty]

The chayote, pronounced with an 'appropriate' English accent for your particular area, is a veggie (technically a fruit) I've had in many a soup. According to the Random House dictionary, it can have two spellings. The American Heritage dictionary only lists one spelling but gives two pronunciations (both different from the former dictionary). Chayote is, of course, borrowed from Spanish, who got it from Nahuatl 'chayohtli'. I've seen it labeled chayote in the supermarkets, but the Random House dictionary says it is also called christophene, mirliton, or vegetable pear.

[Elaina]

Chayote = Mirliton (which is the most popular known name for it in English). This vegetable or pear, by the way, was made famous in American cooking by Emeril. Just a bit of info...

Elaina;)

[Jaqui]

Rusty & Elaina, thanks for the awesome info!
Rusty, the soup you mention, was it a cream-based soup or water-based soup? Cream of Chayote soup- I'm getting hungry.

[Rusty]

Water-based soup.

[Elaina]

Yes. you can add chayote to beef vegetable soup (Mexican style, not American) ....delicioso!

Elaina:p

[Tomisimo]

You guys have any recipes? I need something to do with all the chayotes growing on the plant outside my house :D