Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Botanizing in Ecuador's food markets

A few photos from Otavalo's food market. Enjoy the food and plant extravaganza!
Each vendor sells anything and everything. It reminds me of Swedish 'saluhallar' and Reading Terminal Market, just in a more tropical setting.
















Tamarind (brown gue to the left) and papayas and other tropical fruits.












Spiraling bananas. Somehow this photo reminds me of ball bearings.












Beans, and beans...













Picking out the best cherimoya (Annonaceae). The fruit was delicious, and you eat the white stuff that is surrounding the little black seeds.











These are tiny, tiny pink potatoes. Looks delicious!












Pepinos, related to potatoes. In this case you eat the fruit, not the tubers, but the fruit wasn't very good. Maybe you are supposed to cook them.











The largest cabbage heads I have ever seen. At least 75 cm across (2+ feet).












Physalis and small yellow tomatoes.













The produce is just magnificent.













Posole or cooked popcorn. I think this is the same as hominy in New Mexico.












Tree tomatoes, make great juice. They are not real tomatoes, but another genus, and they really grow on trees.











Don't you get hungry?













Great onions for onion soup!

4 comments:

PP said...

Posole in New Mexico IS Posole! And its really good too!

LS said...

So if posole is posole, what is hominy?

PP said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posole

One in the same
Now I want this for dinner!

LS said...

What do you call a New yorker?

Home-in-NY