Choko or Chayote? - An unappreciated vegetable or fruit?

Chokoes or Chayotes (Sechium edule) grow so easily in our subtropical/warm temperate climate and like many plants that grow easily and fruit prolifically we tend to overlook them as valuable sources of food.



We grow Chokoes on our chicken yard fence. the chokoes are then handy for splitting and feeding the juicy pulp, along with the leaves, to the chickens.

This winter the chokoes are scattered around the fence on the ground but the vine is still actively growing.

Often the fruit is treated as a boring and bland vegetable but is this because folk don't know when or how to harvest them?  They are best picked when egg size when they are young and tender. They are delicious steamed. We can also steam the shoots and young leaves. Young chokoes can also be eaten raw.

There are numerous recipes that treat the choko as a delicious dessert fruit. They are often stewed with wine, cinnamon and sugar. 

We noticed large chokoes in a greengrocer recently selling for a $1.50 each. Perhaps folk still don't know how delicious they are when picked young.

Try extracting the nuts from the larger chokoes and cooking them.

"Cook Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan over moderate heat. Toss a couple of peeled sliced chokoes in the pan with salt and cracked black pepper. Cook until just tender then add zest and juice of a lime and chopped flat-leaf parsley. Stir and serve with grilled fish.

Chop peeled chokoes and stir-fry with sliced carrots, snowpeas, baby corn and a splash of soy and oyster sauce. Or use chokoes in place of apples in a favourite recipe.

Braise choko wedges in chicken stock until tender then sprinkle with grated parmesan and place under a hot grill until golden.

Serve with grilled lamb chops.

Saute peeled choko and potato chunks in a little olive oil with chopped bacon until vegetables are tender and bacon is crisp.

Serve scattered with chopped oregano." SMH Good Living