Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-11-22

LETTER
INTRODUCING THE CHAYOTE
BY Frederic j. Hasldn

} Department of Agriculture, and 1t
/ is said to be an article of food Of
which the great American home
should no longer be deprived.
The vegetable is the chayote. The
name is said to be Mexican, and 1t
Is officially pronounced chi-oh-tee.
The first syllable is like the CHI in
Chinese, and the accent is on the
second syllable. This newcomer is
somewhat like the squash, and some
what like the cucumber, but 1T has
a flavor all its own.
To call it new is perhaps not
quite accurate. At the government
office of Foreign Seed and Plant
Introduction they say quizzically, rs
there anything really new?" The
chayote is certainly new as a COM
mercial proposition on our markets,
but the mdern, cultivated varieties
trace their ancestry proudly pack
} to the Aztec civilization of Mexico.
So the chayote is not an expert
ment in food. with the American d.
gestion as a laboratory subject. To
be sure the Aztecs are all dead, but
none of the records ascribes their
taking of to eating this particular
delicacy.
Besides, the chayote was known TO
early, Central America before the
Spanish conquest, and 1t Is today
a standard article of food there
much as the potato is with US. IL
is one of the principal vegetables OF
the Island of Madeira and of Cey-
lon. 1t is also grown in Algeria, ana
recently it has been successfully IN
troduced into Japan. For years II
has been raised to some extent by
the Creoles of Louisiana. In re-
stricted southern regions, notably
around New Orleans and
and in South Carolina, it has for
! some time been popular.
The chayote was discovered for
the United States Government by
| some enterprising friends of the De-
partment of Agriculture who were
travelling In Central AMERICA. Con
suls, missionaries, government held
workers, and explorers often seno
word of interesting foreign plants to
the Office of Foreign Seed ana
Plant Introduction. Sometimes seed
or specimens are sent.
IL it seems likely that the plant
could be grown In this country, and
If it has chances of popularity with
cAuCllllH EtlliN ASoh1f 1HO
the office make a careful study of 1t.
They grow different varieties on
the governments experiment farms,
and try them out in different sec
tons of the country. They CONSIDER
the cost of commercial production.
and whether the product will stand
transportation over great distances
IL the plant bears an edible frult,
the questions of how to prepare II,
for eating and how to serve 1t are
answered. II all goes well, the re-
suits are finally gathered together
in a little bulletin n the pubic
is informed regarding a new ana
| useful addition to American plant
life.
All this has been done in the case
| of the chayote, and it apparently
has good chances for popularity. IL
can be raised cheaply throughout
the southern sections of the coun-
trv. wherever there is a long grow
| ing season. 1t has even successfully
| fruited as far north as Washington,
| d. c.. though in such regions the
| chayote must necessarily be an an
nual plant, since the roots are killed
by heavy frosts.
The chayote climbs on a trellis.
which means that omparatlVeiy ilt-
tie space is needed for growing 1t.
Ii can be shipped to any part or
the country, and stored for the VIM
ter mofths. In addition, it possesses
versatility to an unusual degree
- II .
In some sections of Central Amer
lea, every part of the chayote van
is utilized. The young shoots are
Used for food, like asparagus ups
Tough tubers, which are formed I'M
%derground. by the plant, apparently
as it's reserve food supply a1ter pc
RODS unfavorable to growth, are
sometimes eaten just as we eat po-
tatoes. The foliage of the vine be
comes forage for cattle and poul-
try. The delicate young leaves are
also eaten, like spinach, by human
beings.
The vine makes a superior, sill
ver-white straw suitable for baskets
and hats. Before the war, TINS
| straw was shipped to Paris where
it sold at a good price. Now, How
ever. the hard labor required in pre-
pairing the straw makes the price
nrohibitive. The flowers Of the
| chayote vine contain quantities OF
nectar, and are in consequence pop
MAR with bees. The Department OF
| Agriculture suggests that the vine
| should be an excellent bee plant in
regions where climate is suitable
to it's growth.
The fruit, of course, is the most
! obviously useful of the plants gifts.
The fruit of the vine is green or
creamy white and is about the size
of a large pear. 1t is a full ana
winter vegetable, and may be cream
ed. fried, made into fritters, salad,
or pickle.
Whether America in general will
rush to welcome the chayote TO its
dinner tables is a hard question to
answer. With all the craving for
novelty and variety, most people are
conservatives, if not r~eactionaries,
when it comes to food. The aver
age adult who finds himself face to
face with a strange kind OF foo
makes cautious inquiries before eat
ing. If potatoes were brought in
today as something new, they would
probably find it difficult to gain entry
to the American kitchen.
= = = =
Immigration conditions were much
better in earlier days, so far as foods
: are concerned. The Pilgrims, we
are told. were overjoyed to find each
new ource of food. But then, the
Pilgrim mothers did not go to mar
ket and pay out cash earned by the
fathers for the new delicacies. And
if the family did not at first take
to the Indian corn raised in the
clearing. they learned to eat it any
way out of the necessities of exist