Data source: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, FDC 170402 (Chayote, fruit, raw).
Fun facts
- Chayote comes from Mexico and Central America. In Vietnam it grows well in cool highlands like Sa Pa and Tam Đảo, famous for stir fried chayote shoots with garlic.
- Each chayote has just one big seed in the middle. Left alone, the seed can sprout right inside the fruit, and farmers plant chayote by burying the whole fruit.
- 100g of chayote has only about 19 kcal, one of the lightest vegetables. A 200g plate of boiled chayote is only about 38 kcal, less than a third of a bowl of rice.
- It is mostly water, with 1.7g of fiber and about 7.7mg of vitamin C per 100g, and a gentle, easy sweetness.
Choosing and storing
Choose small to medium fruit with young green skin, soft spines and a firm feel, without wrinkles or brown spots. Very large ones are usually old, with stringy flesh and a big seed. Whole chayote keeps in the crisper drawer for about 1 to 2 weeks. The shoots wilt fast, so use them within 1 to 2 days.
Cooking it well
Chayote releases a sticky sap when peeled that leaves your hands tight and dry, so wear gloves or peel it under running water. It cooks fast: stir fried with egg or shrimp, boiled and dipped in sesame salt, or in a light soup with minced pork, it needs only a few minutes to stay crisp and sweet. Cook it too long and it turns mushy and bland. For more on keeping vitamins, see cooking methods that keep vitamins.
