You say parcha, I say something else

Venezuelans are BIG on natural fruit juice. There is not one restaurant that I have been to that doesn’t offer an assortment of freshly squeezed juices. I’ve been open to trying all kinds and have discovered fruit that I don’t think should be made into juice (e.g. grapes, tamarind) and those that I love.

This, my friends, is my favorite juice. The fruit it comes from is called parcha here in Venezuela (and I assume most of Latin America). Apparently, it’s in the same family as passion fruit, also known as parchita.

In Haiti parcha is called grenadine. I know in English grenadine refers to a totally different fruit, but that’s what I’ve been calling it since I was a wee young lass; hence the bizarre title of this post :-)

Yes, those are seeds floating at the top. You can remove them or swallow them whole – it takes some getting used to. They are coated with the fleshy substance of the fruit and they are very much like watermelon seeds, so you don’t want to chew on them.

I can’t really tell you what other fruit that it tastes like because its flavor is unique to me. It has a mild, nutty sweetness and as you can see a thick consistency. It is so viscous that I sometimes drink it as a mid-morning snack. If you’re not into heavy juices, you can always run it through a sieve before drinking it.

All in all, good stuff!