I
love sapote, (though I've only had mamey, and not the others), and I love etymology as kind of a hobby, too.
I have an adopted sister from Ecuador, so while I've never taken Spanish, I grew up with it in my household. Also, my fiancee' is filipina, and as you probably know, the Philippines were controlled by Spaniards for a very long time, (her father is Castillian, in fact), and many filipina words are very similar to Spanish, and sometimes almost identical, (
gusto is one that comes to mind).
There are hundreds of dialects in the Philippines and it's nearly impossible to get a grip on it ... they also mix Tagalog, Visaya and Cebuano, (the primaries), with English most of the time, so what's used on the "street" there is "Tag-lish", and it's incredibly confusing if you're trying to learn one of the dialects, (like I was when there). I'm not sure about your area, but my Ecuadorian sister had similar influences from the "natve" Ecuadorians, which I believe numbered in the dozens of tribes, (like the Cofan, Zaparo, etc), some with Incan origin, I believe(?) Is it similar in your area?
I was also surprised to discover that almost ALL of the family names in the Phil. are Spanish - Sanchez, Palma, Rodriquez, Legata, etc. - and except for the few Islamic areas, like Mindanao, Palawan, (where I didn't stay long, for safety reasons), entirely and strictly Catholic.
Anyway, (sorry for the rambling), they have
sapote there, but they use the word for about five different kinds of similar fruit, my favorite was the one they called "mamey" which looked a lot like your picture inside, but it was round instead of oblong. For me the best part of the Philippines, (other than the amazingly beautiful women), was the variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, and they way they were prepared. I think it's similar in your area, too, from what I've seen and heard. But we here in the U.S. only get a small portion of the endless varieties of fruits that are grown world-wide, and most here just do not know what they're missing!
So after all that, (hope I didn't bore you), my question is this: I was in a largely South American Spanish section of NYC once with my Ecuadorian sister, and she introduced me to a fruit that I have never seen or heard of since, and I'm wondering/hoping if you have it where you are or know what it is? On the outside it looked mostly like a banana, but it was longer, and inside it had this cotton-like substance and within it had the texture and taste of custard. It was one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten, and since then I've only met one other person who had eaten it, but also had no clue what it was or the name. Any ideas?
Thanks, Edgar!
(Hope I didn't bore you - I bored myself!)
