Word(s) of the Week: Fruits

And now for something completely different (I'm sick of this elections stuff).

I wrote a post earlier about bananas on the island (and how they're called guineos rather than plátanos amarillos or bananos or what-have-you from other countries). I've been meaning to follow that up with some more (emphasis on "meaning to"; I'm a bit forgetful I suppose). Anyways... fruit!

• Bananas are guineos. Like I mentioned before.
  
• Mango is mangó. For some reason Puerto Rico is (I'm pretty sure) the only Spanish-speaking country to throw an accent on that o. Something to do with confusing it with "mango" (handle) I'd assume. I... don't know.
  
• Naranja (orange) is china. From "naranja china". You can get around with using naranja, of course, but you'll stick out. Naranja does show up on occasions. But even things like Fanta are marketed as china-flavored.
  
• Passionfruit is parcha. For some reason I have it stuck in my head that the name is different from the regular Spanish name (which is a literal translation I think).
  
• Strawberry is ejtroberi. No joke. You hear a Spanish-version of the English word much more than you hear the real Spanish word (fresa). Other berries tend to follow the same pattern (rajberi, for example), as well as cherry (which is often a sexual euphemism too). If you want an example, here's a video of Wisin y Yandel's song "Hey Mami", which starts using those words (and a couple others) in the chorus, conveniently transcribed in the comments.
  
• Watermelon is just melón. The real name for it in Spanish is sandía, of course, but most of the island will look at you a little funny if you say it.
  
• Quenepas are awesome! So is guayaba (guava). Acerola too. Other delicious fruits available on the island include piña (pineapple), papaya, coco (coconut), toronja (grapefruit), and more. Some of these, like acerola* and quenepas, are nearly impossible to sample in the States or Europe. Be sure to get some while you're there, or you'll be missing out!
  

There are even more vegetables to get to, so look out for that.

*I just wanted to add that nutritionally acerola cherries are fascinating. A single cherry has only 2 Calories, no sugar, and yet has 133% of your daily need for Vitamin C. 20 of them only ends up being 32 Calories, 7 grams of sugar, and about 2800% of your Vitamin C. The same amount of orange, in comparison, has only 75% of your daily need with more Calories and more sugar. Interesting, isn't it?