Mirliton

Mr. Big Food does love cooking Cajun food. Several years ago he started asking me about mirlitons (also known as vegetable pears, chayote, choko, etc.) which are used in traditional Cajun dishes. I had no idea what he was talking about. But I'm beginning to learn!

"Papa Sylvest's" mirlitons.

Mirlitons, Sechium edule, are in the Cucurbitaceae family-- the family that includes melons and cucumbers. Compared to melons and cucumbers, though, mirlitons have some unique characteristics. For example, they are perennial; each fruit has just one seed. You can read all about-- and I do meal "all about"-- mirlitons at Lance Hill's "A Guide to Growing Mirlitons (Sechium edule) in Louisiana," whose Introduction begins:

The mirliton, a native plant to Mexico, has a long and unique history in New Orleans. Popularly known as Chayote (botanical name: Sechium edule), records of this member of the gourd family indicate that it was grown in New Orleans as early as 1867, and the city is virtually the only major urban area in North America where the mirliton was cultivated throughout the last century.  The proximity to the Caribbean and the large migrations from that area, as well as the banana trade, probably contributed to its popularity.  In the 1920s the U.S. Agriculture department attempted to introduce the mirliton to a broader public in a project based in Homestead, Florida, using varieties imported from Cuba. That project ultimately failed because most U.S. consumers had no idea what this odd vegetable was: was it a squash or a fruit?  It is, in fact, a member of the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae—or Cucurbit for short, and botanists refer to the vegetable as “fruit.”  In the U.S. it took on the name “vegetable pear” in the 1920s when first introduced outside of New Orleans, but lack of consumer demand ended the federally funded project.  The mirliton retreated to New Orleans where eccentricity in music, culture, and even vegetables were well tolerated.  
 
The “backyard mirliton vine” was a staple of New Orleans homes.   A generally self- sufficient plant resistant to most diseases and pests, homeowners traditionally planted mirlitons to run along fences (the vines can grow to 50 feet), over shrubs, and even straight up trees.  The fruit is highly perishable: within thirty days of harvesting it can germinate and send out a shoot which draws water and nutrients from the fruit causing it to shrivel.  Because the soft inner-seed cannot be planted apart from the fruit shell (the whole fruit must be planted for propagation), the vine was an ideal Fall-yielding crop.  It was a very “sociable” vegetable in that its abundant yield and small commercial market helped create a tradition of backyard growers giving mirlitons to neighbors and “sacking” fruit under the sink to give sprouted seedlings to new growers.  
 
The tradition of the backyard mirliton (locally pronounced “mel-uh-tawn) was strong only a few decades ago, but in recent years people stopped growing mirlitons, especially as imported varieties from Latin America became available inexpensively and year round.  In 2005, hurricane Katrina brought saline flood waters that destroyed much of the traditional Louisiana mirliton variety.  A few growers retained their plants, but in 2008, hurricane Gustav’s high winds traumatized the vines and virtually wiped out the varieties that had been grown for decades in South Louisiana.  Some growers attempted to propagate imported varieties purchased at local markets, but found that the fruits would not germinate (perhaps a result of new chilling practices) and that the commercial varieties, grown using pesticides and fungicides and bred for uniformity in size and color, were not as disease resistant as the traditional Louisiana varieties and lacked flavor.   

[Note that ninety years ago the US Government unsuccessfully intruded into a free market. When will we learn?]

Mr. Hill has begun the "Adopt-a-Mirliton" project in an effort to "restore the traditional mirliton varieties in South Louisiana." I've just signed up for email alerts which will let me know when seed/fruit become available. Although we're not in southern Louisiana, I should be able to grow them here provided I provide protection from cooler fall nights.

Check out Hill's mirliton photo gallery.