Mrs. Papaya reigned when oranges, cashews, custard apples and soursop disappeared
14ymedio, Natalia Lopez Moya, Havana, 29 September 2024 — The frutabomba, the most voluptuous of the fruits consumed in Cuban homes has, for decades, also been the ingredient of the most popular desserts and milkshakes when there is a shortage of milk for a good flan or the exclusive mamey disappears from the markets. Painted in paintings and recreated in engravings, in recent years it has ceased to be a product within everyone’s reach.
Also known as ‘papaya’, a moniker commonly used by Cubans to designate the vulva, it has the advantage of being large but the problem of being fragile when transported when ripe. Huge and delicate, it is most often sold whole in markets but can also be purchased in portions that must be swallowed in a short time before they spoil.
Now, a pound of frutabomba is sold for 60 pesos in the market at 19th and B in El Vedado, Havana. A single specimen can weigh quite a bit, so with less than 300 pesos it is unlikely that you will be able to walk away with one of these fruits in your bag, and trying to buy a small portion, for just one person, can be as difficult as convincing a vendor in the downtown store to sell half a head of garlic or just a couple of lettuce leaves.
While other products have doubled or tripled in price in recent months, the price of frutabomba has remained stable throughout 2024, although in November of last year it reached 70 pesos per pound. But even without significant jumps, the fruit has also
