# So, How Many People Have Eaten a Choko? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 21, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394 "2012-09-21T14:12:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/1 "2012-09-21T14:12:12Z")
Chayote I think they are called in the USA. There was a previous thread [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=538855&highlight=choko) but not many replies. I am wondering their purpose on earth. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/2 "2012-09-21T14:35:23Z")
My (Chinese) wife sometimes buys one, juliennes it, and fries it up with scrambled eggs. It’s not my favourite meal, but it’s pretty harmless. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/3 "2012-09-21T14:36:36Z")
Choyote is a very inoffensive tasting crunchy vegetable which can be cooked to a soft texture. Do they need some other purpose? As I noted in the prior thread, I don’t like it cooked, but I don’t like a lot of vegetables cooked that I like perfectly well raw (see also, carrots) . ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/4 "2012-09-21T14:42:37Z")
We get them at the Latin grocery store down the street. They don’t really taste like anything. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/5 "2012-09-21T14:43:11Z")
I eat them every once in while. I stir fry them and toss garlic salt and pepper on them. They are quite deilcious that way. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/6 "2012-09-21T16:18:30Z")
I get them sometimes when they’re in the bargain bin at the grocery store. Tastes like a vegetable. ---
**Author:** ![Coustralee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Coustralee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coustralee)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/7 "2012-09-21T17:13:10Z")
never tried, heard they have a laxative effect ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/8 "2012-09-21T17:43:04Z")
I’ve had it shredded up in salads. As others have said, not much taste to it. Sort of like a raw potato. Never heard it called a choko. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/9 "2012-09-21T18:10:32Z")
Ahh christophene! I have it all the time in stir fry, you can barely tell what it is by taste once it is cooked. I was like whats a choko? ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/10 "2012-09-21T22:08:12Z")
Chokos are yum and really prolific. I reckon I have about 300 different recipes floating aroundd here. Everything from mains to desserts. Oh and you can pretty much eat the whole plant - my favourite though is tiny chokos smaller than my thumb that taste like peas. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/11 "2012-09-22T04:06:04Z")
We had a choko vine on the back fence when I was a child, so they regularly appeared on the dinner plate. Always boiled. That’s the only way my mother ever cooked them. I loathed them. They tasted of water and nothing else. I haven’t eaten one since I moved out of home. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/12 "2012-09-22T07:14:09Z")
Here in L.A. it’s called chayote. My mother used to have them growing on a vine a couple of years ago. She would chop them up and fry them with scrambled eggs, or cut them into larger pieces to put in vegetable soup. Yes, they are pretty bland, and I never liked them much - as a child, they tasted too “green” for me, meaning they had a bland vegetable flavor I disliked. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/13 "2012-09-22T07:25:25Z")
they are great for soaking up strong flavours. I love choko quinces and julienned in pad thai ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/14 "2012-09-22T07:31:30Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > We had a choko vine on the back fence when I was a child, so they regularly appeared on the dinner plate. Always boiled. That’s the only way my mother ever cooked them. I loathed them. They tasted of water and nothing else. I haven’t eaten one since I moved out of home. I think homes were built and the first thing everyone did was plant a choko vine. Followed by a mango tree (in Qld). Yes, boiled was how I remember them- gah they were vile. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/15 "2012-09-22T14:41:27Z")
Chayote is common in Panama. Yeah, it’s very bland just boiled but can be good sauted with garlic and other vegetables. ---
**Author:** ![Stately\_Greek\_Automaton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Stately\_Greek\_Automaton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stately_Greek_Automaton)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/16 "2012-09-22T15:21:09Z")
They’re okay, although as others have mentioned, they’re best cooked with strong flavour which they can soak up. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/17 "2012-09-23T04:05:28Z")
Yeah, had 'em…they’re like a really, _really_ bland zucchini. 😛 As far as purpose goes, I guess they’d make good fodder for cattle, horses and goats etc. Apart from that, got nothing I’m afraid. ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/18 "2012-09-23T09:47:24Z")
Ghastly things. I’ve not had one since I was a young fella, and my Nana would cook them. Again from the vine in the backyard. Nana was of that generation where the only way to cook veggies was to boil them to within an inch of their lives. (God lover her) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/19 "2012-09-23T11:16:24Z")
I’ve had them a few times. Mostly they are pretty bland but my former sister in law, a Turk, used them a bit in both savory and sweet dishes. Probably more often than I spotted. When I was a kid, round 6 or 7, a bunch of us used to take a cart to the bushes and pick wild chokos which we sold from door to door. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394/20 "2012-09-23T14:16:50Z")
I use them like potatoes in stews, like mole amarillo. They are a little bland, but completely inoffensive, and I like their texture, especially when potatoes and chayote are used in the same dish. I agree that they have a “tofu-ish” quality in the way they soak up other flavors. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-many-people-have-eaten-a-choko/635394.md?page=2)