7 fruits you must try before you fly home

The pineapple and banana you know are only the start. The fruit stands along the Costanera and the feria, the farmers' market, sell things most visitors have never seen. Here are seven worth looking for.

The seven

Mamón chino. A red, hairy ball the size of a golf ball, known elsewhere as rambutan. Split the skin with your thumbnail and eat the sweet white flesh around the seed. The season is roughly July to October, and it is grown mainly in the south of the country.

Cas. A small sour guava that nobody eats whole. It is made into fresco de cas, a sharp, refreshing juice, and it is the thing to order with lunch. Roughly June to October.

Guanábana. Soursop: big, green and spiky outside, white and creamy inside. Best as a batido, blended with milk or with water.

Pejibaye. The fruit of a palm, boiled in salted water and often sold warm at supermarket doors. It is starchy and savoury, closer to a chestnut than a fruit, and Ticos eat it with mayonnaise. Mainly in the later months of the year.

Maracuyá. Passion fruit. Wrinkled, unpromising and wonderful in juice. The wrinkled ones are the ripe ones.

Mango. You know mango, but not like this. The season runs roughly from March to May or June. Ticos also eat green mango, sliced, with salt and lime.

Pipa fría. Not a fruit you eat but one you drink: a chilled green coconut, opened with a machete at the roadside and handed over with a straw.

And then the pineapple. Costa Rica is the world's largest exporter of fresh pineapple, and one sold ripe here is a different thing from one picked green for shipping.

Where to buy

Roadside stands, the feria and the fruit trucks that park along the highway. Bring colones in small notes. Ask for one para hoy, for today, and the seller will pick a ripe one. If your house has a blender, buy too much and make batidos.

One sensible rule

Wash fruit before you cut it, or peel it, as you would anywhere. And do not leave it outside overnight, unless you want to meet the local wildlife, which should not be eating it either.