Adventures in Brazilian Produce: Maxixe

The Maxixe is yet another Brazilian culinary staple brought from western and central Africa. About the size of a roma tomato, their small size and spiky exteriors do a good job of hiding what is actually a sweet and refreshing vegetable. For those of you who have eaten a maxixe, I know what you are going to say: “L&M, it tastes exactly like a cucumber. What’s the big deal?” Well, we agree it may taste remarkably similar to a cucumber, but it also has a smoother texture, the flavor hits better notes of both sour and sweet, and we find it much more refreshing on a hot day in Bahia, to the point where we’d pick maxixe juice over cucumber juice any day.

We have heard that maxixes are actually best when cooked, particularly when incorporated into cozido and other Brazilian stews. We have not tried it this way yet, but will soon!