Have you noticed by walking around that there are a lot of mangoes on the street that just fell from the tree? It stands for the fact that the summer is here and the fruit season is in full swing! Don’t you just love fresh fruit? How do you fancy trying the best fruit salad you’ve ever tasted?
Maybe Paraguay isn’t the first country that would cross your mind thinking about exotics fruits. But this country full of biodiversity has more fruits to offer than only mangoes. Other popular fruits grown in Paraguay are pineapples, strawberries, lemons, papayas, oranges, avocado and various berries. And let’s not forget the Guarani Cherry growing from the Acerola fruit tree that is valued for its small, red, highly nutritious fruits.
Summer in Paraguay means a progression of delicious fruits as the season advances. For now you will see a lot of mangoes, but in a couple weeks you will be able to find a lots of pomeloes on the street.
Despite all the home-grown produce, most of the fruit that is available in Paraguay is imported. Paraguay imports more or less 75 million kilos of fruit (apples, pears, peaches and plums) every year – mostly coming from neighbouring countries.
The habit of eating one or two fruits every day isn’t the culture in this country – let alone a “5-a-day” diet. But the locals still love the sweetness, and prefer to make a juice from fruits or treat themselves with an “ensalada de frutas” – a fruit salad – that they will buy on a warm summer day.
The most famous fruit salad in Asunción
The most famous place for the locals to buy a fruit salad – always referring to it in Spanish, as an ‘ensalada de frutas’ – is located in Downtown Asunción, at the corner of Palma Street & 15 de Agosto, across from the Unicentro. You will probably expect a foodbar or restaurant selling this famous fruit salad, but it is the upperside and it will fit in the category of street food.
In the small corner, you’ll find this hidden gem, where a friendly married couple are selling their popular homemade fruit salad. It is hidden behind a big blue sunshade and if you didn’t know it was there, there’s a reasonably big chance that you will just walk by without noticing this couple and their ‘ensalada de frutas’. Maybe if you pass by you will notice some people that are standing in a line to buy this desert – but still you will likely not notice that this is THE place to buy an ensalada de frutas. But every local in Downtown Asunción knows about this hardworking couple and their delicious fruit salad!
It is just a stand where this lovely couple are selling their fruit salads – there are three plastic seats available behind the table in case you do want to sit, but most persons prefer to buy the ensalada and will eat it by walking on the street. Like an ice cream.
So don’t expect to much of the place itself. But do expect a lot of this ‘ensalada de frutas’. It is a mix between pineapple, peaches, apple, banana, mango and other fruits. You can choose to order the salad with or without the ‘crema’. The cream has the flavour of milk and dulche de leche. Most people ordering this ‘ensalada de frutas con crema’ with a mix of both crèmes. The taste is refreshing, of course fruity, and the cream is just a finishing touch. Once you have noticed the place and tried this fruit salad, you will become a big fan of it. It is fantastic! Especially with the climate here in Asuncion and the warm days over summer. The weather makes our bodies ask to have something cold and refreshing – well this ‘ensalada de frutas’ is just perfect for that.
The history behind Asunción’s best ‘ensalada de frutas’
The couple, married now for 29 years, have already been standing and selling their famous fruit salads for 16 years now. Before selling the fruit salad, the man was working on the street by helping cars to park and make sure the cars stayed safe. It wasn’t enough of an income to survive the days – so the married couple decided together to start creating and selling the best ensalada de frutas known to mankind.
Just around the corner from where the man was working on the street, they put a small stand with the fruit salads and started to sell them. Before they knew it, it became a big success, and a full time job for the both of them.
The business doesn’t have a name, or even a page on social media. Yet if you ask any random local person on the street in Downtown Asunción where you need to be to buy an ensalada de frutas, they will all send you to this couple. Because it is not sold in a restaurant they do not need to pay rent – but everyday the couple need to pay the police Gs 5,000 (approximately US$0.70) to be able to have their stand there. So for now they make a better income.
Every weekday they will start selling from 10am untill 5pm. But don’t underestimate this as just selling – every day, the couple wakes up at 6am to prepare all the fruit. Just before 10am they will put a table outside, some big coolboxes filled with the fresh fruit and cream and then they are ready to start selling.
Two times a week they buy all kind of fruits at the Mercado 4, and in a day they sell more or less 100 kilo of their ‘ensalada de frutas’!! With their ages of 55 and 46, they are still young. And even though they do not eat a lot of fruit themselves (they prefer empanadas), they want to keep selling their fruit salad for as long as possible.
The mornings start calm, but by the time midday arrives, it is getting busier. At lunch time there will be a big line. All kinds of persons are buying this ‘ensalada de frutas’. Young and old, people that are selling chipas on the street will make a stop to buy a fruit salad, and even the police will join the line and wait with patience until it is their turn to order. Some persons are alone, others in groups. It is also common for people that have just had their lunch at a restaurant or at their office to then visit the couple to get their ‘ensalada de frutas’ as a desert.
They offer the option to put a lid on the cup so it is easy to take it with you as well. There are cups available starting from Gs 7,000 (approximately US$0.90).
It can be seen that it is hard work for them. There is almost no time to sit. People are coming and going all the time. And because they are located at the Palma street, people are specifically driving to them from other areas in Asuncion and order the fruit salad without leaving the car, like a drive-thru.
It is definitely worth it to come to downtown, specifically just to try their famous fruit salad! But if you are not in the mood to stand in the line, try to be there before midday. But be prepared, when you have tasted it, you just want more!
