MIRLITON SEASON IS HERE—it’s also known as chayote squash or vegetable pear—and whatever you call it, get ready to enjoy. This thin-skinned, green, pear-shaped vegetable is a classic in New Orleans cuisine, and that’s thanks to the fact that the chayote was a staple for the Aztecs and Mayans thousands of years ago. It made its way from Mesoamerica because of Spanish explorers, who introduced it to New Orleans in the 1700s when the Crescent City was under Spanish control. In the late 1700s, French-speaking immigrants from the Canary Islands, known as Los Isleños, arrived, and their French name for the squash became the norm.
Most locals still pronounce it “mel-uh-tawn” or “mer-leh-tawn,” but it’s often labeled
