We stopped in a local “international” grocery store yesterday – mostly Latino foodstuffs, but selections of Greek and Italian as well. Anyway, I let the boys get paletas. Joseph picked watermelon, which was fantastic, and I picked “fruit cocktail” for Michael.
I tasted it first. It tasted kind of – odd. I tasted it again. The oddness was that it was hot. As in chile-hot. Now, I know that spicing sweets with chiles and such is common, but there wasn’t anything – not a thing – on the label indicating that this one was spiced.
So, the question is, in Mexico, does “fruit cocktail” mean that in addition to your chunks of pear or mango or what have you, there’s also a dose of chiles?
Needless to say, Michael went without.
Update:
Good stuff in the comments. Veronica writes:

“So, the question is, in Mexico, does “fruit cocktail” mean that in addition to your chunks of pear or mango or what have you, there’s also a dose of chiles?”

As a Mexican living in Mexico, I can assure you that yes, a fruit cocktail in Mexico is usually (as in always) sprinkled with chili powder. So good… I really can’t imagine a fruit cocktail (known as ‘pico de gallo’ in some parts) without chili. Fruits like mango and watermelon are also served with chili on them, which to me adds a very nice touch. Mmm…

…which is interesting because I think of pico de gallo has just a sort of simple salsa with tomatoes, chiles, onions and cilantro. So the term is more general?