• Exotic Fruits From the Amazon
    Awake!—2004 | July 22

    • The Nutritious Açaí

      The açaí tree (Euterpe oleracea), a slender tropical palm, thrives in humid floodplains and swamps and especially in the mouths of the Amazon and Tocantins rivers in the state of Pará. Along Brazil’s Atlantic Coast, it grows from Pará State to Bahia State. When you are in açaí territory, likely your feet are standing in water and your forehead is perspiring. The açaí palm’s thin but sturdy trunk rises to a height of up to 75 feet [23 m], with a crown of leaves at its top.

      From August to December, the palm is heavy with six to eight bunches of açaí, each holding from 700 to 900 cherry-sized fruits. But how does one get the açaí down from way up there? Some climbers weave fibers from shorter açaí trees into a strap. The climber puts his feet into the strap and presses it against the trunk. With his feet braced securely against the tree trunk, he places his hands above his head, pulls himself up, and plants his strapped feet higher and higher up the trunk until he reaches the top. There, he lops off a bunch. Does he throw it down? No, that would ruin it. The way he came up is the way he goes down, only this time balancing the fruit.

      How is açaí prepared? Eduardo, a young man from Pará, explains: “My mother put the açaí fruit in a cooking pot of warm water. Then she stirred the fruit until the skin and the thin layer of deep-blue pulp separated from the big seeds.” The fruit is high in calories and rich in iron, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and vitamins B1 and B2. No wonder açaí is sought by athletes for building strength and by mothers as nourishment for their children! Many Brazilians like drinking açaí mixed with water, sugar, and cassava starch. Eduardo likes açaí as a condiment on dried shrimps and manioc. Açaí is also crushed in hot water and passed through a sieve, producing a thick aromatic liquid that is served as juice. That, though, is not the last use of açaí.

      More can be done with the açaí palm. Palmito, or cabbage palm, a soft, white substance found in the terminal bud of the tree, is a favorite delicacy used in salads. The roots are made into medicines for killing parasites, and the fibers are fashioned into brooms. The leaves feed the animals or are used to make paper, and the tree trunk also provides excellent wood for construction.