Eight fruit juices that can only be tasted in Amazonia

The Amazon is not only the largest and most rich ecosystem in the world, but also one of the most delicious.

Among the thousands of native species, about 220 trees bear edible fruits, many of which never leave the forest. Some fruits are too delicate to be exported, while others are little known beyond the communities that have been consuming them for generations.

But along the Amazon river and its tributaries, from the Peruvian cloud forest to the floodplates in northern Brazil, travelers can find street stalls and coffee counters overflowing with thick and vibrant juice that captures the flavor of the tropical forest.

It is unlikely that you find these bottles in bottle or in powder sachets in your supermarket. Often, these Amazonian fruits are shifted only a few hours after their harvest. The juices are served cold in the tropical heat and are appreciated not only for their nutrients, but also for their rich texture and their intense flavor.

We present to you here eight Amazon juice which are worth trying, whether for their daring flavors, their cultural meaning or the pleasure of trying something new.

1. Water

On the eastern slope of the Andes, where the rivers flow into spectacular cascades in the Amazon basin, the traveler will find the Aguaje, the fruit of the Moriche palm.

In the small Peruvian town of Tingo Maria, the markets are full of trays of this fruit whose skin resembles that of a tatou. The inhabitants soak it in the water for a day or two, before peeling the brown skin to reveal a pulp of a deep orange. The pulp is then soaked and crushed to obtain the Aguajina, a thick and creamy drink whose taste is between the pumpkin pie and the flan.

Some residents of the region claim that the fruit contains estrogen compounds and that men should be wary of excessive consumption, although there is little scientific evidence on this subject. “Aguajina is very beneficial – for bones, skin and complexion – especially for women,” said Gianina Pujay, an aguajinera that sells the drink in front of the Tingo Maria fruit market.

2. Cocona

In the same region, the Cocona, a tropical fruit which is a parent far from the common tomato, produces acid juice with a taste similar to that of a pineapple hybrid, and a thick, almost oily pulp.

“Many Amazonian fruits are consumed in the form of juice because their pulp is acidic, fibrous or difficult to eat raw, like that of Cocona,” explains Miluska Carrasco, researcher and nutritionist at the Pérou nutritional research institute. “It is also a practical way to use them quickly before they spoil each other.

3. Camu camu

Descendant from the slopes of the Andes to the Amazon basin, the rivers lose their flow and turn into avenues of commercial activity. On the banks of Ucayali is the river port of Pucallpa, the point furthest from the Peruvian road network which will take you to the center of the Amazon. Here, where the barges of goods, passenger boats and canoes transport goods through the jungle, the Camu Camu is an essential juice.

This little tangy fruit, which looks like a plum, has a strawberry or acid strawberry taste with a suspicion of fishing and is very popular with sellers of local juices.

“It contains more vitamin C than orange, explains Mr. Carrasco, as well as other bioactive compounds. While orange navel provides about 6 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, the Camu Camu contains more than 2,000 mg for the same amount of pulp.

However, the Camu Camu season is short, generally between January and March, then enjoy fresh juice when available. The locals also eat small plums with salt; They simply spit the seeds.

4. Tucumã

At the heart of the vast Brazilian state of the Amazonas, 1,125 kilometers east of Pucallpa as the crow flies (and a week or more boat), the Tucumie palm trees produce an orange fruit whose season extends from February to August.

During this period, the fruit is often consumed at breakfast with cassava flour and constitutes a key ingredient of the X-Caboquinho sandwich, characteristic of the state, whose slices are lined with coalho salty cheese (an artisanal cheese made in Brazil) and sweet pieces of fried plantain.

To obtain juice from the tucumã, reputed to be fibrous, sellers use peeler, mixers and sieve to transform the fruit into pulp and obtain a slightly hazelnut liquid.

According to Francisco Falcão, a farmer from the community of Bom Jesus, in the national forest of Téfé, “people say that the Tucuma is good to eat and that it improves sight and skin”.

Indeed, the fruit is rich in manganese and calcium. While the kiwi, relatively rich in calcium, contains approximately 30 mg of calcium per 100 g, the tucumã contains about four times more.

5. Pupunha

In the TEFE region also, “there is a palm whose fruit is eaten,” explains Falcão. “Pupunha is a plant that we harvest from December to February.

In the Hispanophone -speaking regions of the Amazon, this oilseed fruit is known as Pejibaye or Pijuayo, and constitutes an essential source of natural fats, as well as vitamin B1 and vitamin E. Pupunha pushes in clusters and presents itself in the form of a tree.

Pupunha grows in orange and red fruit clusters in the shape of a glans. Fruits cannot be consumed raw, but once boiled, they constitute a hearty snack similar to an oleaginous sweet potato.

The boiled fruits also produce a creamy orange juice when shot. In Peru, forestry communities ferment the pulp to obtain a slightly alcoholic drink called Chicha or Masato, especially during the harvest period.

6. Cupuaçu

In Manaus, capital of the state of Amazonas, refrigeration allows residents and visitors to taste the fruits in different forms.

The Cupuaçu thick shell contains a bunch of seeds surrounded by a white and fleshy pulp. This pulp can be transformed into a silky and acid juice. But recently, residents have used this juice to make ice cream. This ice cream is also fashionable in the rest of Brazil, and Rio de Janeiro’s glaciers now offer it too.

Cupuaçu has a taste of creamy pineapple, which is surprising since this plant is a close relative of cocoa. “It is the same genre that cocoa and people make it cupulat (instead of chocolate),” explains Daniel Tregidgo, researcher at the Brazilian Institute Mamirauá for sustainable development. “When you go to the markets, you see huge stacks of cupuaçu seeds. I look at them and I say to myself: what modern chocolate!”

Why haven’t we heard of the cupulus yet? For Tregidgo, “it’s a question of investment. If you take something in the heart of the Amazon and try to bring it to the world market without exploiting or damaging the environment, it will be complicated …”.

Cupuaçu bars have a taste for chocolate, but keep part of their citrus flavor.

7. Jenipapo

In the Amazon Delta, Jenipapo is known for its traditional use as blue ink or temporary tattoo ink. The fruit, which grows all over the Brazilian coast as well as in Amazon, has a yellowish pulp which is a great source of vitamin B1 and zinc.

The Jenipapo can be consumed in the form of fresh juice with a taste similar to that of dry apricots, but you can also try Jenipapo’s liqueur, a kind of cachaça served in small bars.

8. Acai

If Açaí consumption has become a global trend, the version served in Amazon hardly resembles the frozen fruit found abroad.

What many travelers are ignoring is that there are seven different species of Palm trees. The premises distinguish between the Açaí do pará, the Açaí do Mato and the Judd, depending on the region. In Belém, for example, sellers use presses to extract the thick and purplish pulp of the bay, which is sold in transparent bags and consumed directly with a spoon, like a purple gaspacho.

Apart from its natural distribution area in Brazil, the pulp is appreciated in yogurts and ice creams in the rest of the country.

You can read the original article on the BBC Travel website.