1) Cajamanga (This fruit grows on a great cajamanga tree and I had a love affair with this fruit during its ripe season. I have never ate it before and cannot wait until it is in season again next year. Slightly sour with a tough skin and as it ripens it gets sweet. But watch out for the pit - it is quite prickly)
2) Pineapple (I know we have this in the Unite\d States but fresh is the best. Grown on a spiky plant I would have to say the pineapple is my mistress - so sweet and irresistible -- hard to put it in second but since I have had it before she takes second place)
3) Tangerines (They are wonderful in Brazil and you can find them in the stands along side of the road in the stands positioned where one has to slow down for the occasional speed bump. I eat these often and the ones picked straight off the tree - simple delicious)
4) Caqui (Only a brief encounter as I received a taste at a farmers market but it was good even if brief - it looks like a tomato, texture like and plum and taste your will just have to try yourself to figure that out)
5) Mango (I did not have this on this visit to Brazil but loved it in December on my visit so thought it had to be in the running - the other day a friend gave me a couple here and they were simply delicious but again, right of the tree take the cake- it may be higher on my list on a different day)
6) Acerola ( A little red fruit that grows on a short bush. Very similar to the cherry but not quite as sweet and not pit to get hung up on - they are good and I am not sure you can find them in the United States - I will definitely try and find them - savory and a great source of vitamin C)
8) Star Fruit (great texture and slightly tart flavor - I added it to a fruit salad and it added just the right tang to complete the salad)
9) Cashew fruit (yes you heard me right - I have found it interesting that most Americans don't realize that the cashew nut we all love grows on the end of a fruit. The fruit makes a wonderful juice and when in season he cashew truly attract my favorite the toucan bird!)
10) Bananas (need I say more -- they grow in banana trees all over the country - fresh and yummy but not unique to Brazil)
12) Fruta do Condo (As I pulled it apart and sucked the fruit off it had a nice flavor but a little starchy for me - Don't get me wrong - it was good - it just had a lot of good competition)
13) Pequi (this is a local fruit that is known throughout Brazil as a Goias flavor -- I had it in rice and did not get a lot of flavor from it. will have to try again and see if it moves up or down in the rankings - it is probably lower in the rankings because of the # of people who do not like it more than my own opinion at this point)
14) Passion Fruit (Cutting this open it truly looks likes the insides of something - I understand that the passion fruit I tried was the tart kind and that is all I have gotta say about that, except next time I want to try the other kind)
Honorable Mention: Fruit Salad - (I have had my share of fruit salad before and Brazil has their own version with all local fruits - the difference in Brazil is that you can buy it at a large number of corner deli's, coffee shops, bakeries, basically if you are craving this great refreshing delight - you don't have to look far to find it - in the United States I think you would have to make your own minus some on the list above - a must try on your travels)
4 comments:
Dave, next time you have a chance, taste the following: jaca (jackfruit), cupuaçú and bacuri (both from the Amazon) and the queen of all Brazilian fruit: jaboticaba. Picking a king-size jaboticaba from the tree is a rare and fantastic pleasure.
Regina -- thanks for the suggestions, I will try and try these fruits. I have had Jaca in the USA and last December on my first visit to Brazil I had jaboticaba (LOVED IT) I just did not have a photo of it to share and actually forgot it if you can believe that. Luiz's parents have one in the back yard that is full of green fruit now. The other two I will keep my eyes open for. Thanks again!
I lived in Brazil in the late 1960s in a small town in the interior of Sergipe where we had bananas, oranges, watermelon, papaya, pineapple. cajús, and jack fruit (I couldn't get past the odor of that one) ---when each was in season, but because of the remote area, we didn't have the variety that is available today. I returned for the first time August 2011 and traveled to Aracajú, Salvador, Manaus, Foz do Iguaçu and Rio. What I enjoyed this time was not only the variety of fruits but the great ice cream flavors made from them and other tropical flavors ---mango, passion fruit, açaí, peanut, tapioca, pineapple, plum, papaya, tangerine, avocado ---so many I can't remember them all, and every city seemed so have some unique flavors. My favorite ice cream was then and still is coconut, but I found one place with coffee-chocolate-rum which was quite tasty, too. I rarely eat ice cream at home and haven't had any since my return, but I tried one scoop of ice cream almost every day for a month while I traveled. I wish I could have stayed in Brazil for 3-4 months so I could have tried them all.
Carolina, I love the ice cream flavors in Brazil as well. I have to admit that it is not as creamy as ice cream here though. I am an ice cream fanatic which is not always good. Thanks for commetting! Until your next travels to Brazil!
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