AMAZING FRUITS OF BRAZIL

Amazing Fruits of Brazil

Article by Sharif Ali 

Mulher Jaca

Brazil loves and appreciates its amazing variety of tropical fruits.  They love it so much that they name many of the beautiful women of brazil here after them, lol!  Check this out and you will see why Brazil girls are named after the tropical fruits.

Mulher Melancia

Bahia's Own Mulher Morango

This list isn’t extensive…if I tried to name everything the list would go on for days.  Seriously there is more variety found here than anywhere else on the planet.  Some enterprising people have picked up on this and started marketing some of the wonder fruits found here to the world, kinda like Tahitian Noni.

Mulher Melao

People here in Bahia use natural remedies as often as possible versus prescription drugs.  Perhaps I could do a list on herbs and leaves found here and their healing properties.  I will have to research that one as the list will be extensive!  Anyone interested in that info please send a paypal donation to me at admin@mooraboutbahia.com.

Without further ado, here is the fruit list!

Abacaxí  (Pineapple)

Brazilian pineapples are the best I’ve ever had.  They are so sweet and juicy its ridiculous!  They are sweet even when green but even better ripe (bright orangish-yellow in color).  Beware though, do not eat the fruit near the stalk or bottom.  Doing so will lead to severe vomiting, and diarrhea and an overall painful feeling that will leave you wanting to die! I am not joking! Believe me we found this out the hard way.

Abacate (Avocado)
Brazilian avocados are plentiful.  There are so many different species to choose from.  I hate the way it is eaten here though.  It is a fruit and the people here prefer to eat it sweet (imagine that).  A lot of Brazilians mix avocado with milk and sugar, yuck!  My wife is Caribbean American (Puerto Rican/Haitian) so we definitely are not used to eating avocados that way.  We prefer to wait until the fruit is soft, scoop it out of the shell and eat it on the side of our meal, in a salad, or spread in a loaf of French bread.  (If you are in Miami, check out Christoph’s Bakery in Little Haiti.  He has the beast bread on the planet!)

Acerola

Acerola 

Acerola are like small cherries.  The sweet, gentle taste is something normally only found in Brazilian fruits. Very refreshing, although my spies tell me that they also were imported from Japan.

Açaí

Açaí

Here is another legendary fruit from Brazil.  Most people here eat the juice of this purple berry.   It is often served in a bowl filled with granola, banana and honey.
Click Here for Organic Acai Juice

Ameixa (Plum)

Amora

Brazilian plums.  No biggie.  Just like plums everywhere else I guess.                               

Amora

Dark purple colored berry.

Banana

Banana are nature’s perfect food.  Bananas are native to Brazil and found everywhere…we have a tree growing right next to our house.  As with all the other fruits here there are many different varieties.  You can even find bananas with purplish-red peels.  We usually makes shakes with bananas and acai (Brazilian wonder fruit).  I don’t understand all the fuss about acai though, bananas are just as great.

Cajú
This is where the cashew nuts come from believe it or not.  There are thousands, maybe millions of types of cashew fruit, and they come on impressively large trees.   This Brazilian fruit looks like a squishy apple with an odd-looking stem growing out of it.  According to botanists, though, the grayish "stem" is actually the fruit, and it encloses the kidney-shaped cashew nut that we're familiar with.  The cashew apple is the yellowish-orange part that's attached to the fruit.  Another fruit that is better juiced!

Caqui

Caqui

The caqui is the fruit that looks like a ripe tomato that had a very thick stork attached to it. They’re very sweet, soft and delicious but my spies tell me they were imported from Japan and are not native to Brazil so it has to lose marks.  We bought some thinking they were tomatoes.

Cabeludinha

Little hairy yellow-orange fruit which grows in many places around Brazil.

Cacao

Cacao

It makes chocolate.  Many people consider eating chocolate a guilty pleasure. But chocolate is made from cacao (cocoa) beans, which in their natural, unprocessed, unadulterated state are rich in nutrients and are beneficial to health.  It's also found all over Brazil.  Recent discoveries have led to cacao being classified as one of nature's superfoods, with innumerable benefits.
Click Here for Raw Organic Cacao

Carambola

Carambola

The yellow-green starfruit looks impressive.  Great eaten straight off of the tree.

Coco (Coconut)

Coconut here is incredible.  Fully mature ones are often used in local dishes here in Bahia, Brazil.  Green coconut water is amazingly refreshing.  I even read somewhere that the coco water can replace plasma in the bloodstream.  Coconut oil is the most healing oil you can consume, and the healthiest choice for cooking with.

Click Here for Raw Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

Cupuaçu

Cupuaçu
Looks like a huge raw potato hanging from a tree. The taste is somewhat bitter.  Everyone here juices it though.  The juice is milky white in color and pretty good.

Figo (Fig)

I’ve never eaten a Brazilian fig.  The trees are found all over the country though.

Conde

Fruta-do-Conde/Nona

Kind of like a small graviola.  Read up on graviola below…

Goiaba (Guava)

Goiaba

A large amount of the Hispanic population in the United States (which has the 2nd largest Hispanic population in the world) eat guava paste but have never actually eaten the raw fruit.  Its sweet and good eaten off the tree and as suco (juice).

Graviola

Graviola

There are many different varieties of this tropical fruit found in Brazil.  For the most part, they are green and spiny on the outside.  The inside is soft, white, with seeds in the center.  I think it tastes good, but my wife doesn’t care for it at all.  Its good off the tree and juiced.  I have even heard that it cures cancer, lol.  Seriously though, check this website: http://www.graviolaleaves.com/  Graviola has really caught on lately as one of Nature's wonders.

Grumix

Grumixama

 Never tasted this but here is a pic.

Guarana

Guarana

A legendary Amazonian fruit, small, red berries that provide ridiculous amounts of caffeine type buzz. Sold all over the world.  The juice from it is made into the number one soft drink here, Antartica.

Jabuticaba

Jabuticaba

A black fruit the size of a cherry that grows in bunches on the trunks of trees, shining impressively in the sun.

Jaca

Jaca

Huge and unique looking fruit.  It is so big and heavy that it grows on the trunk instead of the branches of the tree.  The fruit on the inside is even more interesting to look at.  To me it looks like something from outerspace.  The taste is sweet, I like it and so do my kids but my wife doesn’t care for jaca at all.  Its sticky too, leaves a glue-like film on everything that it touches.

Jambolão

Jambolão

A dark purple fruit shaped like a small pear that hangs from trees.  Leaves purple stains on everything it touches.  It has a sour taste.

Jenipapo

Jenipapo
This is a fruit enjoyed by the indigenous people of Bahia.  Like a small bees’ nest with yellow fruit inside that is so sour it stings worse than bees.  I think this is way better when  juiced.  It tastes kind of like apple sauce.

Jujube

Jujube

Haven't tasted it yet.  Here's a pic.

Laranja (Orange)

Brazilians love freshly squeezed orange juice, just like everywhere else.  I think Florida oranges taste way better.

Longan

Limao (Lemon)

Lemons, what more can I say.  Everyone knows what these are and what they taste like.  Sour.

Longan

Longans are very similar to lychees and rambutans.  Peel and eat but avoid the large seed inside.

Lucuma

Lucuma

Never tasted this.

Macã (Apple)
Brazil apples are alright.  I’ve had better but the apples I was eating in the United States where genetically enhanced, lol.

Manga (Mango)

Brazilian mangos are fresh, juicy and melt in your mouth (kinda like the women of brazil, lol).  They are some of the best in the world.

Maracujá (Passionfruit)

Maracujá

Maracujá Flower

Maracuja looks like something from another planet on the inside.  Seriously.  It is sweet enough to eat straight off of the tree although we juice ours.  I don’t know about the afrodisiatic effect of passionfruit, we don’t need any help in that department (we have four kids, lol).  One thing it does do is put the kids to sleep, so it gets two thumbs up in my book!!!

Look @ the flower for this fruit!

Mamão (Papaya)
You have to get used to papaya.  The flavor is kind of weird but everyone swears it is so good for you.  Brazilian papayas are plentiful, have thousands of varieties and are available most of the year.

Mamey

Mamey

These are about the size of a large sweet potato.   The flesh is salmon-colored, with a sweet, berry-like flavor.  They're great for eating out of hand, or for making fruit salads or smoothies.

Melao (Melon)

Brazilian melon is great.   As usual it is found in many different varieties.  We usually find yellow melons here in Bahia.  Overall its very light and refreshing.  Great to eat on a hot summer day.

Melancia (Watermelon)

Who doesn’t love watermelon?  It’s loved here in Brazil.  So loved that a famous beautiful Brasileira is named after it (Mulher Melancia).  Matter of fact a lot of beautiful women here are named after fruits.  Matter of fact, someone called my wife Mulher Morango (I wasn’t with her, lol) the other day.  Oh well, Brazilians love their fruits and everyone loves Brazil girls .

Morango (Strawberries)

Strawberries will always get good marks from me.

Pitanga

Pitanga

Looks like a mini pepper.  Never tasted it.

Pupunha
Pupunha grows on the trunks of palm trees  in small orangey-red bunches which are very pretty to look at.

Noone knows its name here

Rambutan  (Noone here seems to know what these are called, lol)

 I had to look online for this name.  My spies here in Brazil could not figure out what it is called, even though it is sold on the street.  Noone seems to know the name.  It is spiny and red on the outer shell with a soft white pulp that tastes like grapes.  The seed in the center is pretty big too.

Tangerina (Tangerines)
Tangerines here taste great.  I like them a lot better than the local oranges.

Uva (Grape)

Overall pretty good grapes.  I’ve had better.