Rather than having four seasons in a year, São Luis experiences continuous high temperatures and humidity with a rainy season between January and July and a dry season that climaxes between September and November. The following is a list of the ten most popular fruits found in São Luis, let your eyes and ears feast!
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| Caju |
Caju – This fruit comes from a tree called cajueiro, and is a native fruit to the North of Brasil. It’s bright color ranges from yellow to orange, but the color alone is not what makes this fruit so eye-catching. Hanging from the bottom of the fruit is a brown hook, curious what that is? Caju…Cashew…it’s a nut! The brown hook is actually the cashew nut, did you ever know that those nuts come from a fruit? In Portuguese the cashew nut is called castanha, so this nut is called castanha-de-caju. There are two types of casatanhas in Brasil, castanha-de-caju is the one we call a cashew in the U.S.A. and the other is castanha-do-para which we call the Brasil Nut in the U.S.A. Since the nut and the seed are on the outside of the, the fruit is actually the nut and is just attached to the edible yellow/orange part. This is a fruit I enjoy looking at but I do warn that it has a very strong scent and taste.
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| Maracuja |
Maracujá – This fruit is known as passion fruit in the U.S.A., where it it is difficult to find whereas in Brasil it is bountiful. The most common color of this fruit in São Luis is a large, yellow but in Brasil the smaller, purple variety exists as well. Commonly maracujá is consumed as a juice with the seeds chopped up by a blender. The flavor of the fruit is so sweet and powerful that it is also a favorite in desserts where you can have passion fruit mousse or pudding. One of my favorite ways of enjoying this fruit is in the Brasilian drink called a caipirinha, where this fruit makes it so pungent and delicious!
Pitanga – This is a funny little red fruit that is native to the south of Brasil but popular in the North. It’s a about the size of a big cherry, but shaped like a pumpkin. The ridges that made me refer to this fruit as pumpkin, make it appear as if its ready to pop open, and once you take a bite you know immediately it really was packed with flavor. Inside it has a little pit but the rest is edible. When I tried this fruit for the first time it really did taste like a shot of Tang in a bite. Depending on how deep the color red is will determine whether the fruit is sweet or sour. The darker the red the more sweet it will be.
Cupuaçu – This fruit is used from food to cosmetics. In regards to cosmetics, this fruit is popular because it has properties that hydrate skin. The fruit has a smooth brown cask that feels a little like suade, and inside is the yellow pulp with its seeds. I usually try this fruit as a mousse where the flavor of the fruit is rich and smooth. The flavor is so rich and smooth that sometimes in the process of making chocolate sometimes the seeds of cupuaçu will be used. It is native to the North of Brasil and is definitely one of the favorite flavors in mousses, puddings, and ice cream here in São Luis.
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| Jussara Palmeira |
Jussara – In São Luis people use the name Jussara, but the commonly known name is Açai. This fruit grows on a Jussara palm tree, palmeira. When it has been taken off the tree it looks just the same as blueberries, but on the tree the Jussara berries collect on fan like branch. In the U.S.A. we are now familiar with Açai in fruit bowls, and the flavor really is similar as what we eat at home. The thing that’s interesting is the mode of preparation here. Like at home, here people will eat it as a juice or blended as a fruit bowl, but the preferred mode is with farinha (a topping that is made from the flour of the mandioca root and is baked with onions and butter to made little hard rocks that make a good crunch), sugar, or even with dried shrimp. I didn’t try it with the shrimp but I did try it with farinha and sugar and it was delicious, the farinha added the same crunch as granola would. Something that’s really cool is the way people describe the process of picking the berries, where the whole palm tree is used. Men will make ropes to pick the berries from the fallen palm leaves as well as baskets to collect the berried with. If you call it Jussara you’re truly from São Luis.
Buriti – Native to the Northeast of Brasil this tiny red fruit falls in a huge cluster like a waterfall from the palm tree Buriti. The appearance of the fruit is a small, red oval that has a quilted texture and appearane and it has a sour taste. Most commonly the fruit will be used in liquers and to flavor desserts and ice creams, but it also has an oil that is used in a lot of cooking, and research has shown that the oil can even be as protection against the sun! The Buriti palm tree is used for many purposes, the palm leave create a variety of art and useful items. One can find artistic place mats, hot plates, cup holders, notebook covers, and even purses made from the palm leaves. There are sandals and wallets too, and all the work is beautifully woven and sometimes dyed as well.
Pinha – Also going by the name Ata, this fruit originated in Central America, expanded into Asia, and was only later introduced in Brasil. The fruit is perfect for the Northeast because it prefers hot and dry climates, and really flourishes during the summer in the state of Maranhão. From the outside the fruit looks like something in between an artichoke and a green pine cone that hasn’t opened up yet. The fruit is durable, but easily split apart along its grooves. Inside there huge black seeds that are covered by the delicious white pulp that you eat. You pop the whole black seed in your mouth enjoy the sweet pulp that encompasses it and then discard the seed. It’s really one of my favorite fruits. It’s sweet, light, and interactive, and it looks really interesting.
Acerola – This fruit really does look like a cherry and its small size does not mean it has a small flavor. It is sweet and one of the most popular juices in São Luis. This fruit is well known for its high content of Vitamin C. With a strong knowledge of the properties in local fruits it is common to hear that if you have cold you should have some acerola juice to give you the boost you need.
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| Manga |
Manga – Manga, which is pronounced like Mawn-ga, is Mango in English and in São Luis it grows beautifully. The massive, strong mango trees are full of foliage that branches of mangos fall from. Tables are filled with a bounty of mangos for breakfast and dinner, and mangos can be served for dessert at lunch. Unlike imagining fruit as only going well with sugar, people in Brasil with enjoy a slice of mango with some salt. Although it went against my instinct to mix fruit and salt, I tried it and was pleasantly surprised with a nice balance of taste.
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| Mamão |
