Paulo is where you’re most likely to retrieve this flying-saucer-shaped, slightly sour fruitlet.
This Brazilian fruit tree comes from the savannas in central Brazil. While its name means something along the lines of “bitter when eaten” in Tupi, it’s said to be pretty sweet. Since nobody grows gabirobas commercially, you’ll have to visit the vast expanses to the west of Brasília to get hold of them.
Fruits from the Amazon Basin
Among other Brazilian fruits, the most biodiverse region on the planet just had to gift us with the raw material for making chocolate!
Cacao needs no introduction. In ancient times, it served as a medium of exchange well into southern Mexico. At some point around 1750 BCE, the Olmecs invented the food of the gods that we regularly call chocolate.
In the early 20th century, Brazil was the second-largest producer of cacao worldwide (it’s now fifth). A whole economy centered on the beans developed at the southernmost tip of the state of Bahia, which in turn inspired author Jorge Amado to write a string of bestselling novels (the most celebrated being “Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon”).
7. Brazil Nuts
The earthy flavor of Brazil nuts is overall quite divisive — often along generation lines. A single nut has about 140% of the recommended daily intake of selenium. Since around 1 billion people seem to be selenium-deficient, this comes in handy. But you should go slow: ingesting an excessive amount of selenium is toxic.
The instagrammability of açaí (/ah-sah-eeh/) bowls has allowed for a true boom of the Brazilian açaí berry in the U.S. and several other countries. In southeastern Brazil, we tend to eat the sweetened cream derived from crushed berries much like abroad (yet with way more açaí and fewer toppings).
That’s almost heresy in the fruit’s native Amazon, though. Over there, the cream is not sweet at all and is served instead alongside shrimp or chicken.
The majority of Brazilians are familiar with guaraná’s weird eye shape solely because of soft drink ads. In fact, the gold-colored beverage made from this berry is second only to Coke among Brazilians’ favorite fizzy drinks.
In other news, the fruit itself has twice to five times as much caffeine as coffee!
Cupuaçus are closely related to cacao, down to the same genus. While you won’t easily find the fruit outside the Amazon, its nectar, as well as cupuaçu-filled confections are hot all over Brazil. There’s a wide range of cupuaçu-based cosmetics too.
Brazilian Fruits Originating in the Tropical Americas
Apparently, speaking Romance languages isn’t the one thing that unites the region to the south of the Rio Grande!
11. Cashew Apples
We’ve mentioned this on our post focusing on Brazilian culture, but did you know cashews actually grow from a remarkably sweet fruit? (Well, technically, cashews are the real fruit, whereas the apples are what botanists call “accessory fruit”.)
Just like red wine, cashew apples are rich in tannin. That means they can cause a dry feeling in the mouth when not totally ripe. So their juice and nectar are way more in demand, especially at snack bars across the country.
Because guavas have an intense aroma, they attract fruit flies and are often colonized by larvae. Consequently, the best way of eating them… is as a sweet delicacy, of course! Goiabada is a firm paste that people usually pair with cheese, a match so patently made in heaven it’s known everywhere as Romeu e Julieta!
Looking like bulky figs on the outside, genipaps are wildly popular across northeastern Brazil. As they’re quite seedy and lack a substantial pulp, they’re typically used to make desserts and a liqueur that is famous nationwide. Also, a stunning bluish food coloring is extracted from the unripe fruit.
14. Pitangas aka Brazilian Cherries
Pitangas and jabuticabas (see no. 16) are hands-down the tiniest Brazilian fruits on our list. Yet our very own cherries are a little more bittersweet and less gooey.
They have originated the odd phrase chorar as pitangas, which literally means “to cry (one’s) pitangas” and refers to either complaining a lot or crying 