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Açaí Palm (IPA ) is a member of the genus Euterpe, which contains 7 species of palms native to tropical Central and South America, from Belize south to Brazil and Peru, growing mainly in floodplains and swamps. more...

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The genus is named after the muse Euterpe of Greek mythology. Euterpe are tall slender attractive palms growing to 15-30 meters tall, with pinnate leaves up to 3 meters long. Many of the palms that were once in the genus Euterpe have now be reclassified into the genus Prestoea (Riffle, 2003). The species Euterpe oleracea is usually called Açaí Palm, after the Portuguese name for the beverages made from its fruit. The vernacular name is also sometimes spelled Assai Palm in English.

The fruit, a small, round, black-purple drupe about 1 inch in diameter, similar in appearance and size to a grape but with less pulp, is produced in branched panicles of 700 to 900 fruits. Two crops of fruit are produced per year. The fruit has a single large seed about 7–10 mm in diameter. The epicarp of the ripe fruits is a deep purple color, or green, depending on the kind of açaí and its maturity. The mesocarp is pulpy and thin, with a consistent thickness of 1 mm or less. It surrounds the voluminous and hard endocarp which contains a seed with a diminutive embryo and abundant endosperm. The seed makes up about 80% of the fruit (Schauss, 2006c).

Harvesting and uses

Stem

Palm hearts (the soft inner growing tip of the palm, particularly from Euterpe edulis but also from Euterpe oleracea) are consumed, often in salads. The extraction of the palm's heart involves the inevitable death of the entire palm tree, as no new branches will grow after its growing tip is removed. Given that harvesting kills the tree and is a costly and labour intensive task, palm heart dishes are regarded as a delicacy more than a staple diet; palm's heart is sometimes called "Millionaire's Salad" due to its high price. The Wall Street Journal published an article in 2002 stating that palmiteiros, or palm poachers, are illegally cutting down 5,000-10,000 palm trees per week for these hearts of palm .

Fruit

An alternative to the indiscriminate harvesting of the hearts of palm is the use of the berries, which produce a crop twice per year. Utilizing the berries contributes to the local economy of the rainforest while saving the life of the trees. In a study of three traditional Caboclo populations in the Amazon region of Brazil, açaí palm was described as the populations' most important plant species because the fruit makes up such a major component of their diet (up to 42% of the total food intake by weight), and is additionally economically valuable in the region (Murrieta et al., 1999). The juice and pulp of açaí fruits (Euterpe oleracea) are frequently used in various juice blends, smoothies, sodas, and other beverages. In northern Brazil, açaí is traditionally served in cuias with tapioca and sometimes sugar. Açaí has become a fad in southern Brazil, where it is consumed cold as açaí na tijela ("açaí in the bowl"). Açaí juice and blends are no longer limited to the Amazon region, but are now a part of the world wide market. The fruits deteriorate rapidly after harvest, so outside the tree's growing region the fruit is generally only available as juice or fruit pulp that has been frozen, dried, or freeze dried. Recently it has been shown that the high ORAC antioxidant value of the açaí fruit was greatly enhanced when a freeze-drying process was utilized to preserve the fruit pulp compared to other drying methods (Schauss, 2006c). (See antioxidant section below).

Read more at Wikipedia.org