I don’t know if the claimed health benefits are true, but at least it is probably better than sugary processed alternatives, such as a handful of marshmallows. Needless to say, we have reason to look forward to açaí season.
When you move to a new place with a different culture, you face a lot of challenges. But there are also some benefits. One of the perks of living here is the abundance of açaí. You may have seen this advertised as an exotic ingredient in hydration drinks. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not pronounced ah-KAH-yee, but rather, ah-sah-YEE. Whenever you see the “ç” symbol in Portuguese, it makes an “s” sound. But regardless of the pronunciation, we have acquired a taste for it, and the consumption of it has become a highlight of many a day for our family. We are sad that it is going out of season now, but we have stocked up some in our freezer to last us for a little while. The tall palm in the middle is an açaí tree. When we are traveling on the river, I often notice them growing on the banks. These stalks eventually are full of little berries that turn a dark purple color when ripe. These stalks are full of green berries. You sometimes see a canoe carrying a load of ripe stalks. (The wooden canoe in the middle) The berries have large pits with a thin layer of gritty purple pulp and a waxy outer skin. We don’t know a lot about the process of getting them into edible form, since we have been mostly on the eating end of things. As far as we understand, people typically throw them in a tub of water and smash it around until the water is full of the pulp. Then they remove the seeds and stuff. This picture is of a villager making it, but people also sell it here in the city (which consequently led to our addiction). The resulting liquid is very purple, usually with the consistency of thick tomato juice. To be honest, it doesn’t taste very good plain. Our favorite way to eat it is with farinha (pictured above) and a little brown sugar or powdered milk. Maybe we will have to discuss farinha in a future post, but for now, suffice it to say it is made out of the same root as tapioca and the granules are kind of hard, but it doesn’t have a very strong taste. When it gets wet, it soaks up tons of water and has a thickening effect, making it possible to eat our snack with a spoon.
I don’t know if the claimed health benefits are true, but at least it is probably better than sugary processed alternatives, such as a handful of marshmallows. Needless to say, we have reason to look forward to açaí season.
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AuthorWe are normal people who believe that God would have us serve Him in Brazil. We are saddened by the existence of people who do not have access to the gospel due to their location and language. We want to live among such a people group and plant a church among them, shepherding the believers as they grow to maturity. Archives
November 2019
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