Acai berries are a small, purple and black round fruit that measure roughly 1 inch around. These fruit are very similar in size to grapes, although they have less pulp than grapes. Acai berries grow on palm tree branches in clusters of 700 to 900 berries each. Each year, the Acai Palm trees produce two crops of these berries. The outer skin of the Acai berries is either green or purple in color, which is dependant upon the age of the berry and its variety as well. On the interior of the fruit, there is a thin and pulpy consistency. Further inside is the large seed, which actually comprises 80% of the total size of the fruit.
The Acai berries are collected for food by many of the indigenous populations in the Brazilian rainforest. Studies conducted there have concluded that the Acai Palm is one of the most important plants to the people who live in the Amazon rainforest area. This is due to the fact that the acai berries account for around 42% of the indigenous peoples diet. The berries pulp and juices are commonly used as part of smoothies, juice blends or sodas. People in northern Brazil serve acai berries in gourds with tapioca. And based upon the local preferences, honey and sugar may be added to the mix.
And in southern Brasil, the berries are eaten cold and have granola mixed in with them. This is an emerging fad that uses acai berries as an energy booster. Throughout the entire country of Brazil, acai is also a popular juice and flavor of ice cream. Since the integrity of the acai berry diminishes quickly after being harvested, you will usually only find berries outside of the growing area in the form of fruit pulp or juice. And even then, the juice and pulp is freeze-dried, dried or frozen. There are many new companies now who actually produce health drinks, juices, sorbets and yogurts that are created with acai berries and then have different fruits mixed in. Because of the fact that the acai berry seed is almost 80% of the berries total size, many cultures will grind the seeds for use in organic plant soils or for livestock food.
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