Cupuaçu, the New Super Fruit

Cupuacu is a little to medium tree in the Rainforest canopy which belongs to the Chocolate family and can reach equal to 20 metres tall. The native Indians have employed the fruit as a principal food origin for years. This fruit is known for its creamy exotic tasting pulp. The pulp is used throughout Brazil and Peru to produce fresh juice, ice cream, jam and tarts. The fruit matures in the rainy months from January to April and is viewed a culinary delicacy in South American cities. The seeds carry a sweet-smelling, white butter, which can also be employed to produce excellent-quality white chocolate.

Cupuacu also has a unusual type of polyphenols named theograndins. Theograndins have powerful antioxidant activity and offer cardiovascular protective and immune supportive benefits, which could be super crucial to diabetics or anyone with a weakened immune system.

Benefits

Some of the health benefits in this delicious fruit are: It could assist increase your libido, assist protect your heart, boost your energy and stamina, assist build and strengthen your immune system, bring down cholesterol levels, and even make your skin more healthy and younger looking. It is also a cell-protective antioxidant cocktail.

Except for a lighter, slightly reddish color, cupulate is almost indistinguishable from high-quality chocolate. However, it is far lower in caffeine than chocolate. It contains amounts of thacrine (tetramethyluric acid) versus the dominant xanthines (caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline) found in cacao. Specifically, research shows the quantities of theobromine and caffeine found in cupuaçu run “one or more orders of magnitude lower than in cacao,” according to Moats.

Cupuacu puree, juice and pulp is making an appearance in health food shops throughout the United States and other regions of the world. It is also being mixed with other powerful infusions such as acai and yerba to create nutrient-packed juices that can yield tremendous health benefits.

Cupuacu Recipe: Batida de Cupuaçu or Batida de Graviola

50 ml of cupuaçu or soursop juice
25 ml of cachaça
a splash of Nestlé or Parmalat Table Cream
2 ice cubes, crushed

Shake and pour. The table cream, which is considerably thicker than what we call heavy cream, could be found in most supermarkets. Frozen soursop (called guanábana in Spanish) could be found in the Latino or Ethnic part of your supermarket. Frozen cupuaçu pulp could be found in Brazilian groceries around the U.S.