Bacaba

What it is

The palm is Oenocarpus bacaba. Its purple fruit changes character during preparation: warm water softens the outer flesh, which is mashed into a paste. Coarse straining removes the seeds, then a finer sieve finishes the drink. The result is creamy, with a light-brown colour quite different from the fruit’s skin.

Where it comes from

Bacaba’s range runs from Venezuela through the Guianas to northern Brazil. In Brazil it grows in both the Amazon forest and the Cerrado, the country’s tropical savannah. It is found most often in Pará and Amazonas, in forests on ground that stays above floodwater and in woods growing back after clearing.

How it's eaten where it grows

The Umutina people of Barra do Bugres, Mato Grosso, gather bacaba in the forest to make bacaba chicha. Chicha can be drunk just after preparation or allowed to ferment.

Bacaba also goes into bolo de bacaba, a cake with a glass of the fruit drink mixed into the batter. The topping combines more bacaba with condensed milk and margarine.

How it's grown

Bacaba palms can reach 20 m (66 ft). In Barreiras, Pará, collectors head out early in the morning, before the trunks heat up in the sun. They climb with a peconha, a loop that helps grip the trunk, and cut the fruit bunches with a knife. The cut bunches go onto a plastic sheet, where their small branches are cut off and the fruit stripped away.

When and where you'll find it

In Barreiras, the harvest and local drink trade usually run from December through March. Boats carry the fruit by river to the town of Almeirim, where drink makers buy it straight from the collectors as it reaches the port. Within Barreiras, households also prepare the drink for their own tables and for sale.