Cambuci

What it is

About 6 cm (2.4 in) across, a cambuci looks like a little flying saucer. Inside is juicy, creamy flesh with a few seeds. It has a little sweetness, but acidity leads the flavour.

The thin skin stays green as the fruit ripens, turning only a little lighter or more yellowish. You know a cambuci is ripe when it softens and starts falling from the branches.

Where it comes from

Cambuci, Campomanesia phaea, belongs to the myrtle family. It is native to the Atlantic Forest, with trees in Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Overexploitation once left it threatened with extinction; today it's grown mainly in São Paulo, Minas Gerais and the Serra do Mar.

Around São Paulo's Serra do Mar, the Rota do Cambuci works with family farmers to bring back growing and eating it. The route links food festivals and visits in places including São Paulo, Rio Grande da Serra and Santo André.

How it's eaten where it grows

Cambuci isn't an easy fruit to eat raw, so since colonial times it has flavoured cachaça. In São Paulo it also goes into juice, cakes, truffles and jam. Geleia de cambuci starts with frozen pulp warmed in a pan, then stirred with sugar until it thickens.

Along the Rota do Cambuci, cooks use it in anything from a simple vinaigrette to a cheesecake topped with the fragrant jam.

How it's grown

The tree reaches about 3–6 m (10–20 ft) and suits cool subtropical conditions. Its large white flowers usually appear from August to November and draw many birds. Cambuci is also planted as an ornamental tree in gardens and along streets.

When and where you'll find it

In São Paulo state, cambuci usually ripens from late summer into autumn. In Paranapiacaba, the harvest starts around April, when the village holds its cambuci festival, and the Caminhos do Cambuci fair fills the Antigo Mercado on weekends and holidays.

Frozen pulp is the other way to meet it: Agro Asmussen lists organic cambuci pulp in 1 kg packs. That's the form used for geleia de cambuci, melted straight into the saucepan.