Few dishes carry Brazilian identity like acai in a bowl. But before it became a staple at gyms and beaches across the country, acai was already a central food in the traditional cuisine of Par\u00e1. Riverside communities in the Amazon have eaten the fruit for generations, especially around Bel\u00e9m.<\/p>\n
In the original Par\u00e1 version, locals serve acai savory, as a main course. They do not treat it as the sweet, cold dessert that the rest of the country popularized. Cooks extract the purple cream from the fruit of the acai palm (Euterpe oleracea). They blend it plain or with very little sugar. Then they pair it with fried fish, dried shrimp or beef jerky. They also add cassava or tapioca flour, which gives the dish its texture. Regional food experts consider this combination \u2014 acai with fried fish \u2014 the signature dish of Bel\u00e9m cuisine.<\/p>\n
The sweetened version, now known worldwide as acai in a bowl, gained fame starting in Rio de Janeiro during the 1980s and 1990s. Surfers and athletes began eating acai as a quick energy source. They blended the cream with guaran\u00e1 syrup or grenadine and topped it with granola, banana and other fruits. This format \u2014 served cold, in bowls, with varied toppings \u2014 spread across Brazil and later the world. Thus, it gave rise to today’s billion-dollar acai industry.<\/p>\n
A\u00e7a\u00ed is rich in antioxidants, healthy fats and fiber. Today, the fruit provides one of the main sources of income for extractive communities in the Amazon, who depend on sustainable harvesting for their livelihood. In Bel\u00e9m, families still eat acai for lunch or dinner, paired with fish, just as they have for decades. This shows that, long before becoming a fitness trend, acai was always, above all, real food. More data on the fruit’s supply chain is available on the website of Embrapa<\/a>, Brazil’s agricultural research agency. For more Brazilian food stories, check OnTheNet’s Cuisine section<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Few dishes carry Brazilian identity like acai in a bowl. But before it became a staple at gyms and beaches across the country, acai was already a central food in the traditional cuisine of Par\u00e1. Riverside communities in the Amazon have eaten the fruit for generations, especially around Bel\u00e9m. How Traditional A\u00e7a\u00ed Is Prepared in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[744],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cuisine"],"yoast_head":"\n