Will Camu Camu Be The Next Amazonian 'It' Fruit?
Editor's Note: Here at The Salt we get a lot of pitches from companies extolling the virtues of a new "superfood."
Recently, a company called Amazon Origins wrote to us about their supplement made with camu camu berry, "the Amazon's latest superfruit." According to Amazon Origins, World Cup fans were discovering the berry in Brazil and getting hooked. Camu camu, they claimed, would soon dethrone aai – another Amazonian berry that's earned a place in the crowded U.S. health food market.
So we called up NPR's Sao Paulo bureau and asked them to investigate. What's the deal with camu camu? And is it really that popular in Brazil? Paula Moura, an NPR researcher, reports.
I had never tried camu camu when The Salt asked me about it.
Here in Brazil, in fact, hardly anyone has heard of it. But I went to Sao Paulo City Market, the best place to shop for exotic fruits in the city, on a mission to find it.
No luck: Vendors said I'd come at the wrong season, and even in our summer months, it would be hard to find. I'd have better luck in Peru, where some people use it to make juice and jam, or mix it in with ice cream or yogurt.
It seems like consumers outside South America are far more excited about this strange red and purple berry than us. And that's mostly due to its super-high concentration of vitamin C.
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