Açaí (acai in English) is an Amazonian fruit that was traditionally eaten by the indigenous peoples of the Amazon region. It's a small, highly-nutritious berry. There is a legend in the northern region of Pará that during a time of famine, one of the various tribes in the region discovered the açaí berry and began consuming it to save the tribe.
Nowadays, the açaizeiro, the name of the palm tree that the berry comes from, is cultivated by farmers. The berry açaí is exported throughout Brazil and the world. The north still maintains the traditional style of eating açaí, mashed into a liquid form with farofa (toasted maize flour) and sugar. Generally, açai is eaten with fish, shrimp, or other types of seafoods of the northern region of Brazil.
In the south, açaí is rarely seen. When eaten, is usually in a frozen form, such as an ice cream flavor.
I tried the berry açaí, mashed into a liquid form and eaten every day by many that live in the northern region of Brazil.
The first time I tried açaí, I remember not liking it very much. I tried it without any sugar and found it to be quite bitter. However, seeing the tio (uncle) of the house eat açaí with fish every day for dinner, I worked up the courage to try the dish again.
