🫐 From superfood to superfuel

During COP30 in Belém in November, delegations from around the globe were curious to partake in what is arguably the most iconic food of Brazil’s Amazonian North region: açaí. The name of these dark purple berries is hardly unfamiliar worldwide, with the fruit’s pulp made into a sweetened, fibrous sorbet-like product consumed in smoothies and bowls — championed for its status as a “superfood” due to its high concentration of antioxidants.

Not only were visitors interested in sampling açaí straight from the source — with Pará being home to 90% of Brazil’s production of the fruit — but they were keen to try the berries in their most traditional form: pulped and unsweetened, served alongside savory dishes like fish and seafood.

While the taste of unadulterated açaí is far more acquired than the stuff found in healthy juice bars outside the Amazon, the climate conference in Belém also opened people’s eyes to other uses for açaí — including for making cement…

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