JABOTICABA, SAVOR OF MY CHILDHOOD

Photos by Sonia A. Mascaro

I have in my orchard two "Jaboticabeiras", (Jaboticaba tree), a small evergreen tropical tree native to Brazil, planted circa 25 years. Its take much time to bear fruits, but now every year they are loaded with fruits. The jaboticabas are a delicious fruit that have been part of my memory and when I eaten them I recaptured the savor of my childhood. These Jaboticaba trees were always around... in my parents farmer, in the backyard of my grandmother's house, in the orchard of relatives in the country... I did in October 2005 a post about this tree and that Jaboticaba post according to the Keyword Analysis of StatCounter is a very popular page till nowadays.

Jaboticaba tree usually reach only to 10-25ft high, though sometimes up 40ft. A slow growing tree, it may take 8 or more years before it bears fruit. After flowering, the fruit develops quickly, sometimes in as few as 3 weeks. In this season (October), all the branches of the tree are fruitful. Then …it’s a delicious feast!

The jaboticaba fruits look like purple grapes and it has a very sweet, slightly aromatic, translucent pulp with a pleasant grape flavour. The whole fruit is consumed fresh. The fruits are often used for making jelly. Jaboticaba is a member of the Myrtaceae (Myrtle) family and is known botanically as Eugenia cauliflora. ("Cauliflora" means that it flowers and bears fruit on the trunk, mature branches and exposed roots.). The word "jaboticaba" is said to have been derived from the Tupi term, jabotim, for turtle, and means "like turtle fat", presumably referring to the fruit pulp. Jaboticaba trees grow best on deep, rich and well-drained soil. If the trees are heavily irrigated in the dry season, they may bear several crops a year.

Jaboticabas, um sabor de infância...
Tenho aqui no meu pomar duas pequenas Jaboticabeiras que foram plantadas a cerca de 25 anos. Demorou muito para que elas frutificassem, mas agora todo o ano elas ficam carregadas! Em Outubro de 2005 fiz um post sobre a Jaboticabeira e de acordo com as análises do contador StatCounter, esse post é muito popular e bastante procurado pelo Google Search até hoje. Falar de jaboticaba para os brasileiros é um tanto redundante, pois qual é a criança, principalmente do sudeste, que não se deliciou comendo jabuticabas apanhadas do pé? As deliciosas jaboticabas fazem parte da minha memória gustativa da infância. Elas estavam sempre lá, no sítio dos meus pais em Itu, no quintal da casa da minha avó, na casa de parentes pelo interior afora... Assim, os detalhes técnicos ficam só em inglês, porque a maioria dos estrangeiros desconhece essa árvore "exótica" e ficam admirados ao verem essas frutinhas agarradas aos troncos das árvores!