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Though acai (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) was almost unheard of outside Brazil until just a few years ago, most health-conscious people these days have at least heard of the acai fruit or acai products. On the market today are many products such as juices, powders, and tablets made with acai or claiming to be pure acai. How can you as a consumer be sure the acai products you choose contain a significant amount of acai and that it is processed in a way that gives you the full benefits acai has to offer? This brief rundown on production of acai puree should give you enough information to make an educated selection.

Acai is the fruit of a palm tree (botanical name Euterpe oleracea) native to the Amazon Rainforest which grows as tall as 50 to 80 feet. The acai fruit, commonly referred to as an acai berry, is similar in size and color to a dark purple grape, but is only about 10% pulp and skin. It is about 90% hard seed. The acai fruit grows in clumps on stalks which come from the trunk of the palm, high on the tree but below the branches. When the fruit is ripe, harvesters climb the palm trees and cut down the fruit-bearing stalks. Each stalk bears hundreds of acai berries.

The harvested fruit is first put into tubs where it goes through an initial washing step. Next the berries are placed in a mechanical washer where they are cleaned and any plant debris is removed. After washing, the berries move along a conveyor belt to an auger which separates the skin and pulp from the seed. Seeds are not part of the acai puree.

As mentioned, acai fruit is about 99% seed. It takes 7 kilos of whole acai fruit to yield 1 kilo of acai pulp. This results in about a 12-14% acai to water ratio in the puree. The acai puree is a milky purplish-brown color. Acai juices are generally blends containing acai and other fruits. To get the most from your acai selection, choose an acai juice blend containing a high percentage of acai – some blends unfortunately contain very little acai but contain a large percentage of grape, pear, and prune juices. There are acai juice blends on the market containing more than a dozen other fruits! If acai is the most anti-oxidant rich fruit, why thin the juice down with so many other juices? Though a variety of colorful fruits is always a beneficial part of a healthy diet, it would be more nutritious and economical to get these in their whole form at your local produce store.

Since acai fruit has such a low water content, it really isn’t possible to make a pure acai juice with no water or other juices added, but choose an acai blend containing other antioxidant rich fruits such as pomegranate, raspberry, elderberry, and camu-camu (another Amazonian fruit with a very high vitamin C content).

You can also find pure 100% acai in freeze-dried powder form and in capsules containing freeze dried powder. These products provide the highest possible concentration of acai and least loss of nutrient value through processing.

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