The Achacha Origin
The Achacha is a highly prized tropical fruit. It has been cultivated for many years in small holdings and domestic orchards in Bolivia’s Amazon Basin. In its home country it is known as achachairú, however given the Aussie propensity for abbreviation, the last three letters have been dropped and the name Achacha adopted – think of the dance and add an A in front.
The world’s first commercial plantation was established in 2003 in North Queensland, with fruit appearing in 2009. Each year the fruit’s popularity is increasing both within Australia and beyond – in season it finds its way from Palm Creek Plantation to Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Canada. With its sweet, tangy, refreshing taste it adds a new flavour to the fruit bowl.
Taste
Delicious, refreshing, exotic, tangy, effervescent . . . no wonder the name translates as “honey kiss”!
Of all the many exotic fruit I tried during my travels, my favourite and by far the most memorable and addictive in flavour was the achachairú (Achacha) – from an Australian visitor to South America.
It is refreshing to eat at ambient temperature, when served cold, or even frozen. There is a fine balance between its sweetness and its acidity, creating a unique taste sensation. It has exotic appeal similar to the mangosteen, longan, rambutan and lychee. The Achacha is a cousin of the mangosteen which is known as the “queen of tropical fruit” throughout Asia.
How to open an Achacha
- Hold the fruit length wise, pierce the skin with your thumbnail or something sharp (a pinprick would do).
- Squeeze each side of the pierce mark and presto the skin will pop open.
- Keep popping all the way around the fruit.
- Remove the top half of the skin, take the white flesh between your teeth and extract it from the remaining half of the skin. Suck on the seed but you may find it too bitter to eat!
The Chase
In the year 1542, deep in the Amazon…
