Golden Fruit @ Buzios, Brazil ***

Brazilian Fruit Extravaganza (Clockwise from 12 o’clock: Avocado, Honeydew Melon, Passion Fruit, Watermelon, Guava, Starfruit, Papaya, Kumquat, Açai, Pineapple, Mango, Cashew Apple)

Having arrived in Brazil expecting to have all the bounty of the Amazon rainforest within easy reach, it was an inconvenent but surmountable surprise to have to make a special excursion to the Golden Fruit “horti fruiti” (fruiterer) to compile the spread you see before you. Although most of these are actually familiar from my childhood in Singapore, one astringent-tasting knobly orange fruit drew a blank. Although I much prefer guva, mango, and açai, it turns out that caju (cashew apple), the fleshy tuber that the cashew nut grows on is one of the most popular fruits in South America.