Origin / Growing regions:
Originally from Central America, acerolas are now grown in other (sub)tropical countries and regions, including Brazil, the West Indies, Mexico, Peru and the Caribbean islands.
The acerola is the stone fruit of the acerola bush, an evergreen plant that grows to a height of two to three metres. Although the acerola is also known as the Barbados Cherry or West Indian Cherry, it is not related to the common cherry.
The large, shiny oval fruits, which range in colour from yellowish-orange to red and measure between one and three centimetres in diameter, bear a certain resemblance to the common cherry. Because the pulp of the acerola is very soft, the fruits are processed immediately after harvesting to produce puree, juice, marmalade or acerola powder.
The fruit of the acerola bush is extremely sour and has a slightly “apple-like” aroma.
Besides its extraordinarily high vitamin C content (roughly 50 to 100 times that of oranges), the acerola is also rich in provitamin A as well as vitamins B1 and B6. Due to this unique composition, the acerola has a very strong antioxidant effect on human cells and the human immune system.
Did you know…
…that Eckes-Granini has been using acerola to enrich hohes C with natural vitamin C since the early 1990s?