The secret is out. Açaí berries that were once known only to the tribes of the Amazon, who consumed the berries for their incredible healing and nutritional properties, are now being enjoyed all over the world from the beaches of Hawaii to the urban jungles of Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. And as you browse through the frozen section of your neighborhood grocery store looking to add some açaí to your cart, you’ll likely be confronted with two choices – açaí berry pulp and açaí berry sorbet. Confused? Don’t be. Because your friends at Cabana are here to help. While you can enjoy the many health benefits of açaí berries through either of these products, there are some key differences that you may want to pay attention to.
Açaí Berry Pulp
This is açaí in as close to its natural form outside of the Amazon rainforest. Açaí berries are highly perishable and become inedible 3 days after harvesting. Which is why the berries have to be transported quickly to a processing facility to be pulped, pasteurized, and frozen within 48 hours after they are harvested. Sometimes, the pulp is sweetened with guarana syrup and infused with citric acid to improve shelf stability. At Cabana, we choose to freeze the berries in its purest form – unsweetened and with zero additives.
Açaí berry pulp is generally sold in boxes of four packs. Each pack contains 100g of frozen pulp squeezed from the finest organic açaí berries grown in the Amazon rainforest. In its unsweetened form, açaí berry pulp taste just like freshly harvested açaí berries, which have a unique earthy flavor that many describe as similar to raw dark chocolate with a hint of raspberries. For those of you who enjoy blending your own açaí bowls or smoothies at home, this is for you! This is also a great option for diabetics and calorie counters as blending your own bowls and smoothies at home allows you to control the ingredients you use and also the sugar content. Just be sure to check the fine print on the packaging to make sure that the açaí berry pulp that you’re buying is unsweetened!
Açaí Berry Sorbet
For those of you who prefer a fuss-free, ready-to-eat option, a pint (or two) of açaí berry sorbet is the way to go! Açaí berry sorbet is made from açaí berry pulp that has been churned in an ice cream making machine with other ingredients and sweeteners. At Cabana, we add a touch of lime juice and some raw cane sugar to our sorbet for flavor.
Açaí berry sorbet is scoopable and can be enjoyed straight out of the pint. Perfect as a convenient and guilt-free frozen dessert to watch Netflix with! But that’s not the only way you can enjoy some açaí berry sorbet. Love making your own açaí bowls but don’t have the time or a blender? Top off two scoops of açaí berry sorbet with some fresh fruit and granola, and voila! And for those of you who are açaí crazy like us, why not try adding a scoop of açaí berry sorbet on top of a freshly blended açaí bowl? Or add a scoop of açaí berry sorbet into a glass of açaí kombucha? The possibilities are endless!