PITANGA
EUGENIA UNIFLORA. Family: MYRTACEAE Other names include Surinam cherry, Brazilian cherry, cayenne cherry, monkimonki kersie, ñangapirí, or shimarucu.
This berry is an interesting one. Have you ever tried it? The first time we tried it, we weren't really fans. Then we found out, the ones we ate were overripe. To me, an overripe pitanga starts to have a texture similar to a pickled or cooked red pepper, and this texture, combined with the unique flavor, wasn't super pleasant. I can see why it also has the name "cayenne cherry", because some of the flavors, you associate with peppers, are there. Not that it's spicy, but it has these earthy flavors, that get much more potent, as the berry ages. So, to me, and to us, getting to them the second they ripen, is the key. Then they are truly delicious and the flavor is very hard to describe. You simply have to try them. They are also beautiful looking, and come in both red, yellow and deep purple colors.
Pitanga is native to Surinam and Brazil’s rain forests. Because the plant is hardy, resistant to pests and grows easily, it has also been introduced in places like South Africa, Jamaica, Java, Florida, Hawaii, and throughout South and Central America.
Unless you travel to one of the places pitanga grows, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to find it fresh anywhere. The fruits are really delicate and start to go bad quickly, so it can’t be shipped internationally. However, it is sometimes possible to find pitanga products, especially ones made out of pitanga seed oil for skin and hair.
Pitanga fruit is often eaten fresh or made into juice, jellies, pickles, salsas, desserts or even cocktails. For medicinal benefits though, it’s usually the leaves and seeds of pitanga which are used; the essential oils are extracted and then taken internally or applied to the skin. Sometimes pitanga leaves are consumed as tea. It’s also common to find pitanga essential oils in soaps and beauty products.
So far, we haven't really seen any particualt "season" for fruiting, when it comes to pitanga. It has fruited consistently, with short "breaks" of a month or two here and there, so it really seems to fruit whenever it feels like it, which is great. Some of its fruiting cycles are heavier than others, and may have something to do with the rains - the more water, the larger both the amounts of fruits and also their size.
A few fun facts about pitanga:
A 2015 study published in the journal "Antioxidants" found that an aqueous extract of dried leaves of Surinam cherry helped preserve insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells. This is mainly because the Eugenia uniflora leaves are rich in anti-inflammatory compounds such as phenols and flavonoids. Researchers stated that the therapeutic potential of the leaf infusion for diabetes management needed to be further explored.
Surinam cherry has a high content of antioxidants, particularly phenols. A comparative study of antioxidants in 10 exotic Brazilian fruits, published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, found that surinam cherry ranked higher than others. Phenols have potent free radical scavenging power, which helps prevent oxidative stress and damage to cells.
A one-cup serving of pitanga has 45.5 mg of vitamin C, according to the USDA National Nutrient Database. It also has a healthy dose of vitamin A (130 mg) and potassium (178 mg).
The seeds of the fruit have a resinous flavor and should be avoided. People with allergy sensitivities may have trouble with the resin fragrance in the leaves and fruit. It was found that when dogs were given the whole fruit by children, they suffered from diarrhea.
Essential oil from pitanga leaves is found in many beauty products. It is applied to skin to prevent wrinkles and to hair to rejuvenate it. While there is little scientific evidence that pitanga gets rid of wrinkles, the high levels of antioxidants and hydroxy acids in pitanga could help tighten skin. Sesquiterpenes compounds in pitanga help calm the skin and repair cellular damage. Much like aguaje and mongongo oil, the antioxidants and anti-microbial properties of pitanga oil also could help treat acne.
One of the main health benefits of pitanga is in fighting infections, including viruses, bacteria and fungal infections. Numerous studies show that pitanga essential oils have natural anti-microbial properties. The oil effectively inhibited bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Streptococcus and E. coli as well as Candida fungi and viruses like Dengue and malaria.
The leaves are spread on some house floors in Brazil so that they exude a smell that repels flies when crushed underfoot