The palm shoot, or fresh palmito, is the tender terminal bud of certain palms — the soft, ivory core buried at the growing tip of the trunk, cut fresh and cooked or eaten the same day in the palm belts of Brazil and Costa Rica. Unlike the pale, acidic hearts of palm sold in cans and jars, the fresh shoot is a firm, sweet, faintly grassy vegetable that is sautéed, grilled, folded into pastries and gratins, or shaved raw — a regional delicacy that must be used quickly before it oxidises and turns fibrous.