Pequi
Caryocar brasiliense · Nut
Top 10 pairings
Pequi is the spherical, intensely aromatic fruit of the Brazilian savanna tree Caryocar brasiliense, a culinary icon of the Cerrado. Beneath its green leathery rind lies a soft, golden-yellow oily mesocarp wrapped around a hard, spine-covered stone whose inner kernel ("amêndoa") is also eaten — placing it among the great oil-and-kernel fruits.
Picking a good onedrag
Just dropped, firm and greenSoft, weeping, fermented
A couple of days onEveryday bestThe all-rounder: arroz com pequi, chicken stew, or simmered in oil. Gnaw the pulp off the stone, never bite into it - the endocarp is packed with fine spines.
The rindGreen going tan, still tight
Press itFirm, the barest give under a thumb
Smell itStrong and sweet, faintly cheesy
Drop scar and holesScar dry, darkened at the rim
What you get from one
8.5%
Edible part
11 g of pulp from about 1.5 stones · thick green rind and the spiny stones off
125 g
Weight each
each one