Araza

Araza (Eugenia stipitata) is a fruit tree that belongs to the Myrtov family. This small tree, which reaches a height of only two and a half meters, differs in that its branches begin to grow directly from the base of the plant. The length of the oval-elliptic simple leaves of the arase is on average 6-18 centimeters with a width of 4 to

9.

5. Arase inflorescences are collected in brushes, with two to five medium-sized flowers usually present in one inflorescence with five oval-shaped petals.

Interestingly, araza refers to those species of trees that like the open area of ​ ​ the tropics - in a wild form, in large numbers, the plant is found near the Amazon River. It is worth noting that araza is rather unpretentious and is well adjacent to its closest relative - Kama-kama (also a fruit tree).

Arase fruits are spherical in shape. The average size of the fruit is 12 centimeters in diameter with a weight of 750 grams. The skin of the arase fruit is quite thin and colored yellow. Two elongated seeds are formed inside the mature fruit - their length is about

2. 5 centimeters.

By the way, the weight of the fruits of wild-growing arase is much less - it hardly exceeds 300 grams, and in diameter such a fruit is only seven centimeters. Araz is cultivated in Brazil, eastern Ecuador and Peru. A special property of arase is the high yield of the plant - up to 30 tons of fruits are often removed from 1 hectare, while not particularly caring for trees.

In fresh form, araz is practically not used, which is due to its acidic taste and a significant content of ascorbic acid. In its chemical composition, the fruits of arase are similar to the fruits of the Kama-Kama plant, with the only difference that in the latter the content of vitamin C is half that. In general, the fruits of arase, one might say, fully meet the requirements for fruit crops and are distinguished by a pleasant aroma, color and consistency.

Be that as it may, even despite the pronounced sour taste of arase, the subtle aroma of its fruits does not allow you to completely ignore this exotic fruit - it is quite often used to prepare canned fruits, juices, jams, ice cream, soft drinks and sorbets. True, after heat treatment, the aroma of the fruit is destroyed.

In addition, arase berries are unusually sensitive to pressure and absolutely do not tolerate transportation. Another drawback is that they deteriorate quite quickly. It is for these reasons that araz is extremely rarely exported to European countries and we know practically nothing about this plant.