Pitanga

Pitanga, commonly called Surinam cherry or Brazilian cherry, is a small fruit from the Eugenia uniflora tree. The fruit is distinctive in appearance — roughly the size of a cherry but with deep ribs that give it a pumpkin-like shape, ripening from green to orange to deep red or near-black.

The flavour is complex: sweet and tart with a resinous, slightly peppery finish that is unlike any common fruit. Pitanga can be eaten fresh, made into jams and jellies, blended into juices, or used in sauces and desserts. The riper and darker the fruit, the sweeter and less resinous it tends to be.

In Australia, pitanga trees grow well in subtropical and warm temperate climates and are sometimes found as ornamental hedging plants in Queensland and northern New South Wales. The fruit is rarely sold commercially but is enjoyed by home growers and available at some farmers’ markets.