Remarks on Brazilian Esculents and Fruits. 33 1 



fish or flesh ; or they are mixed and boiled with the food, and considered very 

 wholesome. 



Every traveller, on leaving Europe, is very anxious to become acquainted 

 with the tropical fruits, as, with the exception of their botanical definition, 

 they have not been much noticed. But to European palates and constitutions, 

 they do not afford that relish which our native fruits do, and, accordingly, I 

 must confess that (with the exception of the ananas) none of them, at least 

 in their present state of cultivation, can be compared with the peaches, pears, 

 raspberries &c, of Europe. The general character of all Brazilian fruits is a 

 certain mucilaginous sweetness, which is more or less insipid, and without much 

 fragrance, to which, besides, in most of them (for example, in the manga and 

 pitanga), a terebinthine taste is perceptible. The most important fruit tree 

 of the Brazils is the banana (Mus« paradisiaca), the charming and cha- 

 racteristic ornament of all tropical gardens and fields. There are two varieties 

 grown, of which the Banana de St. Tome yields smaller and more delicate, 

 and the B. da terra longer but coarser, fruit. Although extensively used, it 

 has not much flavour, and is of a dry farinaceous quality ; but, roasted with 

 butter, it is much better. To sea-faring people it is of great importance, as its 

 bunch of fruit, weighing from 12 lb. to 30 lb., if gathered before it is per- 

 fectly ripe, and suspended in an airy place, will keep for a long time, and be 

 improved by keeping. 



Of oranges, citrons, and limes, there are many varieties, of which the fol- 

 lowing are the most general: Laranja da Terra, L. da China, L. Tanjera, L. 

 Tanjerina, L. Celetra, L. d'Embigo, Limon acedo, L. doce, and L. Cedro. This 

 list I obtained at the Quinta dos Lazaros, at Bahia, a garden which is very 

 celebrated for the growth of these fruits, for which, indeed, the whole province 

 of Bahia is renowned. The Laranja d'Embigo (seedless orange) is certainly 

 the best ; yet, people who have tasted good oranges at Malta, or in Portugal, 

 do not eat oranges in the Brazils, but with sugar. Another particularity of 

 most of the Brazilian oranges is their pale skin, and the last-named variety 

 has a quite green appearance, even when arrived at maturity. It has been said in 

 the Brazils, that the orange is indigenous, having been found in some of the 

 primeval forests of the interior. Yet, even if this should have been the case, 

 I would still doubt the above assertion, in a country brushed, as it were, for 

 the last 300 years by Europeans. 



With respect to the pine-apple (growing here in a half wild state), I have 

 only to mention, that it ripens in Rio a month later than in Bahia, at which 

 latter place, the period when all fruits are most plentiful, is the month of 

 December. It is said of the pine-apple as well as the orange, that those 

 growing in the Brazils, have not so much flavour, as those reared in the 

 pineries of Europe. 



The following Brazilian fruits are not of such great economical importance, 

 as those, which have been already mentioned. A very interesting one is the 

 Acaju, or cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale), which is of a most extra- 

 ordinary shape ; as a part of the enlarged peduncle forms the eatable fruit, 

 which is fleshy and like a pear, above which is the nut, shaped like a large 

 bean ; the fruit is yellowish or reddish, rather soft, and of an acidulous particular 

 taste. It is sometimes eaten entire ; but more generally a sort of lemonade 

 is expressed from it, to which depurative and antisiphylitic qualities are 

 ascribed, and which is drunk here generally, and very copiously. The nut 

 contains, between the external shell and the kernel, a milky narcotic juice, 

 the evaporation of which by roasting renders the kernels edible. 



One of the finest fruits is the Mango (Mangifera indica) ; and the tree is 

 equally worthy of admiration ; its majestic and gigantic stems overshadowing 

 whole streets with its dense and dark foliage. The fruit is drupaceous, of 

 the shape of a compressed ostrich's egg, the colour is yellowish green, and at 

 times partly red. If this fruit be cut, its flesh, which is orange-coloured, 

 presents a fine contrast with its green skin. The mango has a sufficiently 

 good taste, with the exception of the above-mentioned turpentine admixture. 



