Calabaceira

This fruit that I sucked and had as juice and  "fresquinhas" in my childhood has made it out of the cob webbed corners of my memory and into the limelight !

Scientifically known as adansonia digitata, and commonly known as baobab tree, calabaceira, imbondeiro, this fruit is now being paraded around the EU as a "super food"- high in antioxidants, twice as much calcium them milk, 6 times more vitamin C then oranges ... and the list goes on.

This new found celebrity food will soon be featured in smoothies and cereal bars and appear in your supermarket as jam. (BBC article).

Well, no surprise here. 

Our environment contains all the nutritious foods required for our survival, and if the dry areas of Africa where most of these baobab trees are found have such "miracle" food, it's because those areas do not have diets consisting of a glass of milk or fresh OJ for breakfast !!!!

Viva calabaceira !!! 

Well and veludo, jambre, cinbron whose scientific

 names I am still trying to find out.

For more great foods of Africa check out the series: Lost Crops of Africa II at The National Academies Press (with lots of free books online by the way)