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What Are Acerola Berries?

Mother Nature provides us with a plethora of tasty fruits to give us sustenance and essential nutrients vital for a healthy body. Acerola berries, also known as Barbados or Puerto Rican cherries, are delicious fruits that are popular in places such as Brazil and the Caribbean islands but relatively unknown in the United States. Acerola berries are not only tasty but are important in providing your body with valuable nutrients.

  1. Origin

    • Acerola berries are currently found growing in many subtropical regions of the world but the Yucatan is assumed to be the point of origin for this fruit. These berries have since been cultivated in southern Texas, Florida, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and Brazil, which has the largest acerola bush plantings. Traditionally, these fruits were used by natives to treat dysentery, diarrhea and liver disorders.

    Plant Description

    • Acerola berries grow from the Malpighia emarginata, a fast-growing, bushy shrub or small tree that grows up to 17 feet high in tropical landscapes. The acerola fruits are round and ovoid with three lobes and are bright red when ripe. Acerola berries mature approximately 25 days after the first buds appear, although they are usually picked when green. The berries have almost double the amount of vitamin C at this stage compared to when fully ripened.

    Acerola Nutrients

    • The berries are one of the richest natural sources of vitamin C. Acerola provides ascorbic acid in a range of 16,000 to 172,000 parts per million, compared to oranges which give 500 to 4,000 parts per million. The fruit supplies twice as much magnesium, pantothenic acid and potassium as oranges. Other nutrients it offers are vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin. Acerola also contains 3-methyl-3-butanol, dehydroascorbic acid, calcium, diketogulonic acid, hexadecanoic acid, iron, limonene, L-malic acid, phosphorus and protein.

    Preparation

    • The fruit is the only part of the shrub used for consumption. The acerola berry is eaten ripe or processed into jelly, jam, juices or syrup. Acerola berries must be handled immediately when harvested since serious fruit degradation such as fermentation and mold will begin within four hours of being picked.

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