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Jussara Palm tree culture
 Palm tree beds

The  PALM  TREE  HEART

is a vegetable harvested from the inner core and growing bud of certain palm trees, notably Palmito Juçara  (Euterpe edulis),  Açaí palm (Euterpe oleracea) , the coconut (Cocos nucifera),etc. 

 

 

Heart of palm may be eaten on its own, and often it is eaten in a salad.

Since harvesting is still a labor intensive task, palm hearts  are regarded as a delicacy.

           Brazil was the highest producer of uncultivated hearts of palm, but  in the 1990s  its quality went  down mostly  because of unsustainable poaching for stems (called colete, Portuguese for "vest") of the main producing  species, Palmito Juçara  - Euterpe edulis - is now considered as  threatened with extinction in the wild.

          When harvesting the cultivated young palm, the tree is cut down and the bark is removed leaving layers of  white fibers around the center core.    During processing the fibers are removed leaving the center core or heart of palm.     The center core is attached to a slightly more fibrous cylindrical base with a larger diameter.   The entire cylindrical center core and the attached base are edible.

 The center core is considered more of a delicacy because of its lower fiber content.

Back to Index Sustainable management Jussara Palm tree culture
 Palm tree beds