Searching For the Next Superfruit

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Photo by Pedro Spoladore/Wikimedia Commons


What, you may well ask, is cupuaçu? I confess never having heard of it but thank heavens for Wikipedia, which explains in somewhat limited detail that it is a coffee-like tree with a sweet fruit. Botanically, it is a Theobroma in the coffee family.

Mintel, the market research firm, identifies it as the newest antioxidant-rich fruit craze. It says this fruit is not only rich in antioxidants, but also in vitamins, essential fatty acids and amino acids. Well, yes, but so are all fruits to a greater or lesser extent. But never mind. Anything this exotic has to be a marketers' dream "superfruit," no?

Can't wait to taste it. If you know anything about this, do say, especially about how it might taste.

Mintel has six other predictions for upcoming hot trends: sweet potato, cardamom, rose water, hibiscus, and Latin spices. Yum. Aren't you happy to be the first to know?

Marion Nestle is a professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University. She is the author of Food Politics, Safe Food, What to Eat, and Pet Food Politics.