RECIPE - Bacuri Mousse (Mousse de Bacuri)

Although the preponderance of Brazil's annual crop of the tropical rain-forest fruit known as bacuri is eaten fresh and very close to where it has been cultivated or harvested, there is some culinary use made of processed, canned, bacuri pulp, principally in the manufacture of ice creams and pastries.

In the northern Brazilian state of Pará, located near the mouth of the gigantic Amazon river system, the fruit is also extensively used in home cooking. One specialty of Pará, and especially of the city of Belém, the state capital is variously called mousse de bacuri, or creme de bacuri, meaning either bacuri mousse or bacuri cream.

Turning fruit pulp of almost any sort into a rich, creamy mousse has long been a Brazilian tradition. Some of the most well-known are mousse de maracujá (passion-fruit mousse), mousse de limão (lime mousse) and mousse de abacaxi (pineapple mousse). In most of Brazil, mousse de bacuri isn't nearly so well known, but in Belém it's considered one of the best of the pack.

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RECIPE - Bacuri Mousse (Mousse de Bacuri)

1 cup sweetened condensed milk (leite condensado)
1 cup creme fraiche or sour cream (creme de leite)
1 cup canned bacuri pulp
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Put all the ingredients in a blender, and blend at high speed for a minimum of five minutes. Pour into a glass or ceramic baking pan and refrigerate at least four hours before serving, accompanied with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired.