ABSTRACT
Abstract The Brazilian Amazon is known for its wide biodiversity, especially those related to fruit and tubers. These raw materials are used by the local population in regional cuisine and also in processing of by-products, invariably using traditional knowledge and also with the use of rustic preservation methods. In this context, with the main aim of preserving foods, as well as adding nutrition value, fermentation techniques have been widely used over the years. In the Brazilian legislation, wines are beverages produced by the fermentation of grapes; however, in the Amazon, and in popular speech, wines can also be drinks derived from the fermentation of various fruits, including from their pulp, bark or seeds. The fermented wine produced with “buriti” (Mauritia flexuosa L.) and “caraná” (Mauritiella armata) shells, seeds of “cupuaçu” (Theobroma grandiflorum) and “bacuri” (Plantonia insignis Mart.), “corn aluá”, “pineapple aluá”, and “tarubá”, an indigenous wine, can be highlighted as examples. Two particular fermented products are particularly used in the Amazon regional cuisine: “caxiri”, derived from the fermentation of manioc, and “tucupi”, derived from the fermentation of wild manioc. Caxiri is a very traditional drink for the indigenous population and is also known as “pajuarú”, “aluá” and “mocororó”. This drink, when slightly fermented, resembles a thick juice that is drunk by everyone due to its low alcohol content, however after ripening for many days, the alcohol content rises, becoming pure “caxiri”, with a strong and bitter flavor. “Tucupi” is a
fermented liquid extracted from wild manioc, and is a variety which also contains a poisonous substance, hydrogen cyanide. To obtain “tucupi”, wild manioc tubers are scraped, and the juice is squeezed from it and allowed to stand. After extracting the starch, the content is boiled for a long time to remove hydrogen cyanide. The orange liquid obtained develops flavors that vary depending on the varieties of wild manioc used. The manioc tuber is also the substrate used for the preparation of both sweet and fermented manioc starch, manioc flour and tapioca. As well as the elimination of toxicity and preservation, the processing of this tuber refers to modifications of the rheological and sensory characteristics. There are studies that show the use of manioc starch and the Amazonian purple-yam for the production of sweet and sour starch on the development of various bakery products in food industry. In the beverage industry, especially in the soft drinks and beer industry, Amazonian fruits, through fermentation techniques, have also been used to produce soft drinks flavored with guarana and açaí which exist in the market, and alcoholic drinks flavored with bacuri, açaí, cupuaçu, taperebá (Spondias mombin L.), pripioca (Cyperus articulatus) and cumaru (Dipteryx odorata) in the categories “lager”, “river”, “stout”, “witbier”, among others, these have achieved recognition and awards in several beer festivals worldwide.
