Fruits
Umbu in gelato
Umbu is the small, tart green fruit of Spondias tuberosa, a drought-hardy tree of the Brazilian semi-arid Caatinga. In gelato it works as a high-acid, high-water sorbet fruit: low in sugar and fat, it contributes bright acidity and body-thinning water while adding little POD or PAC on its own.
Balancing parameters
Per 100 g of product, verified against independent food-science sources (listed below).
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Solids | 11% |
| Water | 89% |
| Sugars | 6.5% |
| Fat | 0.3% |
| MSNF | 0% |
| Protein | 0.6% |
| POD (sweetening power) | 7.4 |
| PAC (anti-freezing power) | 10.6 |
Typical use: 25-40% as puree in a fruit sorbet; 10-20% as an accent in a cream gelato
Balance umbu in a real recipe
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Open the balancerHow to use it in gelato
Use umbu as the base fruit of a fruit sorbet or as an accent puree in a fruit gelato. With only ~6.5 g sugar per 100 g, its intrinsic POD (~7) and PAC (~11) are modest, so the recipe's added sugars must carry most of the sweetening and antifreeze load; expect to blend dextrose or invert to raise PAC without oversweetening. Its ~89% water thins the mix, so balance total solids upward with sugars and stabilizer/fiber to avoid a hard, icy texture. Its high titratable acidity (citric/malic, ~1%) gives a sharp, refreshing profile and can slightly firm the set, so target a higher PAC to keep it scoopable.
Origin & background
Umbu (Spondias tuberosa Arruda) is endemic to the Caatinga of northeastern Brazil, where the tree's water-storing root tubers (xylopodia) let it survive long droughts, earning it the name 'the tree that gives to drink.' A 2024 integrative review in Trends in Food Science & Technology consolidated 24 studies confirming the fruit is rich in vitamin C and dietary fiber but low in carbohydrate, protein and lipid.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889157524002308
- https://accedacris.ulpgc.es/bitstream/10553/129813/1/1-s2.0-S0889157524002308-main.pdf
- https://scielo.br/j/rbf/a/wQHqWm4xFfJHF6BpxDjKcSG/?lang=pt
- https://frutopedia.com/en/fruit/umbu
- https://www.maxapress.com/article/doi/10.48130/tihort-0025-0014