Heart of palm

Acanthophoenix spp., Astrocaryum spp. …

vegetable

The tender, crunchy core, the growing bud of certain palms: coconut, açaí, juçara, peach palm; commercial palm heart comes mostly from wild açaí and farmed peach palm, often canned.

Origin

Tropical South America

Season (United States)

imported · all year round

Preparation

Canned, it is already cooked: it is drained, rinsed and eaten cold, sliced into salads; fresh, it is eaten raw or boiled for a few minutes.

Did you know?

In Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Ecuador, the commercial harvest of several wild palms had to stop: they had been overcut.