{"id":1028,"date":"2020-09-10T11:38:52","date_gmt":"2020-09-10T01:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/?p=1028"},"modified":"2020-09-10T11:39:32","modified_gmt":"2020-09-10T01:39:32","slug":"how-acai-is-graded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/","title":{"rendered":"The Grading of Acai and What To Look For!"},"content":{"rendered":"

As an a\u00e7ai lover, you would know that the consistency in your a\u00e7ai bowls and smoothies should be nice and thick, sort of like a cake mix. However, some times you come across runny or even icy a\u00e7ai. There is a very good (bad) reason for this!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not all a\u00e7ai was created equally and you shouldn’t be blaming your blender or your own skills for the poor a\u00e7ai consistency that you are getting.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this article we\u2019re going to explain how a\u00e7ai is graded based on its density.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Once you know how a\u00e7ai is graded, you\u2019ll know what to look for before buying frozen a\u00e7ai and never have to buy inferior a\u00e7ai again.<\/span><\/p>\n

After having had great a\u00e7ai in Brazil, I think that people in the rest of the world should be able to enjoy the best a\u00e7ai there is to offer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why does a\u00e7ai have to be pulped?<\/span><\/h2>\n

The deep purple coloured berry from the Amazon rainforest, a\u00e7ai (<\/span>pronounced \u201cah-sigh-EE\u201d<\/span><\/a>) goes through a pulping process before it\u2019s frozen. That\u2019s because the inedible seed in the centre of a\u00e7ai fruit can\u2019t be eaten and it takes up about a quarter of the fruit, which is why since ancient times people in the Amazon have separated the fruit from the seed.<\/span><\/p>\n

The thick fruit pulp concentrate is then mixed with water to enable the a\u00e7ai to be frozen and transported so that people all over the world can enjoy a\u00e7ai. The key point is the ratio of a\u00e7ai to water and this is a major factor in creating a thick a\u00e7ai bowl!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This used to be a manual process but now can be done with machines. In some parts of the Amazon where there is no electricity, this is still done manually using a mortar and pestle to smash the fruit over a terracotta plate. However, most a\u00e7ai is made with stainless steel machines which involves separating the thin skin from the large seed and mixed with water.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is a\u00e7ai graded?<\/span><\/h2>\n

A\u00e7ai is graded so consumers know whats percentage of the fruit is actually in the frozen packet that they\u2019re buying from the shops. You can also tell by looking at the nutritional information on the back of the packet (look for a\u00e7ai with higher fibre, protein and omegas).<\/span><\/p>\n

The thicker viscosity indicates how many fruit solids (and nutrients) the a\u00e7ai contains. A\u00e7ai pulp is expensive, so many companies try to get away with adding more water content during the pulping process to bring down the cost of production.<\/span><\/p>\n

How is a\u00e7ai graded?<\/span><\/h2>\n

There are three categories for <\/span>a\u00e7ai based on their fruit solids content which is defined by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • A\u00e7ai \u201cfino\u201d or \u201cpopular\u201d is lower grade and must contain a minimum of 8% solids<\/span><\/li>\n
  • A\u00e7ai \u201cmedio\u201d is middle grade and must contain a minimum of 11% solids<\/span><\/li>\n
  • A\u00e7ai \u201cgrosso\u201d or \u201cespecial\u201d is thick or special grade (the best) and contains at least 14% solids<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Some countries, like the US do not require manufacturers to disclose how much fruit solids is in a\u00e7ai, so if you\u2019re unsure check the ingredients and nutrition information on the label.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"frozen<\/p>\n

    How can you tell if your a\u00e7ai is lower grade?<\/span><\/h2>\n

    A\u00e7ai that is a lower grade will melt faster, which you don\u2019t want when you\u2019re eating an a\u00e7ai bowl. The consistency is runny and thin, so it won\u2019t make for a good bowl base. You will also be able to tell when looking at the a\u00e7ai out of the packet – it will often be very icy and possibly see through.<\/span><\/p>\n

    What is grade A a\u00e7ai?<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Grade A <\/span>a\u00e7ai is the same as \u201cespecial\u201d, so the top grade a\u00e7ai with a lot of fruit solids. You\u2019ll also be able to tell from the colour, as it\u2019ll be a deep purple colour compared to lower grade a\u00e7ai.<\/span><\/p>\n

    What is Purple Foods a\u00e7ai graded as?<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Purple Foods <\/span>only sources the best a\u00e7ai, so we only use grade A or \u201cespecial\u201d a\u00e7ai which has more than 14% fruit solids. It\u2019s rare to find this high quality a\u00e7ai in Australia which is why Purple Foods is proud to sell only the best frozen a\u00e7ai to our loyal customers.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    As an a\u00e7ai lover, you would know that the consistency in your a\u00e7ai bowls and smoothies should be nice and thick, sort of like a cake mix. However, some times you come across runny or even icy a\u00e7ai. There is a very good (bad) reason for this!\u00a0 Not all a\u00e7ai was created equally and you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Grading of Acai and What To Look For! - Purple Foods<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Do you want to know the difference between good acai and bad acai? This guide will explain how acai is graded and where you can get the best acai\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Grading of Acai and What To Look For! - Purple Foods\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Do you want to know the difference between good acai and bad acai? This guide will explain how acai is graded and where you can get the best acai\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Purple Foods\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Purple-Foods-Acai-200312739997441\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-10T01:38:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-09-10T01:39:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sara-dubler-oo1COphDN8w-unsplash-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adam Bogatin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adam Bogatin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/\",\"name\":\"The Grading of Acai and What To Look For! - Purple Foods\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sara-dubler-oo1COphDN8w-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-10T01:38:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-09-10T01:39:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/#\/schema\/person\/9e0e98d2f13a1e0d75cbda0162a8190f\"},\"description\":\"Do you want to know the difference between good acai and bad acai? This guide will explain how acai is graded and where you can get the best acai\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sara-dubler-oo1COphDN8w-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sara-dubler-oo1COphDN8w-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"frozen acai\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Grading of Acai and What To Look For!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/\",\"name\":\"Purple Foods\",\"description\":\"Frozen fruit and superfood supplier in Australia\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/#\/schema\/person\/9e0e98d2f13a1e0d75cbda0162a8190f\",\"name\":\"Adam Bogatin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bbd675f3f8a207423fe29c4978522b3a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bbd675f3f8a207423fe29c4978522b3a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Adam Bogatin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/author\/adam-b\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Grading of Acai and What To Look For! - Purple Foods","description":"Do you want to know the difference between good acai and bad acai? This guide will explain how acai is graded and where you can get the best acai","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Grading of Acai and What To Look For! - Purple Foods","og_description":"Do you want to know the difference between good acai and bad acai? This guide will explain how acai is graded and where you can get the best acai","og_url":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/","og_site_name":"Purple Foods","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Purple-Foods-Acai-200312739997441\/","article_published_time":"2020-09-10T01:38:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-09-10T01:39:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sara-dubler-oo1COphDN8w-unsplash-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Adam Bogatin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Adam Bogatin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/","url":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/","name":"The Grading of Acai and What To Look For! - Purple Foods","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sara-dubler-oo1COphDN8w-unsplash-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2020-09-10T01:38:52+00:00","dateModified":"2020-09-10T01:39:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/#\/schema\/person\/9e0e98d2f13a1e0d75cbda0162a8190f"},"description":"Do you want to know the difference between good acai and bad acai? This guide will explain how acai is graded and where you can get the best acai","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sara-dubler-oo1COphDN8w-unsplash-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sara-dubler-oo1COphDN8w-unsplash-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"frozen acai"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/how-acai-is-graded\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Grading of Acai and What To Look For!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/#website","url":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/","name":"Purple Foods","description":"Frozen fruit and superfood supplier in Australia","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/#\/schema\/person\/9e0e98d2f13a1e0d75cbda0162a8190f","name":"Adam Bogatin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bbd675f3f8a207423fe29c4978522b3a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bbd675f3f8a207423fe29c4978522b3a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Adam Bogatin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au"],"url":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/author\/adam-b\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1028"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1045,"href":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028\/revisions\/1045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purplefoods.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}