Umari
Poraqueiba sericea · Icacinaceae · also known as Umarí, Umari, Guacure, Amazonian butter fruit
An Amazonian fruit with buttery, oily, yellow-orange flesh so rich it's spread on bread like butter — aromatic and savory-sweet, eaten with cassava across the western Amazon. A "vegetable butter" of the rainforest, unique and little-known beyond it.
At a glance
- Taste
- Rich, oily, and aromatic with a buttery, savory-sweet flesh often compared to avocado or a fruity butter; the yellow-orange pulp is intense and unusual, coating a single large seed, and is spread or eaten with starchy foods rather than as a sweet snack.
- Origin
- The western Amazon (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil)
- Grown in
- Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador
- Peak season
- Autumn, Winter
Sensory & practical profile
Taste fingerprint
- Sweetness
- Tartness
- Aroma
- Juiciness
- Firmness
Approximate, at peak ripeness · 0–5
- Ripe when
- Fully colored and fragrant with a slight give; ripe umari smells intensely aromatic and the flesh turns soft and buttery.
- How to eat
- Eat the buttery pulp fresh with cassava flour, or spread it on casabe bread like a vegetable butter; mash it into the drink cahuana.
- Typical price
- Budget
Umari is one of the few fruits eaten like butter — its oily, aromatic pulp is literally spread on cassava bread across the western Amazon, a "vegetable butter" that reveals how differently a fruit can be used.
When it's in season, by region
| Region | Peak months |
|---|---|
| Latin America | Roughly Nov–Mar in the western Amazon |
How to select & store
Picking a ripe one
Choose fully colored (yellow, orange, or purple by type), fragrant, slightly soft fruit; ripe umari is intensely aromatic. The pulp is soft and buttery when ready.
Storing it
A few days once ripe — the oily flesh is perishable. Eaten fresh soon after ripening, or the pulp used at once; the oil keeps longer.
Practical uses
🍽️ Culinary
- The buttery pulp spread on casabe (cassava bread) like a vegetable butter — the classic use
- Eaten fresh with manioc flour, or cooked
- Mashed with yuca starch into cahuana, a traditional non-alcoholic drink
- Pressed for edible oil
🌿 Health & traditional
- The oil-rich pulp valued as a nourishing food; used in Amazonian home remedies
🎎 Cultural
- A popular market fruit across the western Amazon, prized as a rich, buttery staple
- One of the few fruits eaten as a savory butter rather than a sweet
Eating umari: what to know
What regular consumption looks like
Umari is a nutritious everyday fruit, best enjoyed as part of a varied diet. It is a good source of fibre (about 5 g per 100 g), which supports digestion and satiety. It is unusually rich in (mostly unsaturated) fat for a fruit — about 18 g per 100 g — making it energy-dense and satiating.
Sensible amounts
A typical fruit serving is roughly a handful, one medium fruit, or about 80 g, and two or more varied fruit servings a day is a sensible everyday pattern. Because it is energy-dense, keep portions modest if you are watching blood sugar or weight — whole fruit's fibre softens the sugar hit, but juices and dried forms concentrate it and are easy to over-eat.
Evidence & conditions
As a whole fruit, Umari contributes fibre, vitamins, and beneficial plant compounds, but it has not been shown to treat or prevent any specific condition — so it is best enjoyed as part of a healthy diet rather than as a remedy.
Umari: frequently asked questions
What does umari taste like?
Rich, oily, and aromatic with a buttery, savory-sweet flesh often compared to avocado or a fruity butter; the yellow-orange pulp is intense and unusual, coating a single large seed, and is spread or eaten with starchy foods rather than as a sweet snack.
When is umari in season?
Umari is typically in season Latin America (Roughly Nov–Mar in the western Amazon). Peak months shift between the northern and southern hemispheres.
How do you eat umari?
Eat the buttery pulp fresh with cassava flour, or spread it on casabe bread like a vegetable butter; mash it into the drink cahuana.
How do you know when umari is ripe?
Fully colored and fragrant with a slight give; ripe umari smells intensely aromatic and the flesh turns soft and buttery.
Is umari good for you?
Umari is a nutritious everyday fruit, best enjoyed as part of a varied diet. It is a good source of fibre (about 5 g per 100 g), which supports digestion and satiety. It is unusually rich in (mostly unsaturated) fat for a fruit — about 18 g per 100 g — making it energy-dense and satiating.
How much umari should you eat?
A typical fruit serving is roughly a handful, one medium fruit, or about 80 g, and two or more varied fruit servings a day is a sensible everyday pattern. Because it is energy-dense, keep portions modest if you are watching blood sugar or weight — whole fruit's fibre softens the sugar hit, but juices and dried forms concentrate it and are easy to over-eat.
Most fruits are sweet snacks; the umari is spread on bread like butter. This western-Amazon fruit has flesh so rich, oily, and aromatic that jungle communities use it as a genuine “vegetable butter,” smeared onto casabe (cassava bread) — a savory, buttery fruit unlike almost anything else.
A fruit you spread, not snack
Cut a ripe umari and the yellow-orange pulp is intensely fragrant and buttery, often compared to avocado or a fruity butter, coating a single large seed. Very high in healthy oils, it’s an energy food eaten fresh with manioc flour, cooked, spread on bread, or mashed with yuca starch into cahuana, a traditional non-alcoholic drink; the seed even yields more oil. Popular in markets across the Colombian, Peruvian, and Brazilian Amazon, it’s prized precisely for that rich, savory character — a fruit that behaves like a fat rather than a sweet. Little-known beyond its home rivers, umari is a perfect example of how the Amazon’s astonishing fruit diversity includes flavors and uses the wider world has never imagined — in this case, a fruit you butter your bread with. For fellow rich, oily Amazonian fruits, see the buriti and peach palm.
