Lucuma - Gold of the Incas

March 11, 2016 0 Comments

Once known as the Gold of the Incas, lucuma is a sweet and edible fruit of the Lucuma tree. The unique flavour marries together maple, custard and caramel to give you a distinctive sweetness, which is low on the glycemic index (GI), making it a healthy choice for anyone who wants to kick their sugar consumption.

What’s the Glycemic Index?

The glycemic index ranks foods on how they affect our blood sugar levels. This index developed in 1981 measures how much your blood sugar increases in the two or three hours after eating. In a nutshell, carbohydrate foods that breakdown quickly during digestion have the highest glycemic indexes. Their blood sugar response is fast and high. Carbohydrates that breakdown slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream, have low glycemic indexes.

Good news for lucuma and us

Many in their search for sugar alternatives look to natural sweeteners such as maple syrup, raw honey or Sweet Freedom. Others look to other unnatural sweeteners which come in a clickable container. Whilst they are all better than the white stuff when it comes to the glycemic index, lucuma is a perfect natural sweetener which also provides significant health benefits (including anti-inflammatory and anti-aging benefits).

Don’t think for a second more, head to the cupboard and chuck out your gritty, nasty white refined sugar and opt instead for this funky fruity low-glycemic sweetener.

The Gold of the Incas

The Peruvians back in 200AD recognised the potency of this fruit and took it as a symbol of longevity and fertility, though we cannot guarantee that it will make you fertile, we do know that it has a long list of health benefits:

• Stabalises blood sugar levels – low GI (makes it great for diabetics)
• Beta-carotene – reducing the effect of aging and rejuvenating the body
• Antioxidants – helps to prevent disease and strengthen the immune system
• Iron - reduces symptoms of fatigue and boosts energy levels
• Calcium and phosphorous – brilliant for bone health
• Vitamin b3 (niacin) -  helps prevent depression and improves mood. B3 is usually found in meat, which makes Lucuma a great option for vegetarians and vegans
• Natural antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and antifungal properties
• High in fibre

The Incas prized this tree which takes five years to bear its first fruit, and once it does bear fruit, each tree can produce up to 500 fruits per season! Imagine if when, other crops failed, that this was the sole source of food. The Lucuma is certainly a tree of life and to be prized.

Once Lucuma has been harvested it goes through a drying process, which involves heating it at a low temperature. You will start to notice that all super foods like lucuma and raw chocolate go through a slow production process and at low temperatures because it is important to retain the integrity of the nutrients and health benefits. Sadly, in the UK we don't have access to the fresh fruit, but we do get to enjoy lucuma powder. Once the fruit is dried, it is milled into a fine powder which helps it to retains all the natural beta carotene and b-vitamins of the whole, raw fruit.

Lucuma Recipes

Lucuma makes a wonderful ice cream flavour and is, in fact, the most popular flavour for ice cream in South America. Why not try this easy recipe for a Dairy Free Lucuma Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 350g unroasted cashews, soaked
• 115g lucuma powder
• 85g raw honey
• 1 whole vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 115g water or coconut milk
• Pinch of pink Himalayan salt (or sea salt)

Method

1. Blend all together
2. Freeze overnight
3. Remove from freezer about 10 – 15 minutes before serving.

Lucuma is also yummy in smoothies, simply add a spoonful to your blender and a range of raw chocolate recipes, such as these lucuma raspberry chocolate bars to custards and a whole range of delicious desserts and soups

What's your favourite lucuma recipe?

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