Acerola juice, raw

Acerola juice comes from the Barbados cherry, a small red tropical fruit that turns intensely tart and slightly bitter when pressed. Because the raw juice is sharp on its own, it is rarely drunk straight; cooks and beverage makers usually blend it with orange, pineapple, or other sweeter juices to round out the flavor, or use it as a base for smoothies, ices, and fruit punches. In Brazil, where the fruit is widely grown, acerola juice is a common breakfast drink and is also reduced into syrups or mixed into popsicles. The color ranges from bright red to orange depending on ripeness, and the juice has a thin, watery consistency similar to other fresh-pressed fruit juices rather than the thicker body of nectars.

Fresh acerola fruit spoils within a day or two of picking, so most of what reaches stores is sold as bottled juice, frozen concentrate, or powder, all of which should be kept refrigerated once opened and used within the timeframe on the label. At just 23 calories per 100 grams (about 56 calories in a 242 gram cup) and only 4.5 grams of sugar, it is one of the lightest ways to flavor a pitcher of water or a smoothie. Its standout feature is vitamin C, at 1778% of the Daily Value per 100 grams, so even a small splash added to a mixed juice blend meaningfully raises the vitamin C content of the glass.