Oil, cupu assu

Cupuacu oil comes from the seeds of cupuacu, a fruit related to cacao and grown in the Amazon basin. It behaves much like cocoa butter: solid and pale at room temperature, melting smoothly close to body heat. In Brazil it is warmed and blended with sugar and milk solids to make cupulate, a chocolate-like candy with a tangier, more tropical flavor than true chocolate, and it is used the same way cocoa butter is in truffles, bars, and pastry work where a clean melt and glossy set are wanted. Some confectioners also blend it with cocoa butter to soften the snap of a finished chocolate bar.

Because it is essentially a pure fat, keep it in a sealed container away from heat and light the same way you would store cocoa butter, since exposure speeds up rancidity and can dull its flavor. It has no protein, carbohydrate, sugar, or sodium at all, with all of its 884 calories per 100 grams coming from its 100 grams of fat, so it functions purely as a cooking and confectionery fat rather than a source of any other nutrient. A little goes a long way when melted into a recipe that calls for cocoa butter or a similar solid fat, and it is easy to portion out by the tablespoon.