Saturday, May 1, 2010

Strange Fruit

One thing I'm addicted to right now is Brazilian Crystal Light.

Yes, you read that correctly. Instead of saying the whole words Crystal Light they just shorten it to Clight.

Which I assumed was pronounced with a hard C (like see) but which my good friend Danielle, who currently lives in Brazil, tells me is pronounced Clight, like rhymes with tight. To me, that sounds too much like a crude term for a part of a woman's anatomy so I'll just stick with calling it See Light.

It was when I was visiting Danielle last year that I discovered and fell in love with Clight. Granted, I love American Crystal Light too but Clight has SO many cool flavors that we don't have.

Such as:
  • Caju (cashew). I just learned from Wikipedia that the English cashew actually comes from the Portuguese word caju.


  • Pineapple with Mint. My absolute favorite.


  • Lime ice tea


  • Tangerina (tangerine)


  • Pessago (peach). Not peach ice tea, but actual peach "juice"
  • Kiwi


  • Maracuja (passion fruit)

What's strange about the passion fruit one is that I just tried the actual fruit the other day. A colleague's boyfriend grows them on his ranch, but they go for about $2 each in the store.

Just a warning. They are probably the weirdest/ugliest/slimiest things I've ever seen. Kind of like a cross between a dinosaur egg and caviar. But they taste really good! If you can get over the whole slime factor.



6 comments:

  1. The pineapple with mint does seem like it'd be delicious! And I'd stick with calling it See Light too ;-) I love your description of what a passion fruit looks like in reality, but it's true they are delicious! I hope you had a nice weekend, and I'll catch up more with your blog soon.

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  2. Yes, the pineapple flavor is the Bomb! I tried to recreate it using pineapple juice and fresh mint.But the mint just turned brown and soggy. Not so appetizing. Hope you have a great weekend too!

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  3. Just bring some down when you come to BA!! lol. Did you get my message about Porto Alegre? I figure I paid $130 for the Brazilian visa, I may as well use it again if I can!

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  4. I love maracuyá! Love it. I ate it every morning in the DR. We have some pretty yummy calorie free "juice" like beverages here too. One brand I like is called livian. They have this papaya one that I just want to suck dry. Dang...now I wish I had some.

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  5. I brought a huge box back of Clight. By the way you got the pronunciation wrong!

    It is said: "Clight-chee". Portuguese speakers are unaccustomed to words that do not end in a vowel!

    Also please note: The best way to take Maracuja aka passion fruit is by putting in blender with water....then straining. One of the things I miss worst about Brasil other than the ungodly hot women in very very large numbers.

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  6. Thanks for the clarification! I really need to get some more Clight! I'm thinking about doing another trip to Brazil especially since I had to pay for the visa...might as well use it!

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