Selva – product 1 cont

The picture I showed in the article “Selva – product 1” is a “chonta”, that is to say the palm’s heart.

On the top of the palm tree trunk, where the branches start, there is a more tender part in the middle of the tree… and this is the heart of the palm. When you extract it, it looks like a stiff woden cylinder.

Chonta on board

You will buy it under that form in the market in Iquitos. Then you will need a lot a patience to make something out of it.

You will need to remove the skin, stage by stage as you have a superposition of many skins until reaching the actual heart of the palm. Then, you’ll peel one by one the very thin slices composing the heart of the palm. It is a very long and delicate work because they are very thin and have the tendency to break when you peel them off.

it’s hard work but it is very special of the selva, and the light texture is very interesting even if the taste is not so strong.

 

Peeling a chonta in San Miguel, Loreto

At the end, here is what you can make:

Paixe with palm hearts salas at La patarashca in Tarapoto

Souffle de chonta at La Noche, Iquitos