Nature's Candy

Grilled Carica with ice cream

One thing many people like to do on trips around the world is to partake in the exotic foods each country specializes in. Whether it be standalone items or a dish made up of various ingredients, eating uncommon foods is enjoyed by many people. Understandably there are a few people who are cautious in trying new things due to their looks, taste or smell which they are not used to. Fortunately, there are gourmet level foods that have characteristics which people can familiarize themselves with. Take, for instance, the gourmet fruits of Tamaya's Chilean Carica and Baby Pears. The former may sound alien to a good majority of people while the latter's name shares a similar name to the more common pear. But what exactly are these fruits? In this post we will discuss who produces these popular fruits, the origins and how the carica and baby pears are made, and lastly popular usage of these including how the vodka brand Double Cross incorporates using the baby pears with their popular vodka drink. Read on more past the break!

Who Is Tamaya?

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Tamaya Gourmet (often shortened to Tamaya) was created in 2005 with the mission of introducing unique fruits and high-end gourmet products from Chile to the world. The original investor's group, who specialized in avocado and mandarin exports, saw there was an opportune moment to get into the gourmet Chilean fruit market; thus Tamaya was born. The name Tamaya is actually taken from the same city located in the Limari Valley.

Located 250 miles north of Santiago, just south of the Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth, and near the pure waters of the Pacific Ocean, the Limari Valley is the home of where Tamaya grows its beloved fruits. This location is ideal in that they can take advantage of the perfect combination of climate and soil the area provides. According to the the Tamaya Gourmet CEO Daniel Vitis, the area is perfect for fruit production because frost there is rare.

Chilean Carica

Tamaya Chilean Carica; Click me to buy now!

Featured in an issue of
The Oprah Magazine

The term carica actually derives from the fruit tree that it grows from, the carica papaya. These trees are native to the American tropics, and the Chilean Carica falls in that category. To differentiate these from the traditional fruit that comes from Hawaii and Mexico, Tamaya called their product the Chilean Carica because the Chilean papaya is vastly different in taste, size, and color. The carica papaya tree is actually only able to live up to 6 years. The fruit has an attractive bright yellow color, a beautiful aroma and tastes like a combination of mango, pineapple, apricot, pear and peach, with an extraordinary slightly crunchy texture. Carica makes for an especially nice gift to someone and was featured on an issue of The Oprah Magazine as the perfect present.

Chilean Baby Pears

Tamaya Baby Pears; Click me to buy now!

The Baby Pear from Tamaya was brought to Chile by the Jesuits in the 1600's. The European trees were lost during the Great Freeze in 1710, and only wild trees survived until Tamaya Gourmet began cultivating the variety. These pears only grow two inches high (hence the name Baby Pear), has a soft seed interior, a tender texture, an exquisite taste and a beautiful aroma. These baby pears are hand-collected from orchards in the Andes foothills. Ripe for only a few days each year, they are quickly harvested by local farmers to capture their exquisite taste and delicate texture. The wild baby pear is crisp, crunchy and refreshingly sweet with a signature pear flavor that will leave you eager to dip back into the jar for more.

Production

Tamaya is involved with production from beginning to end which starts by cultivating the plants, harvesting, bottling the product, and commercializing their product around the world. The fruits Tamaya choose are hand selected in the orchards, then once again selected in the plant by hand, and lastly the premium pieces are put inside the jars. The jars are then filled with all-natural juice with no preservatives at a low Brix of 19-20°. The term Brix is a relative density scale used in sugar and the winemaking industry. It measures the percent of cane sugar by weight in a solution, like the juice in Tamaya's fruits. This helps ensure the carica's and baby pear's natural taste and aroma are not compromised. When freshly picked these fruits are too hard to eat, so the juice helps soften them for consumption as well.

The bottling process is all natural with no use of artificial ingredients or preservatives. Even better is that the bottling facilities are located adjacent to the fields where the fruits are grown. This situation allows the company to harvest and conserve the fruits with the ultimate quality and freshness. In this way, all of the unique flavors and aroma that characterize the Chilean fruits are all kept intact.

After the bottling and packaging, they go through a heat pasteurization process that sterilizes the products at 100° C (212° F) for about 20 minutes. This sterilization process extends the shelf life of the product out about 24 months with no refrigeration. Once the jars are opened, the shelf life is then 5 to 10 days. With the sterile packing, Tamaya does not need to develop the same supply chain controls that other fresh items need, and the company can ship cases directly to Gourmet Import Shop.

Uses

Carica and baby pears are extremely versatile gourmet products that can enhance any dish from a simple appetizer to a green salad, a cold or hot dish, a special dessert, or even an exotic drink or juice. Carica can also be grilled with its aroma and taste intensifying, making a great combination with grilled shrimps or scallops. It is also delicious just out of the jar served cold or as a topping with vanilla ice cream. An especially popular use for the baby pears is using it in a mixed drink called the Double Cross Pear Martini. Many bars and restaurants around America use this signature mix from Double Cross which is essentially made up of Double Cross Vodka, the juice from the Tamaya Baby Pears, and the fruit as a garnish placed in the drink or on the rim of the glass. Read more about Double Cross in the next section to follow.

Double Cross Pear Martini

The making of the Double Cross Pear Martini

Who Is Double Cross?

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"It began with a journey through heart of the vodka belt, an exploration of the world’s finest, yet undiscovered distilleries in the world. We found ourselves deep in the Tatra Mountains of Slovakia, sipping a spirit so stunningly smooth, so gentle in its character, that we knew the search was over. In the 12th-century, Byzantine monks brought the double cross symbol to this vast mountainous region. We would honor the heritage of this noble spirit with a fitting title – Double Cross Vodka. 

Each batch of Double Cross is seven times distilled and filtered, artfully handcrafted by a master distiller using the finest estate-grown winter wheat and Tatra Mountain spring water sourced from 200 foot deep aquifers. The distinctive mineral composition of the spring water, combined with the crisp, clean character of winter wheat results in a bright, yet smooth vodka with a soft, round mouth feel. 

There is a place where tradition and technology intersect to produce striking new results with a beautiful blend of art and science. This is where our vodka was born. 

This is Double Cross."

We are proud to work with Double Cross and the Tamaya Baby Pears to push mixed drinks to the next level. This perfect combination of Double Cross Vodka's smooth feel with the baby pears' crisp sweetness has captured many hearts (and taste buds) in America. Visit their official webpage to find out more information about them by clicking their logo up above or by clicking here: Double Cross Homepage.

Conclusion

After reading about Tamaya as a company, how their products are made, the popular uses of the fruits, and the growing awareness of these delicious gourmet items through word of mouth and collaborations, you should now have a pretty good idea of what exactly caricas and baby pears are all about. These gourmet fruits are getting a positive reaction from customers and demand remains high. There is no doubt that these gourmet Chilean fruits are here to stay.

Find more great imported products we bring in like the Tamaya Chilean Caricas and Baby Pears by clicking the link below.

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