Abstract
The Prosopis genus belongs to the leguminous family and Mimosoideae subfamily and includes 44 species with great importance in the tree and shrub composition of arid and semiarid regions in Asia (three native species), tropical Africa (one native species), and America (40 native species). Argentina is the main center of diversification, with the greatest proportion of endemic species. The majority of Prosopis species present elevated resistance to drought, extreme temperatures, and high salinity content; therefore, reforesting dessert lands with these species would allow disadvantaged rural populations of the northwest of Argentina to guarantee their food security with autochthonous products. Native communities associate “algarrobo” pods and their products to their origins and identity. This crop is used as food ingredient for different products. “Patay” is a sweet compacted product made with fine and dried flour, “aloja” is an ancient autochthonous alcoholic fermented beverage of sweet taste, and “arrope” is a dark and dense liquid-like honey that is obtained by cooking ground algarrobo pods with water during several hours, a process in which sugars are concentrated. Prosopis alba flour is also commonly used in bakery products.
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Sciammaro, L.P., Ribotta, D.P., Puppo, M.C. (2016). Traditional Food Products from Prosopis sp. Flour. In: Kristbergsson, K., Oliveira, J. (eds) Traditional Foods. Integrating Food Science and Engineering Knowledge Into the Food Chain, vol 10. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7648-2_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7648-2_14
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