Brazil is very rich in native tropical fruits. Such richness also includes fruits that have arrived from different parts of the world and settled here: from the international orange to "cupuaçu" (a typical fruit from the North of the country); from berries to our tropical banana; from passion fruit to the beloved guava. "Mil Frutas" produces ice creams and sorbets that are made from a huge variety of fruits: A Thousand Fruits "Mil Frutas". Besides the creamy ones, such as cinnamon, hazelnut, and different types of black and white chocolate, there are also the sweet ones like "tiramisu" and cheesecake, which become delicious ice creams.
You may also taste the mixed flavors, as well as those mixed with alcoholic drinks, such as wine, "tequila" and "sake". The flavor is that of a top quality home made ice cream produced with extensive care, as demanded by our laws, consumers and fans from all over the world.

15 years of Mil Frutas

The history of the ice cream parlor dates back to October 1998 in a humble kitchen of an apartment in Jardim Botânico. Renata Saboya, in partnership with her friend Juarezita Santos (now deceased), purchased an ice cream-making machine for the purpose of supplying ice cream to restaurants. Tutti Frutti, in Jardim Botânico, was the first parlor to sell Mil Frutas ice cream, starting in March, 1989. Today, there are five locations, on in Armação, Búzios.

Early on, Renata Saboya was discouraged from making ice cream from fruits. Some people alleged that the end results were not satisfactory. Pure foolishness. Actually, these gainsayers were people who wanted to sell their own industrial mixtures for making ice cream, which thankfully did not occur.

Renata believed in the potential of Brazilian fruits. Daughter of a diabetes-stricken mother, the only sugar allowed during her childhood had been that from fruits. Additionally, we cannot neglect to mention her having grown up in the Brazilian northeast. Her father was a career Navy man, serving in Salvador and Belém, which provided her close contact with a wide variety of fruits. Renata comments: "The great merit of Mil Frutas was to have believed in Brazil and her fruits. We have such great potential in fruits such as graviola, jabuticaba (called, "Brazilian grape"), cupuaçu, pitanga (known as "Surinam cherry"), mangaba and açai."
Currently, Mil Frutas produces over 160 flavors, all coordinated by Renata herself and by her daughter Paula. Each day, they prepare the mixtures in their old-fashioned factory, always concerned with quality and hygiene, ranging from items such as the utensils used to care taken with employee's hands. The ice creams, in turn, use absolutely no conservative or hydrogenated fat, and are analyzed each month by a laboratory under the coordination of a physician-sanitary engineer. This procedure is to further ensure product quality.

Among the many flavors offered, Renata is particularly proud of the mixed flavors. Her favorite is guava sweet with cheese. Her pride is well justified. Her flavors have reached beyond the borders of Rio. Besides being chosen by a select jury of Veja Magazine as the best ice cream in the city, Mil Frutas won international acclaim when a team from the New York Times newspaper arrived in Brazil to get to know its delicacies. According to the North American journalists, the ice creams are unbelievable, comparable to "small masterpieces".

Maurício Haddad