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FOOD |
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Like the hamburger and the banana split in the
United States, Brazil's cuisine is the product of tradition and
happenstance. Each region of Brazil - depending on its indigenous
culture, which European group colonized it, nearness to rivers or
the ocean annual rain and soil conditions - developed its own very
diverse dishes.
The cuisine from Bahia dates back to the time of slavery when
the masters saved scraps from the table or leftovers from the
previous day's meal to give to the slaves. Some slaves were allowed
to fish and look for shrimp and clams. Remembering their cooking-pot
training from Africa, the women would put bits of ingredients
together and add the milk of coconuts or the oil from the dendo
palm. Over the years these concoctions were worked out in recipes
and were given names. Today it is called Bahian food. Some of its
delicacies are:
- Vatap: Shrimp are either cut up or ground together with
pieces of fish, then cooked with dendo palm oil, coconut milk and
pieces or bread. The dish is served over white rice.
- Sarapatel: The liver and heart of either a pig or a sheep
are mixed with fresh blood of either animal; tomatoes, peppers, and
onions are added and everything is cooked together.
Carur: Sautéed shrimp are combined with a very sharp sauce
made of red peppers and tiny okra.
In the Amazon region a favorite dish is pato no tucupi which is
pieces or duck in a rich sauce that is loaded with a wild green herb
that tingles the stomach for hours after eating. Another typical
dish is tacaco, a thick yellow soup that is laced with dried shrimp
and garlic.
In Rio Grande do Sul churrasco is the big dish. It is pieces of
beefs skewered onto a metal sword, and roasted outdoors over hot
coals. There is a tomato and onion sauce to go over it. The gauchos
of the interior barbecue an entire steer this way.
If there is one dish that typifies Brazilian cooking it is feijoada.
In Rio de Janeiro, where it is especially popular, feijoada is a
complicated bean dish prepared with air-dried beef, smoked sausage,
tongue, pig's ears and tails, garlic, and chili peppers. It is
customary to fill a soup plate with white rice and spoon feijoada on
top. Over this is added pulverized manioc flour (farofa), a starch
that thickens the sauce. The whole dish is garnished with collard
greens and slices of oranges.
Many international travelers think Brazilian beer is one of the best
in the entire western hemisphere.
For generations there have been expert German and Dutch brewers
overseeing the manufacturing and processing of all major companies.
Brazil produces a powerful, clear, raw rum (cachaca) made
from fermented sugar cane alcohol. Cachaca combined with
crushed lime, sugar, and ice becomes a very popular drink called
caipirinha. Guarana, a delicious soft drink unique to
Brazil, is made out of a fruit from the Amazon.
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