Photos: Brazil's snacks, maindishes and delicacies

anbla — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 14:44:00 GMT

Mouth watering delicacies from all over the country.

My Scholarship entry - Understanding a Culture through Food

anbla — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:00:00 GMT

At my return from Brazil, my friends expected me to talk about samba and soccer but what I talked about the most was food. I was still feeling Brazil’s cultural taste in my mouth and wanted nothing more than share everything food had embraced.

Every meal in Brazil is a chance to experience the national motto: “Generosity is your daily bread”. Just think about Churrascarias –a.k.a Rodizzios- and perfect grilled meat brought to you nonstop! However, if you’re short of cash, you can still feel their generosity by simply walking into a market, such as Sao Paulo’s Municipal one, as vendors will make sure you try EVERYthing. But there’s more, since people you meet on the street are so incredibly kind that you may get invited to their family’s Sunday feijoada (beans and pork stew). In my 2-month time in Brazil this happened 3 times!

Desserts portray what I consider top two Brazilian feature: Life’s sweetness. Once I asked a tapioca (manioc pancake) vendor from Salvador why desserts were so sickly sweet- and she said: “To us, sweetness is not very different from happiness. Tell me, have you seen a sad person lately? Then I guess you haven’t had a bland dessert either” After that, I even found fruit to taste sweeter, and like everybody did, I added condensed milk to everything and oh boy! Did I understand what “dolce vita” really meant!

Later on, in Belo Horizonte, I walked into a lanchonete (snack bar) that served a sea food stew called moqueca and it was so mouthwatering that I told the waiter I’d go back the next day. He said that a typical recipe from Brazilian cuisine was served everyday, and wickedly stressed that international food was banned. I thought this was a one-of-a-kind place but as I walked all around town I saw that most low to medium budget restaurants had the same menu. That to me, besides depicting variety, was pure country pride. So dear reader, if you believe in happiness in the form of bites, please head to Brazil, you can never have too much!

Brazil's dolce vita: a vida é doce e generosa!

Photos: Brazil's snacks, maindishes and delicacies

My Scholarship entry - Understanding a Culture through Food