History and regional cuisine
With twenty-six states divided into five regions, Brazil boasts several regional cuisines, the fruit of 500 years of immigration from all over the world mixed with several millennia of Amerindian presence, which led to the domestication and spread of many plants native to the American continent. The first Portuguese landed on Brazilian shores in 1500, while the slave trade brought millions of Africans to Brazil with their culinary traditions. Later, from the 19th century onwards, numerous Europeans also settled in the territory, notably Germans and Italians, followed by Japanese and Arabs - notably Christian Syrians, Lebanese and Iraqis - fleeing persecution when the Ottoman Empire was dismantled at the beginning of the 20th century. Brazil has the largest Japanese and Lebanese communities outside their respective countries. All these different cultures have resulted in a highly diverse culinary culture.
The North is a particularly interesting region, as it revolves around the Amazon and boasts the highest percentage of Amerindian populations. This more isolated part of the country was little influenced by settlers, so the dishes eaten by the indigenous population have remained relatively unchanged. The Amazon River is home to over 3,000 species of fish, offering an almost limitless range of sizes, shapes and flavors. One thinks of the pirarucu or arapaima, one of the world's largest freshwater fish, which can exceed 4 m in length and weigh 300 kg. But let's not forget piranhas, surubim (giant catfish) and tucunaré or peacock bass (with a taste similar to snapper). Cassava is also native to the region and has spread widely throughout the rest of the country. This tuber and its leaves contain a cyanide derivative that makes it toxic when raw, so it requires meticulous cooking. It is also processed into flour (farinha). Acai berries - from a species of palm - are a superfood with unrivalled antioxidant power. And let's not forget the guaraná berries, known for their high caffeine content.
It was in Porto Seguro - in the Nordeste region of Brazil - that Ivan Cabral first set foot on the soil of the future Brazilian territory in 1500. For a long time, this region was home to the majority of sugarcane plantations, which also explains the very large Afro-Brazilian population in this part of the country. Palm oil, coconut milk, okra (a green vegetable with a delicate taste) and a host of spices are used generously. Acarajé - corn bean croquettes - are emblematic of this mixed cuisine, which is as common in Brazil as it is in West Africa. Fish and seafood are also used in abundance, compared to other coastal regions of the country. This is one of the poorest regions of Brazil, and local cooks are accustomed to cooking all parts of the animal, especially offal. Finally, the Nordeste produces queijo coalho, a rubbery cheese cut into sticks and grilled on skewers with spices.
The Centre-West is Brazil's leading region for cattle breeding, so meat is much more important here than anywhere else. Paraguayan and Bolivian influences are strong here, so plantain and pacu, a local fish, are eaten in abundance. In this Brazilian Midwest, the pequi is a fairly common fruit, both for its slightly sour, cheese-like pulp and its fat-rich kernel, which is used in savory dishes.
Sudeste is the country's most populous region and includes the country's largest cities, such as Rio de Janiero and São Paulo. The Portuguese influence is stronger here than elsewhere, but the cuisine is also more diverse, as the region has attracted a multitude of migrants from Europe, Japan and the Middle East over the centuries. São Paulo is full of Italian restaurants and is considered the pizza capital of Brazil. As for the Liberdade district, it contains the world's largest Japanese quarter. The state of São Paulo is home to 50% of the Japanese community, as well as 40% of Brazil's Arab community. Minas Gerais has a large farming community, and many Brazilian recipes come from this state. These include canastra (a firm, piquant cheese), queijo minas (a more or less mature cheese that can be frescal, white and fresh, or curado, highly matured) and requeijão (a melting, almost runny spreadable cheese).
Finally, the South is often associated with churrasco, a typical barbecue not unlike the asado. Influences from Argentina and Uruguay are not far removed. Hence the abundant consumption of chimarrão or maté, an infusion made from a local plant, which is often associated with gauchos. The region's long German presence also explains the abundance of rich pastries.
Restoration modes
In addition to the classic restaurants, Brazil offers a multitude of options to suit all budgets. Comer a kilo or self-service restaurants are the best way to eat well without breaking the bank. You help yourself to the buffet, then weigh your plate. Quality - and prices - vary from one address to the next, but you'll find at least raw vegetables, chicken, beef, rice, beans, spaghetti, fruit and sometimes fish and seafood. Classic buffets are also common.
Pizza and meat rodizios have long existed in Brazil. In these restaurants, waiters rotate the room with several types of freshly baked pizzas or meat skewers, and customers choose to their liking. A salad buffet is also usually available. Drinks and desserts are often served separately. Churrascarias are rodizios specializing in barbecued meat. For a fixed price, you can eat a huge variety of meats served by the waiters who circulate around the room, and also help yourself to the central buffet offering all kinds of salads. This popular formula can be found in popular restaurants as well as upmarket establishments. They offer a huge variety of excellent meats and grilled fish, as well as sushi, seafood, cheese and charcuterie, something for everyone.
Galeterias are restaurants specializing in chicken, originating in the south of the country. Grilled whole on a spit, chicken can also be cut into pieces and offered by waiters as they pass around the tables. Indissociable from the Italian emigrants who settled in southern Brazil, these establishments often offer a wide variety of pasta dishes (spaghetti, ravioli, lasagne, etc.). The style is similar to that of churrascarias, you pay a fixed price and you can also help yourself from the central buffet. Originally from Minas Gerais, mineiros offer pork-based dishes, often mixed with beans, such as the famous feijoada or torresmo, crispy fried bacon, served as an aperitif. For the hungry, there are lanchonetes - the equivalent of a snack bar - open all day, serving sandwiches, hamburgers, pastéis (savoury pastries, doughnuts, etc.) and drinks.
The classics of Brazilian cuisine
Among the most common Brazilian snacks,acarajé is the best known. A specialty of Bahia, it's a delicious fritter made from corn beans, filled with vatapá (a paste of coconut milk, cashews, peanuts, spices and palm oil), salad-tomato-onion and shrimp. Another snack, coxinha, is a deep-fried chicken thigh made from a paste of flour and chicken stock, then stuffed with shredded chicken. The whole thing is breaded and then fried. Pao de queijo are soft cheese croquettes, and pamonha are a type of crispy fried turnover filled with meat, poultry, cheese or vegetables. Reminiscent of Mexican tamales or Bolivian humitas, pamonha is made with corn dough wrapped in its own leaves and steamed. Of Arabic origin, esfirra is a patty filled with minced, spicy mutton. Bolinhos de bacalhau are cod croquettes, similar to acras. Finally, casquinha de siri is crab hash au gratin served in a shell.
If we had to name a complete dish that is emblematic of Brazil, feijoada would be impossible to miss. Made with black beans, carne de sol, sausages and pork ribs, this Brazilian cassoulet is served with rice, shredded cabbage and a tomato-orange salad for an experience rich in texture and flavor. In the Amazon, maniçoba is a feijoada in which cassava leaves are substituted for beans. In Minas Gerais, feijão tropeiro contains cassava semolina. Other complete dishes includearroz com feijão (rice with black beans), galinhada (a spicy stew of rice and chicken), empadão (a kind of shepherd's pie),empadão de frango (a hearty pie with chicken, cheese and vegetables) and virado (beans, mashed cassava, pork chop, sausage, plantain and fried egg). Farofa is a cooked cassava flour often served with onion, bacon and vegetables as a side dish. In tropical regions where potatoes don't grow well, they are replaced by macaxeira or mandioca frita, cassava French fries.
Meat dishes are legion, with the famous churrasco, a purely Brazilian type of barbecue, at the top of the list. The most noble cuts are the tender picanha, fraldinha, alcatra and maminha. Primarily composed of beef, this feast sometimes also includes chicken and pork. Carne de sol is a salted and dried beef or goat speciality, emblematic of the sertanejos (cowboys) of the Nordeste. Alternatively, the X-Tudo is an exceptionally tall hamburger with a delirious array of toppings: chopped steak, bacon, crudité, corn, ham, cheese, fries, sausages and so on. To gobble it up without spilling half of it on yourself is quite a feat.
There are also many dishes in sauce, such as vaca atolada, a beef stew with manioc, tomato and coriander, or galinha a cabidela, a chicken stew with the animal's blood. Pato no tucupiis a duck dish served in a sauce of cassava juice and jambu or brède mafane (a leafy vegetable). Offal is also appreciated, as demonstrated by mocotó, a stew of beef feet with beans and vegetables, or sopa de mondongo, a rich tripe soup with a variety of vegetables (tomato, peppers, potato, chili, celery, etc.). Xinxim de galinha is a land-sea dish with chicken and shrimp in a finely spiced sauce with tomato, coriander and crushed cashew nuts.
Fish and seafood dishes are particularly popular in the Nordeste. Moqueca de peixe consists of fish, coconut milk, tomato, onion and coriander, sometimes served with shrimp, while caldeirada is a bouillabaisse of local fish and seafood simmered with coconut milk, tomato, onion, chili and potato. In the Amazon, tamuatá no tucupi is prepared with tamuatá, a species of catfish, cooked in a cassava broth with jambu leaves. Typical of the extreme south of the country, tainha recheada com camarões is a recipe for mullet stuffed with shrimp, while bobó de camarão is a shrimp stew in a creamy cassava, coconut milk, ginger and aromatic herbs sauce.
Desserts and drinks
In Brazil, there are many sweet treats, such as brigadeiro, the local version of the chocolate truffle, made from sweetened condensed milk, cocoa powder and butter, which are melted over a low heat before being used to form truffles that are rolled in chocolate vermicelli. Conversely, beijinho de coco - "coconut kisses" - are white truffles made with sweetened condensed milk and coconut, often prepared for Christmas. Cocada also features coconut in the form of crunchy bites, ranging from white to brown, depending on the degree of caramelization. They are sometimes garnished with almonds. Finally, queijadinha is a soft cake made with fromage frais and - of course - coconut.
Brazilians are also fond of "bolo" cakes, such as bolo de rolo, which consists of many layers of very thin cake alternating with a delicious filling, usually guava jam or duche de leche (doce de leite). You can also enjoy bolo de fuba (corn flour), bolo de mandioca (cassava) or bolo de arroz (rice flour). For breakfast, enjoy rabanada, a tasty cinnamon French toast.
As in the rest of Latin America, desserts are plentiful. These include the inevitable quindim, a dense cream made from egg yolk, sugar and coconut, often molded into a half-sphere; maracujá mousse, an airy passion fruit dessert; and canjica, a porridge made from corn kernels(canjica) cooked with milk, sugar and cinnamon. Manjar branco is a coconut dessert topped with caramel and prunes. The açaí berry is served as an icy purée close to a sorbet, or as a smoothie. The açaí bowl or açaí na tigela is filled with this cream and then covered with fresh and dried fruit. Finally, let's not forget the goiabada, a guava-based fruit paste often served with cheese, and the cajuzinho, a type of bite with cashew nuts and crushed peanuts.
Brazil is also a paradise for tropical fruits, many of which are found nowhere else. Of course, you can savor the sublime mangoes, papayas, bananas and pineapples, a fruit that originated in the country and is called "abacaxi" in Portuguese. But lovers of the unusual will also be delighted to try the bacaba (fruit of a palm tree whose juice has a slight avocado flavour), the cupuaçu (a close relative of the cacao tree whose creamy flesh can be used to make desserts and drinks), the pupunha (a palm tree whose fruit is often eaten salted, best known for its stalk, which is transformed into a "heart of palm"), tucum (a palm producing fruits called "awara", highly prized for their pulp and fat-rich kernel), muruci (a highly fragrant yellow berry with a taste somewhere between pear, lychee and banana) and tapereba (an orange fruit with a highly fragrant, tangy pulp).
On almost every street corner, you'll find a juice bar, with its procession of fresh fruit hanging over the counter. Prepared in front of you, the juices are wonderful. Vitamina is a type of fruit juice with milk added. Super-consistent and nourishing, the banana vitamina with oats replaces a meal. Finally, agua de coco, literally "coconut water", comes from the still-green fruit. The nut is cut off at one end with a machete, and a small straw is inserted to suck out the water inside. If you're a big fan of the taste of coconut, you can ask to have the juiced coconut opened for you, so you can scrape out the white flesh inside with a spoon.
With some 3.6 million tonnes produced every year, Brazil is indisputably the world's biggest coffee producer, and has been for over 150 years. Brazilians are also the 14th biggest consumers of coffee, with almost 13 kg per capita per year. Although the plant originated in East Africa and Yemen, it has acclimatized well to the humid hills of central and southern Brazil. Brazilian coffee is known for its bitterness and can be prepared in a variety of ways, although espresso and cappuccino are the classics. The most Brazilian of these, however, is the cafezinho, a generously sweetened coffee served in a tiny cup, which is drunk on the go.
Finally, mate is an infusion from a plant native to Paraguay and neighbouring regions, which has been consumed for millennia. This slightly bitter hot beverage is sipped from a calabash (a small dried gourd) using a bombilla, a straw ending in a ball with holes to filter the maté leaves. Tereré is the iced version of this infusion, with bits of citrus fruit added.
Alcohols
Cachaça is Brazil's best-known spirit. Produced from sugar cane, this brandy is similar to rum, though produced differently, at around 40-45°. While rum is made from boiled sugarcane molasses, cachaça is produced from fresh cane juice called varappa. It can be young (branca, "white" or prata, "silver") or old (amarela, "yellow" or ouro, "golden"). This spirit is used to make many cocktails, the most famous of which is the caipirinha, a mixture of lemon, sugar and crushed ice. There are a few variations, such as caipiroska (made with vodka rather than cachaça) or other versions where the lemon is replaced by other fruits. Batida is a mixture of fruit juice and cachaça.
Beer(cerveja) is very popular in Brazil, and is often served by the liter and on beaches, in Styrofoam-wrapped bottle covers to keep it cool. The country produces mainly lagers - light beers - which are rather thirst-quenching. The best-known brands are Saint Bier, Antarctica, Brahma, Itaipava, Bohemia and Skol. Not to be confused with Skøll, a French vodka-flavored beer produced by the Kronenbourg group. The Antarctica brand also produces guaraná, a non-alcoholic soda with a cidery aftertaste and a high caffeine content, created in 1921.
While vine-growing requires a temperate climate with marked temperature differences throughout the year - which doesn't necessarily seem to be the case in Brazil - the extreme south of the country is a wine-growing region, offering some interesting vintages such as castel-chatelet (red), pinot noir, cabernet and chardonnay aurora (white). However, domestic demand is high, and the country imports a great deal of wine from Chile and Argentina. Finally, in 1973, the Moët & Chandon group moved into the region, creating Domaine Chandon in Serra Gaúcha, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. This unique Champagne know-how has given rise to a large production of sparkling wines, which are very popular in South America.
