Food 

Lifestyle Introduction| Food| Education| Transportation| Music| Health| Sports| Housing

Brazil's cuisine is the product of tradition and happenstance.  Each region of Brazil depending on its indigenous culture ( people who settled there) and location characteristics has developed its own very diverse and tasty dishes.  Manioc flour is a main staple found in Brazil.  Manioc is a root of a tree that looks like an enormous potato.  It is used to make a type of flour for breads, sauces and tapioca. It was and still is used as a main staple in Brazilian people's diets. 

The origins of the Bahian cuisine dates back to the days of slavery where the masters would collect leftovers and give to the slaves.  Slaves in turn would be allowed to fish and collect sea clams.  African women would combine sea food and various ingredients into pots and create meals.  Many of these meals were combine with coconut milk or oil from the Dende palm.  Over the years these concoctions were developed into recipes and given names.  Some of these recipes are called Vatapa, Sarapatel, and Caruru.

In the Amazon region a favorite dish is Pato No Tucupi.  This dish's main ingredient is duck and a wild green herb that tingles in your stomach for hours after you eat it.  Another typical dish is Tacaca.

In Rio Grande De Sol, Churrasco is a popular dish!  Gauchos ( cowboys on ranches) love this dish.

The one main dish that typifies Brazilian cooking is Feijoada.  This is a complicated bean and meat dish topped with a manioc flour sauce.

Drink

Brazil is widely known for some of the beverages they produce.  Many international travelers feel that Brazilian beer is one of the best beers in the world.  Brazil also produces a powerful, clear, raw, rum called Cachaca made from fermented sugar cane alcohol.  This rum is combined with lime, sugar and ice and is very popular among the tourists and locals.  Alcoholic beverages are not the only popular ones; Guarana, is a delicious soft drink made from fruit found in the Amazon!

Student Activity:

1.  Research and find the recipe for any of the above traditional meals mentioned.  Perhaps you can cook one of these for your classmates and feature it as " Eating Like A Brazilian"!