My Brazil through Food

September 29, 2009

Although this blog isn’t going anywhere in the near future, I feel like I need to mark this end to my ex-pat experience in some way. I finally decided there is no better way than to take a walk through the food journey I’ve experienced in the past two years.

We’ve been exposed to so many foods here – exotic fruits at their absolute peak of ripeness, rocket fuel coffee of which one sip will swing droopy eyelids wide open, sweets so sugary they make your teeth ache, and more beef than some cultures would consider consuming in a lifetime. Some I’ve loved, some were just okay and others I would pass on if offered again. However, all are part of my Brazil experience from a foodie perspective.

So let’s take a look at my Brazil through food.

Açaí, that powerhouse fruit from the Amazon. Everyone in the U.S. likes to talk about its miracle health qualities, but here, I eat it because it is just plain good. You can enjoy it as juice or loaded with fruit and granola in açaí na tigela.


Acerola, a fruit similar in shape to a cherry, but with the texture of something closer to a plum. It’s loaded with vitamin C and you’ll most often find it as a juice.


Açukapé has won the award for our favorite padaria or panificadora which is a bakery. It has a local flair and the most amazing pastries, not to mention a very local price. Most things you find there are less than 1 USD. Our favorites are the misto croissants filled with ham and cheese and the sonhos (although this name for them is not used everywhere in Brazil). They are donut-like pastry filled with cream or doce de leite and here they roll them in cinnamon and sugar.


Batata Suíça, or Swiss potato, is the ex-pat’s answer to the lack of hash browns. These shredded potatoes are filled with anything from meats to veggies and cheeses and then cooked in a skillet before being transferred to the plate. We get these when visiting Curitiba.


Bolo de rolo, is by far our favorite cake discovery here. It is typical to the northeast part of the country specifically Recife. A friend brought us one back from a trip and this is the only one we’ve had the pleasure to encounter here. It is a soft cake, almost resembling a cookie dough topped with a layer of goiaba (guava fruit) jam. The layers or so thin it is as amazing to look at as it is to eat!

A typical Brazilian churrasco complete with grilled meat, vinaigrette (veggies in oil and lime juice), farofa (toasted mandioca flour), and this one came with steamed mandioca (cassava, yucca).

Candied coconut is likely not the technical name and to be honest, I’m not sure what is. I normally just point to it and pick out my little cup when I buy it from the sweets lady at the feira. It consists of large chunks of coconut flesh loaded with a crisp, sugary coating.

Café, there has been way too much coffee enjoyment to adequately describe here. This one has doce de leite in the bottom.


Crème de papaya, a mixture of vanilla ice cream and the pulp of papaya which creates a smooth, soft, ice cream-like dessert. It is topped off with a shot of crème de cassis.

The feira (farmer’s market) is like a paradise for all things food especially those of the healthy, fresh variety. Jack fruit, bananas and mangos are only a few of the things you can see and buy there.

Maracujá quickly became my favorite fruit. Not only are the tart flesh and crunchy seeds delicious mixed into a fruit salad, but you can turn it into other things such as Cocada com Maracujá, sweetened coconut with the fruit pulp mixed in, and Mousse de Maracujá, a light and fluffy pudding dessert.



Mandioquinha, also called batata-baroa or batata-salsa, is a root vegetable that is like a cross between a carrot and a potato. It makes a smooth, buttery mash that went so well with this chicken covered in molho de maracujá (passion fruit sauce).


Moqueca, a stew typical to Bahia often made with shrimp or fish as well as tomatoes, onions and coconut milk. A friend made us for it here and we now always order it when out if we find it on the menu.

Tapioca is also typical to Bahia, but we can get it at our local feira. Ground tapioca is spread on a griddle and heated to form a tortilla-like flat bread. You can get it sweet or savory. This one had sweetened condensed milk and coconut.

Many a seafood feast when we made it to the coast. This, oysters baked with cheese on the island of Floripa.

Paçoca, a peanut candy that resembles a peanut butter fudge with ground peanuts and lots of texture. It is crumbly with a sweet and salty flavor.

Pamonha, cornmeal and milk combined and boiled in a corn husk. You can have it sweet or savory.


Pé-de-moleque another peanut candy that takes peanut brittle to a whole new level. It is soft and tender, and full of crunchy, whole peanuts.

Pinhão, from the pine cone of the Auraucaria tree, these pine nuts are steamed and salted. They taste like a cross between a bean and a nut, and are typical to the southern part of Brazil.


Brazil’s version of German (Alemão) food is one thing we always stop for in Curitiba. Salsicha branca, white sausages with mustard and submarinos, draft beers with a shot of liqueur inside.

Petiscos, or bar snacks, can be found around every corner. Our favorite find was fried mandioca wrapped in bacon.

Sushi abounds here with the strong Japanese influence in this area. I love their California rolls with mango and there is even a sweet variety of rolls which include cream cheese, strawberry and goiaba spread.

I rarely ate fried foods until I was introduced to the pastel. A puff pastry filled with meats, cheeses and veggies and deep fried until crisp and puffy. It comes with a mildly spicy sauce and vinaigrette. My favorites have been chicken with catipury cheese, the sundried tomato with arugula and mozzarella, broccoli with bacon and mushroom, and 4 cheese. Yeah, I’ve had a few in two years.

Of course there was the occasional caipirinha consumed. They aren’t my favorite, but when in Brazil… This one was made with mango, but I had a strawberry (morango) one not too long ago that was very good.


And last, but not least, Feijoada, the beloved national dish of Brazil, a wonderfully flavored bean feast with all kinds of pork parts. I, of course, gladly skip the parts, but I can’t knock the flavor of the dish. I always have to giggle a bit when I see a recipe in the States calling for pork loin or a similar item. That’s not feijoada, that’s black beans with pork. The real deal, although they often separate out the varieties of meats, includes sausage, rib meat, tail, ear, foot and I’m sure many others that are escaping me at the moment.

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  • gastroanthropologist September 30, 2009 at 6:31 am

    Wow! I think your Brazil experience will be much better remembered with these foods and the posts associated with them. So where to next? I’ve been off-blog for a bit so just catching up now!

  • corinne September 30, 2009 at 6:42 am

    What a great list!! Very complete, I loved all the fruits. I did not see pão de queijo, that would definitely make my list.

  • Lori September 30, 2009 at 7:02 am

    gastroanthro – Headed to SE Asia for a month long trip in Oct, then it’s back to getting settled in central KY for a while. Still lots of traveling though. Already planning out our trip to Europe next year. 🙂

    corinne – Oddly enough I’ve never taken a picture of one. Ha, ha!

  • Erica September 30, 2009 at 7:35 am

    So much fun. Totally jealous of all the yummy cafe and I’d love to try the Bolo de rolo (a cookie dough cake? I’m in!)Glad you’ve enjoyed your cullinary adventure

  • janetha September 30, 2009 at 8:03 am

    wow it looks like you had an amazing time eating your way through brazil! i love seeing cuisine from other countries, it all looks so fabulous and delicious. the creme de papaya thing is unreal!

  • eatingRD September 30, 2009 at 8:42 am

    What an absolutely wonderful foodie adventure!! Thank you for taking us along on your journey 🙂 Ok, scratch what I said earlier, my real dream is to retire and travel to savor all the amazing cuisines of the world hehe Looks so yummy

  • Tamara Marnell September 30, 2009 at 9:47 am

    I’ve never heard of most of these, but they look delicious. Now I know what to look for if we ever head south 😀

  • Emily September 30, 2009 at 11:11 am

    Love this post Lori! What a great review of your time there!

  • Nicole Chow - HealthyChow.com September 30, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Wow, I’ve never been to Brazil but after seeing all those foods, I’m dying to go! Everything looks so exotic and delicious. Seeing foods from different parts of the world always makes me happy and sad to know what I’m missing out on. Are you still going to SE Asia?

  • Joy September 30, 2009 at 3:50 pm

    A lovely journey for me! Thankyou

  • Heather September 30, 2009 at 6:46 pm

    you’ve just moved brazil higher up my list of must see places! all that food sounds amazing!

  • The Golden Papaya October 1, 2009 at 3:42 am

    Amazing! I’ve been here for two months, and have yet to try many of these. But I have a few favorites that didn’t make your list–mucunza, acaraje, bobó de camarão…and what about churrasco?
    Great pics, too!

  • Lori October 1, 2009 at 4:35 am

    Erica – I think the bolo de rolo was one of our favorite finds here. At least I know it is for my husband.

    janetha – Oh, the creme de papaya is so good!

    eatingRD – Traveling through food is the best way to go!

    Tamara – Definitely look them up if you make it this way.

    Emily – Thanks! Looking back I realize a whole lot of it was about food. Ha, ha!

    Nicole – Yes! We leave on Tuesday from the US and we’ll be traveling the month of Oct. I can’t wait for the trip!!

    Joy – So glad you enjoyed it.

    Heather – The food is very good. Lots of interesting combos and traditional cooking.

    Golden Papaya – As soon as I saw your food list I immediately thought you were probably living in the north. 🙂 I see you are in Bahia. I have a friend here that absolutely loves it there.

    One thing I’ve found about foods here is that they are very regional. For example, I’ve had acaraje once, but it is rare here. I love parts of it, but prefer my shrimp sem casca. I’ve heard of the bobo, but never had it or seen it served here. Shrimp in general is rare as we are about 8 hours from the coast.

    Also, some foods are the same, but go by different names. I saw your post on mucunza and that is called canjica here. They use the same name for the actual hominy to name the dish. I’ve made that and posted about it here before. I love it!

    I mentioned the churrasco early in the post, but the one restaurant here that does a twist on the traditional. I do enjoy the traditional ones too, just haven’t taken many pictures. 🙂 I hope you are enjoying your time here!

  • Tangled Noodle October 1, 2009 at 5:53 am

    When we finally make it to Brazil, I will print out this list and try each one. Seriously.

    I’ve had feijoada before and LOVE it, nasty bits and all, but from your list, I’d have a hard time just choosing a few. Thanks so much for sharing the wonderful culture and cuisine of Brazil with us. Your adventuresome willingness to try new flavors has been a boon to those of us who’ve tasted these dishes vicariously through you!

    Now, I can’t wait to hear about your SE Asia tour!

  • Michelle @ Find Your Balance October 1, 2009 at 9:23 am

    What a great wrap-up! Good luck and safe travels and looking forward to more of your culinary adventures 🙂

  • OysterCulture October 2, 2009 at 8:52 am

    What a wonderful wrap up, love the list. I intend to make sure I try them all, I ‘ve done a fair number, but could be missing a few

  • freefun0616 October 2, 2009 at 10:44 am

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  • Sarah June 25, 2011 at 8:00 am

    another excellent post, I had no idea about most of the foods you wrote about. So interesting and makes me want to pack my bags and visit.

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