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There is no guinea pig on offer on the dinner table in Brazil however the meals are still a little different from those served in the UK. The South American theme of eating a ridiculous amount of rice continues here although it isn’t always accompanied by potatoes so that is a step in the right direction when it comes to the carbs balance! Instead of potatoes, we usually find beans or feijão as they are called here. They are generally served in a creamy and tasty sauce and they are a key ingredient in one of their national dishes, Feijoada. Feijoada is quite a strong tasting dish and some I have tasted have been very salty, I am reliably informed that this is due to the meat being preserved in salt. It is a stew consisting of mainly pork, bacon, beans and sausages and is definitely a hearty meal which would be well suited to a winter’s night in England.
Potatoes are eaten here although sometimes they are substituted for mandioca root. The Mandioca is also used as a topping in the form of Farofa. The Farofa is a flour which is toasted and often has pieces of bacon or
small pieces of fruit added to it. It has a bit of a barbecue flavour to it and is really nice sprinkled on top of your Feijoada or indeed on top of many other meals as well as tasting nice on its own.
I have eaten out a lot here, obviously this is only so that I can do research for you and not because I hate cooking! There are two methods of dining that I have not seen in England and which at first left me a little confused although now I am not sure why they aren’t found more regularly back home. The first is the ´per kilo´ method. Pretty much as its name suggests, you choose whatever you would like from the self service areas in whatever quantity or combination you like and then at the end of the counter you find a smiling assistant and a set of scales. You place your plate on the scales and then you are charged for however many grams you have taken. It is great if you are not feeling very hungry or are trying to be sensible about your food intake as you feel rewarded when a low
price comes up on the screen, but you have to be prepared as if you have picked a lot of food your wallet will pay as much as your waistline!
The other method which I found different was the Rodizio system. These are all you can eat restaurants, so for a fixed price you can keep munching for hours, much like in England. However these are different in that you don´t even have to get up, waiters are continuously circling the tables offering you food, and of course it can be very difficult to say no! Depending on the cuisine of the restaurant there may also be a counter with salads and side dishes. The churrascarias, barbecue restaurants are particularly amazing! There are tens of different meats on offer including chicken hearts, which are a little chewy but not so bad really. But my favourite has to be Picanha.
Picanha is a certain cut of sirloin beef which is served as a steak or in strips over an open flame. It is full of flavour and is so nice that I have actually become a fan of meat! Generally I only like chicken or fish but this has
changed my mind and has become a staple on my dinner plate. In this part of Brazil it is a very good price, often cheaper than other dishes as they are close to the ranches and cattle breeding areas of the South, however in the UK I may need to win the lottery to be able to eat steak everyday!
In addition to these Brazilian dishes, it is easy to find foreign food restaurants as well, just as in England. The kebab shops and restaurants are common especially in this part of Brazil as there are many residents in Foz do Iguaçu who hail from the Middle East, you can also find Chinese restaurants, Italian restaurants and Pizzerias on the main streets and in the main squares.
Snack wise, the Brazilians do like their breads and their Pastels. The easiest way, although maybe not the most accurate is to liken the Pastel to a McDonalds´ apple pie. It is made of thin pastry and then fried and comes with all sorts of fillings although the savoury fillings of meat and vegetables seem to the most common. Cheese bread is a very popular snack here and is delicious straight
from the ovens; it is what it says on the tin only it is made with cassava flour so it is more moist and chewy inside the crust than the bread that we are used to in England. They are very small but very filling and are great as a quick snack or as a breakfast food. The other snack food that I have enjoyed many times is the Coxinha. This is a small deep fried snack that is shaped as a drumstick, hence the name ´little thigh´. It is shredded chicken inside a dough, with a consistency similar to that of the cheese bread. This is then covered in breadcrumbs and fried. Yum!
People here often ask me what I miss from England and of course like a good girl I answer by saying ´my family, friends and my work´ but honestly I also miss food! Particularly baked beans on toast, my dad’s Yorkshire puddings and salt & vinegar crisps. Explaining Yorkshire puddings to people here is quite difficult but describing salt & vinegar crisps is even more difficult. When I ask people about them they look at me as if I am crazy, the idea of vinegar flavoured crisps is apparently a strange one to the Brazilians. I guess that some of our culinary delights have yet to cross the waters, maybe one day...
So there you have a brief review of the savoury foods on offer her and before I move onto desserts and drinks, I will leave you with one thought to ponder on, did you know that in Brazil ´Brazil Nuts´ are not called Brazil nuts? Hmmm...
Speak to you soon,
Tasha
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