Apple Cheese Bread Yield: 8 Servings 1/2 c Butter or margarine 2/3 c Sugar 2 x Eggs 1 x Apple peeled
lunch. Asparagus Crepes ...
How to Host a Memorable July 4th Barbecue – and Have Fun Too. July 4th is right around the corner, and it’s peak season for outdoor parties and barbecues. Here are some tips from a top professional - The Cantering Caterer , of Westport, Connecticut. Take a look at these great suggestions, and discover how to...
How to Stay Sane on Turkey Day Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Thanksgiving Cooking a huge meal for over a dozen relatives and friendsduring the holidays is one of the most stressful challenges thatthe average home cook will undertake. What's...
Italian Cuisine: More Than PastaGo to any family restaurant with Italian dining in mind and you are likely to order chicken parmesan, pasta alfredo, spaghetti and meatballs, or maybe a pizza. It is easy to think that some pasta, some marinara sauce, a crust of Italian bread and a...
What Do I Have To Do To Become A Good Chef Being a chef is a very physical profession. You are required to remain on your feet almost constantly. Along with that, you must also be stirring, kneading, and chopping your foods. Many times, you will have to do all of this while also having...
Brazilian Cuisine
It began as most 'ethnic food movements' do - with small restaurants in the neighborhoods where immigrants settled, diners and lunchrooms and tea rooms opened by those who wanted to offer a taste of home to their fellow émigrés. Chinese, Italian, Middle Eastern, Thai - from family run bistros, the cuisine spread as those outside the cultures of the 'neighborhood' learned of the good food and the word spread. The latest 'new cuisine' that is spreading like wildfire is Brazilian - a delicious blending of three separate cultures that comes together in dishes and delicacies that aren't found anywhere else in the world.
To understand the cuisine of Brazil, one must understand a little of its history. The base of Brazilian cuisine is in its native roots - the foods that sustained the native Brazilians - cassava, yams, fish and meat - but it bears the stamp of two other peoples as well: the Portuguese who came to conquer and stayed, and the African slaves that they brought with them to work the sugar plantations. Brazilian cuisine today is a seamless amalgam of the three influences that interweave in a unique and totally Brazilian style.
The staples of the Brazilian diet are root vegetables, seafood and meat. Manioc, derived from cassava root, is the 'flour' of the region, and is eaten in one form or another at nearly every meal. The bitter cassava root is poisonous in its raw state, but when prepared properly, the cassava root yields farinha and tapioca, bases for many dishes of the region. The Portuguese influence shows in the rich, sweet egg breads that are served at nearly every meal, and in the seafood dishes that blend 'fruits de mer'
with coconut and other native fruits and vegetables. The national dish, bobo de camarao is one of these, a delicious mingling of fresh shrimp in a puree of dried shrimp, manioc (cassava) meal, coconut milk and nuts, flavored with a palm oil called dende.
It is the African influence that is most felt, though - as is to be expected of the people who worked in the kitchens. Pineapple and coconut milk, shredded coconut and palm hearts worked their way into everyday dishes, flavoring meat, shrimp, fish, vegetables and bread. Brazilian food, unlike the cuisines of many of the surrounding countries, favors the sweet rather than the hot, and more than any other South American cuisine, it carries the savor of tropical island breezes rather than the hot wind of the desert.
The most common ingredients in Brazilian cuisine are cassava, coconut, dende, black beans and rice. Bacalao - salt cod - features in many dishes derived from the Portuguese, but flavored with typical Brazilian insouciance with coconut cream and pistachio nuts it becomes an entirely different food. It is typical of the Brazilian attitude toward food - an expression of a warm and open people to whom feeding and sharing food is the basis of hospitality. Brazilian cuisine is like its people - all are welcome, all are welcomed and all make their mark - without ever overwhelming the contributions of the other.
About the Author
Kirsten Hawkins is a food and nutrition expert specializing the Mexican, Chinese, and Italian food. Visit http://www.food-and-nutrition.com/ for more information on cooking delicious and healthy meals.
