Brazilian Potluck

Brazil's cuisine is interesting, to say the least. The country's long history of immigration and wide cultural diversity across its regions has served to widen the range and variety of Brazilian foods. In this sense it is hard to generalize about Brazilian food, mainly because there is no one single national Brazilian cuisine that distinguish it, but numerous very distinct regional ones.

Brazilian food mirrors the variety and mix of its people, with influences from the indigenous people of Brazil, the Portuguese, African and Italian people, to name but a few. It is this ethnic make up that has largely influenced Brazilian food preferences across Brazil, culminating in foods of different cultures being adapted over time to suit regional tastes as it exists today.

Brazil food in the north east for instance, has a strong Afro- Brazilian slant (the legacy of African slave people), with seafood being a very popular and widely used food staple in Brazil cuisine. Typical, popular Brasil foods in this region include dishes such as fish stew; brown beans and dried shrimp fritters. Being a coastal region, excellent seafood can be found in many of the north east towns.

Other Brazil popular foods include beautifully flavoured dishes such as tacacá - which is a spicy soup; pato no tucupi - a spiced duck dish; and vatapa - a seafood dish in a thick, rich sauce. One of Brazil's most popular foods include Feijoada, which is a stew of beans with various beef and pork products and is typical of the Brazilian Portuguese cuisine. This Brazil food is perhaps the closest the country comes to a having a national dish. The dish is served up all day at weekends by Brazil restaurants.

Vatapa is another of Brazil popular foods. It is made from bread, shrimps, coconut milk, palm oil and peanuts or cashew nuts, which are mashed to form a creamy consistency. It is a typical condiment that is used particularly in the state of Bahia and is commonly eaten with acaraje, an Afro Brazilian fast food made from black eyed peas, which is formed into a ball and then deep-fried in palm oil. The shrimp ingredient in the above Brazilian recipe can be replaced with chicken, turkey, ground tuna or numerous other alternatives.

Farofa is toasted farinha, which is usually served with onions and bits of bacon mixed in. If you're on a budget, look out for the terms prato feito, prato comercial or refeição completa. You will have a substantial meal relatively inexpensively.

Comida Baiana, a particular favourite in Salvador, is made with excellent fresh fish and shellfish, hot peppers, coconut milk, fresh coriander and palm oil.

Cheese buns or cheese breads is another Brazil popular food snack or breakfast fare. Made from Cassava or corn flour, they are chewy and moist inside and are relatively inexpensive. Cheese buns are approximately one to six inches in diameter, with about two inches of height. These Brazil popular foods snacks are favourites among all age groups and are usually sold by Brazil fast food street vendors.

Brigadeiro is a simple Brazilian chocolate fudge candy created in the 1920's and named after Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes and its shape is a reproduction of that of some varieties of chocolate truffles.

Source: http://www.brazil-travel-northeast.com/brazil-popular-foods.html