Discovering Brazil

Page 14

Discovering Brazil

Dining Customs

Typical meal traditions may differ from region to region, but standard practices are below:



Breakfast:

Common foods include tropical fruits, typical cakes, bread with butter or

jam, minas cheese, requeijão, coffee, milk, juices, or tea



Lunch:

Normally the biggest meal; rice and beans are a staple with some kind of

protein, salads, farofa (a toasted flour of manioc or corn)



Afternoon snack

(

lanche da tarde):

A quick meal between lunch and dinner, often

consisting of coffee or tea with cookies, typical cakes, salgadinhos, or bread with

butter



Dinner:

For most Brazilians dinner is a light affair, but choices vary from region to

region. In São Paulo, soups, salads, pasta, sandwiches, and pizza are common

dishes; other areas may choose more filling meals

Grocery

Nearly all Brazilians use supermarkets to do their grocery shopping. On average Brazilians

probably frequent the big grocery stores four to six times per month. Some families opt to

take one big grocery shopping trip per month and then buy daily items such as milk, bread,

and deli meats from local stores closer to their houses. Brazil’s many local stores often carry

homemade items. Local produce stores sell fresh fruits, vegetables, and salads. There are

also many bakeries, which sell pastries and bread fresh out of the oven.

Although grocery stores in Brazil feature familiar aisles, the quantities of items are much

smaller, and there is less variety. Additionally, stores in Brazil do not have self-checkout.

They also don’t have pharmacies or photo centers inside grocery stores; for these services,

you must go to separate, specialized stores.