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MAJOR NATIONS IN A GLOBAL WORLD: BRAZIL
Contemporary diners can still taste the
influence of the African slaves who came to
Brazil to work on the sugar plantations. Upon
their arrival, African chefs found ways to cook
African, Indian, and traditional Portuguese
dishes using local ingredients, including red
palm oil. The oil gave the dishes a special
color and flavor. Interestingly, the Portuguese
brought the palm tree to Brazil from Africa.
These dishes are part of the Bahia food tradi-
tion, named for the state of Bahia, in which
cooks used other ingredients including coco-
nut milk, ginger, and pepper.
One Bahia specialty is
acarajé
, a dish made from peeled black-eyed peas
rolled into balls or fritters and then deep-fried in palm oil. Cooks then split the
balls and fill them with such things as shrimp and onions.
By the early 1800s, African slaves sold many of their dishes on the streets
of Brazil’s cities, including baked black-eyed pea cakes, shrimp and bread pud-
ding, rice cakes, corn cakes, and sweet rolls. Many of these treats are still for
sale today from street vendors.
In São Paulo, diners often eat food with a North African, or Italian flavor,
while some dishes in the southern portion of the country reflect the gaucho, or
cowboy culture. These dishes include
dried meats, and a grilled meat called
churrasco.
Women selling
acarajé
, deep-fried fritters,
in Rio de Janeiro.
Acarajé
with shrimp and onions.