The cuisine of Brazil has been constantly changing for the past 500 years due primarily to the immigrants bringing their native cooking styles and flavors. The indigenous people of the land that is today known as Brazil were primarily agriculturalists. The principle crop was known as Manioc. The indigenous people would grind the manioc to produce flour and then make a sort of pancake with it. Manioc was also supplemented with fresh fish or game when available. Some other popular crops for the pre conquered indigenous people were maize, sweet potatoes, beans, peanuts, a few vegetables, and many fruits. A native fruit guarana was used to make juice to drink, and its juice is still consumed today. When the Portuguese settlers came during the sixteenth century, they tried to grow the European crops which did not do well in the different climate. Therefore, most Portuguese settlers were forced to consume the same manioc, maize, and fish diets of the natives, but they did supplement their diets with the few products from Europe that could be transported such as wheat flour, olives, some cheeses, fruit preserves, and wine. When the Portuguese brought African slaves over, the slaves developed a sort of stew using farofa which consisted of fried manioc mash, beans, and meat or fish. Maize was not as much a staple in the Brazil area as it was in most of the rest of Latin America, but rather maize was used to feed slaves, the poor, and the explorers since it traveled well. Chicken, beef, and pork were not frequently eaten during colonial times. Some other finer dishes that were developed by slaves for their Portuguese oppressors were: vatapa which consisted of shrimp, fish, or chicken, manioc flour, coconut milk, and palm oil; caruru which consisted of fish or chicken seasoned with oil and pepper; acarajg made with beans, malaguenta pepper and oil rolled in banana leaves; farofa which were golden fried manioc meal; and quibebe which was essentially pumpkin puree. The cuisine changed drastically during the eighteenth century when maize became a very important staple, and pork, chicken, and beef were widely consumed. Beans, rice, kale, squash, bananas, and plantains also became important parts of the cuisine. It was during the eighteenth century when cerveja de milho a beer made from corn and popcorn became a cultural identity.

 

 

 

Source:

• Changing Food Use Patterns in Brazil
• Warren R. Fish
• Luso-Brazilian Review, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Summer, 1978), pp. 69-89
• Published by: University of Wisconsin Press
• Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3512902