Interesting Fact

-Brazil is one of the largest countries in the world (fifth largest). It is officially known as Brasil or Republica Federtiva do Brasil. It is also the most populous country in Latin America.
-The main land characteristic of Brazil would have to be the extensive Amazon Rainforest.
-The highest peak is Pico de Neblina, at 9735 ft. in Guiana's highlands.
-Brazil has been a colony, an empire, a republic, and has been under military rule! Today it is a democratic nation.
-Brazillian law is based on the ancient Germanic-Roman traditions. Therefore, Brazil follows the civil law concept. The fundamental law of Brazil is the Federal Constitution. It was promulgated on October 5th, 1988.

Holiday and Religious Food Habits

-Brazilian have special dishes that they eat on holidays, just as Americans typically eat birthday cake on birthdays and turkey on Thanksgiving. On birthday occasions, they eat brigadeiros and beijinhos. The Christmas meal in Brazil is rather large. It has a great variety of dishes that include fresh vegetables such as Couve a Mineira. Along with these vegetables are bowls of zesty, colorful rice and platters filled with ham and Ceia de Natal, which is a Brazilian Christmas turkey.

-Brazilians celebrate the birth of Jesus such as many Americans do. They also celebrate Easter. On Easter they have certain dishes they typically eat. Pacoca, a paste made by mixing crushed nuts and raw ingredients, is a special treat that is offered at Easter time in the Brazilian homes. 

-Another traditional Easter meal there would be Clipfish, a white fish, and a ring cake.

- Festival of St. Benedict is religious day that is celebrated. On this day many foods will be served. Foods such as bolinhos, deep fried cheese or rice, along with manioc (cassava) meal, queijo de sertao (popular hard cheese made mostly of goat milk), and rapadura (hard chunks of raw brown sugar eaten as candy).

-Each holiday will present different foods, as well as the holiday traditions in America.

Brazillian Food in America

-Many foods from Brazil are used in many different ways. Sugar is a food that originated in Brazil and used all around the world. Americans use sugar in their everyday lives. Some other foods that originated in Brazil and are commonly used in the USA are rice and beans, pastel, tapioca, and Acaí n Tigela. Brazilian nuts are also commonly used in America. Citrus fruits are commonly from Brazil and used in the USA. Fruits such as mangos, Acai, and coconuts.

          

 

Typical Meal & Common Dishes

-The national dish of Brazil is feijoada, which is a thick stew of pork and beef pieces with black beans. This meal is usually prepared in a clay pot.
-A typical meal in Brazil could be acaraje. This meal is made with black-eyed pease that are rolled into balls and deep-0fried in palm oil. This meal is usually stuffed with shrimp or peanuts. Other typical meals would include: churrasco (barbeque), coxinha (deep-fried chicken drumstick), moqueca (seafood stew with no water), pamonha (corn and milk paste wrapped in a corn husk), pao de queijo (bread rolls served with cheese), picadinho de jacare (alligator meat), and pizza.
-The national dessert of Brazil is called brigadeiro. This dessert looks similar to truffles. It's a thick mix of condensed milk, butter, and chocolate powder. Once they are cooked and cooled, they are covered in chocolate sprinkles.
-There are many desserts in Brazil. Some common desserts would include: arroz doce (rice pudding), bolo de rolo (guava-filled sponge cake), cuscus branco (tapioca pudding), goiabada (guava paste served with cheese), and papo de anjo (separately mixed egg yolks and whites boiled in syrup, then coated in rum or vanilla.

Meal Schedule

-Brazilians consider breakfast to be least important meal of the day. This is usually eaten at home and in a quick manner. Some commons foods eaten for breakfast would be bread, butter, cheese, jelly and fruit. A common drink would be hot coffee. The largest and most important meal of the day would be lunch for Brazilians. Lunch usually consists of a meat, rice and beans as well as salad, vegetables, and dessert. The dessert is usually followed a drink called cafezinho, a strong black coffee. Their dinner is lighter meal that is often eaten out. The dinner restaurants do not open before 7:30 p.m. Coffee and milk are not served during dinner.

-Breakfast for Brazilians usually occurs between six and eight in the morning.

-Lunch for Brazilians occurs between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

-Dinner for Brazilians occurs at 7:30 p.m. at the earliest.

-The times that Brazilians eat meals are about the same times that Americans eat meals. On the other hand what each population eats would be different. For example -Brazilians would not eat bacon for breakfast while a lot of Americans would love to bacon for breakfast.

Flavor Principles

-Brazilians use a lot of cocoa in their diets. They often cook with eggs, fruits and spices such as cloves and cinnamon. They also use spices such as garlic and parsley. Brazilians do not often drink milk as a beverage but rather they use it to cook with and to mix with fruits to make fruit drinks or desserts. They use some of the most rare spices to flavor their food. Some spices they commonly use are Tempero Baiano, Paracress and Annatto.

Common Cooking Methods

-Common cooking methods for Brazil are grilling meats for long periods of time. Another common cooking method is steaming foods in a pit oven. Brazil’s recipes are a mixture of the surrounding countries. Their recipes can reflect each of the surrounding countries within their dishes. They often grill, steam, and boil their foods.