The quality of the food in Brazil is different from what we’re used to in Australia. The fruits and vegetables are nicer, but I find the food in general to be either too sweet or too salty in Brazil.
But what I love the eat the most when I’m in Brazil is their more traditional dishes.
Traditional Brazilian Food
Beans and Rice
You will still find many families in Brazil cooking beans and rice for their lunches and dinners every day. Their rice is usually white rice but the beans can vary (depending on which region of Brazil you are visiting). I prefer black beans over brown as the black beans are a lot tastier.
Beans and rice on its own can be tedious, so you will often find it served with some meat and salad.
Picanha
Picanha is a piece of meat from cow. You can find it in restaurants as well as some households. I enjoy eating this meat with salad only and it’s best cooked in the oven or on the BBQ. This meat has a natural smokey flavour so there is no need to add anything else to the meat when you cook it. Be careful with the fat because it’s mouth watering, especially when it’s crispy.
Moqueca
This dish is my all time favourite and is a must have for anyone visiting Brazil. It’s best eaten at a restaurant known for making superb Moqueca. This dish is prepared with fresh herbs and seafood such as fish and prawns. Think of this as a ‘fish stew’ but only with the most intense and freshest of flavours.
Brazilian Desserts
The desserts in Brazil are good, very good, and I love how they use coconut, bannana and condensed milk in their desserts. My favourite type of dessert is a soft pudding made from condensed milk and coated in a super sweet sugary sauce. This rich and sweet pudding is served cold and if you eat a lot, you’ll end up with an upset stomach.
Brazilian Coffee
Brazilian coffee is wonderful, but you can get sick of it easily as all the coffee tastes the same. I appreciate the fact that they do not add milk to their coffee. In Brazil they prefer to drink filtered coffee and in almost every home you’ll find a jug of hot freshly brewed Brazilian coffee. Even some stores and supermarkets serve freshly brewed coffee for you to enjoy.
Brazilian Cheese
There is one type of cheese here that I can’t get enough of called Queijo Mineiro. It’s a light cheese with a rubbery texture that is pleasant to have on its own. This cheese is not suitable to cook with as it will not melt. I tend to eat more of this cheese (as yogurt in Brazil is terrible) to keep up with my daily calcium intake. You can also eat this cheese with something sweet, like a condensed jelly made from a fruit called Goiaba.
Açaí
Not classified as a food, but I thought I would add this anyway as this is another thing I crave when I am in Brazil. Açaí is commonly sold in Brazil as frozen fruit pulp which is blended with other things such as water, milk or juice, to make it into a tasty smoothie that you can eat or drink. I love having a bowl of Açaí in the morning, especially after a workout in Brazil, as it’s a great recovery drink. It is packed with calories, so be careful not to over treat yourself with this highly addictive smoothie.
Please check out my other Brazil-related blog posts below:
Hello, Emilia.
How are you?
I was looking your site and i have been curious to read this article.
I love açaí. In hot days it is wonderful eat it.
I hope one day i can go Australia and taste the traditional Australians’ food.
Can I correct you? Its ‘picanha’ not picahna. And it’s ‘açaí’.
Hugs 🙂
Hey lovely, happy you dropped by. Thank you so much for those corrections, I will change them in the post now. x.E