Brazil Food and Drink

Brazilians have been fusing cuisines for centuries, mixing local ingredients and indigenous methods with imported African techniques and traditional Portuguese recipes. The hallmarks of Brazilian cuisine include: the liberal use of manioc (a.k.a. cassava, a stringy tuber), as both a seasoning and flour; very generous helpings of meat and side starches; cozidos (thick stews) and sauces of mixed African-European origin; and Brazil’s many native fruits and vegetables.

The typical Brazilian restaurant menu will feature the hearty, meat-heavy traditional dishes associated with Minas Gerais (comida mineira), plus pizzas, massas (pastas), salads, and the occasional Baiano specialty. Salgados (savory pastries) served at lanchonetes are common appetizers, as are sopas (soups). Entrees typically serve two but are mostly meat, so most people order side dishes (guarnições) of vegetables or starch. Seafood (frutos do mar) is usually only grilled (grelhado) or baked (ao forno) with potatoes. Meats come simples (grilled and ungarnished) or in the following preparations: à milanesa (fried); à cubana (with fried bananas and pork ends); à francesa (with ham, peas, and matchstick potatoes); à grega (with Greek rice—mixed with vegetables, raisins, and ham); à paulista (with sausage, fried eggs, and kale); à piemontesa (with cheesy rice). Though São Paulo is considered by many the culinary capital of Latin America, outside of the major cities it’s rare to find restaurants offering international cuisine. Thankfully, a country as vast and culturally diverse as Brazil has varied regional cuisines:

COMIDA MINEIRA (MINAS GERAIS)
Miners and prospectors flooded this “heartland” of Brazil during the gold rush era, inspiring a rough-and-ready cuisine with an emphasis on easy preparations of beans, rice, and meat (especially beef and pork). Because of such humble and hearty beginnings, Minas Gerais is now considered the “motherland” of Brazilian cuisine, and anything seemingly traditional and hearty is usually classified as comida mineira regardless of origin; hence, cuscuz à paulista (a shrimp loaf from São Paulo) and the feijoada completa (Rio’s signature Saturday stew) are both often called mineiro dishes. Farofa is the most famous mineiro treat, a sawdust-like bland garnish of powdered manioc baked or fried in oil.

COMIDA BAIANA (BAHIA)
The African-infused cuisine of Bahia is undoubtedly the culinary highlight of Brazil. In colonial times, many African slaves were employed as plantation chefs and added unique African touches—including Baiano basics like coconut milk, harissa-style spices, and dendê (a strong and pungent palm oil)—into heavy continental sauces and desserts. Flavorful Baiano seafood stews like bobó, vatapá, and caruru are now commonly found on menus all over Brazil, but no Baiano dish is as beloved as moqueca, a spicy stew of coconut milk, dendê, spices, and shrimp or fish. Also popular are acarajé, deep-fried brown bean fritters filled with vatapá, dried shrimp, and tongue-scorching chili oil. On streets and beaches all over Brazil you’ll see turbaned, traditionally white-clad Baianas selling acarajé and doces (sweets), including the sweet crocada (rice-and-coconut cake) and tapioca pancakes known as biju or tapioquinha.

COMIDA GAÚCHA (REGIÃO SUL)
Though best known outside the country as the birthplace of supermodel Giselle Bünchen, the sprawling open plains of southern Brazil—in particular Rio Grande do Sul—are known to Brazilians as the land of the gaúchos, cattle-ranching cowboys famous for their meat-heavy cuisine (they recognize 37 different cuts of beef alone). The most famous gaúcho tradition is churrascaria, a giant barbecue feast served in an all-you-can-eat style called rodízio; it’s now very popular all over the country.

COMIDA SERTANEJA (SERTÃO)
The sertão is a region of dry grasslands in Brazil’s Northeast region, with cuisine that differs markedly from the African-influenced comida baiana typically associated with the area. The most famous sertanejo dish is carne de sol, sun-dried beef used in both dry and rehydrated forms. As in the rest of Brazil, manioc is quite popular here, but it is known as macaxeira. Sertaneja food is rarely served elsewhere, so the culinarily adventurous in the area would do well to take advantage of it.

COMIDA AMAZONA (AMAZONAS)
Unsurprisingly, indigenous fruits, vegetables, and freshwater fish are the centerpiece of Amazonian cuisine, with fried piranhas and catfish served up alongside exotic fruits like cupuaçu and taparebá. Local fruits—especially guaraná and açaí (see Drinks)—are quite popular all over the country, as are the many thick Indian-based stews like tacacá.

• Where To Get It

Food in Brazil can be bought in both supermarkets and weekly markets called ferias and is served primarily in three places: restaurants, small cafes, and street vendors. Supermarkets have more regular ...more

• Drinks

Brazil’s “national drink” is the potent caipirinha, a simple cocktail of fresh limes, sugar, and cachaça, a gutrot rum-style liquor. Denounced as undrinkable firewater when it ...more