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South American foods
Even though we love the salsas, sauces and tortillas of Mexican food, South America has plenty more to offer in the way of cuisine. From the island nations of the Caribbean, to Cuba and Brazil, here we have tried to give you a mere snapshot of the other Latin delights you could be serving or enjoying on board. You can also read about our delicious cuts of Chilean Wagyu on page 11 and discover exotic fish and seafood on page 50.
Brazil
Like the nation from which is derives its roots, Brazilian cuisine varies greatly by region. The natural crops available in each region add to the singularity and speciality of different towns, cities and provinces, but while Brazilian cookery shares many similarities with its South American neighbours, it is at the same time a very distinct and diverse cuisine.
Stretching from the Amazon in the north, through the fertile plantations of the central coast and on to the southern pampas, the food of Brazil spans a unique mix of cultures and cuisines.
Portuguese influence and a dark past of West African slavery have left an indelible mark on the menus of Brazil, with Europeans, who were accustomed to a wheat based diet, introducing wine, leaf vegetables and dairy products to the Brazilian marketplace.
The original population contributed popular ingredients like cassava and guaraná. Locally grown root vegetables such as yams, peanuts, and fruit like the açaí, cupuaçu, mango, papaya, guava,
orange, passion fruit, pineapple and hog plum all maintain a place in the modern food of Brazil, as they have done throughout the nation’s history.
Brazilian pine nuts, which are abundant in the southern parts of Brazil, are a popular national snack, as well as a lucrative export. Rice and beans are also extremely common dishes, as are fish, beef and pork.
Some typical dishes are caruru, which consists of okra, onion, dried shrimp, and toasted nuts cooked with palm oil until a spread-like consistency is reached; feijoada, a simmered bean and meat dish; tutu de feijão, a paste of beans and cassava flour; moqueca capixaba, consisting of slow-cooked fish, tomato, onion and garlic, topped with coriander; and chouriço, a mildly spicy sausage. Salgadinhos, cheese buns, pastéis and coxinha are common finger food items, while cuscuz branco, milled tapioca, is a popular dessert. Brazil is also known for cachaça, a popular native liquor used in the caipirinha.
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