World-Cup fans (and non-footie-mad visitors) to Brazil this summer will have been introduced to Salgados – the Portuguese term for savoury snacks, that vary across the 12 host cities on display.
We’re taking a look at the top street bites that visitors should experience to get a true flavour of Brazil.
Carne Seca
The Municipal market in Sao Paulo is famed for its meat sandwiches made with Carne Seca – sun dried meat – and Mortadella sausages.
Known as Carne de Sol in some regions, the dried meat is rumoured to have been invented by locals who wanted to preserve the meat in the arid Brazilian countryside.
Pão de Queijo (‘cheese bread’)
Eaten across Brazil, these highly addictive doughballs are especially popular in World Cup host city Belo Horizonte, where they’re served straight from the oven and often made in several batches throughout the day, so are always fresh, hot and full of flavour.
Açai
This super fruit starts as a very bitter palm berry, but is sweetened to make it a delicious dessert or healthy snack.
In Rio, it comes in a large cup with granola sprinkled on top, either for breakfast or a treat in the afternoon. Served cold like a yoghurt, cariocas (natives of Rio) usually prefer it with a lot of sugar.
Pamonhas
Eaten sweet or savoury, these dumplings are made from corn. Savoury Pamonhas are filled with cheese, minced meat, chicken or peppers, while sweet Pamonhas are stuffed with ground coconut.
The Pamonha vendors are often seen walking down the street playing triangles, or driving cars full of Pamonhas while blasting a special tune through loudspeakers.
Acarajé
One of the most popular street foods in Salvador, this is a deep-fried bread made from mashed beans. The mash is fried in dendé oil and then eaten with camarão (small sundried shrimp), pimenta (hot pepper sauce) or vatapá (a paste made from shrimp, peanuts, cashews and coconut milk).
In Salvador you’ll see Baianas de Acarajé (Acarajé vendors) everywhere, usually dressed in white, standing by tables spread with a spicy and exotic assortment of Salvador’s local version of fast-food.
Romeu e Julieta
A finger sandwich consisting of guava paste and white cheese stacked on top of each other. These two fillings melt together like Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers.
Beijinho de Coco
Brazilian coconut truffles are a cheap, sweet national delicacy. Sugary, buttery and chewy, they are a favourite among Brazilian children.
Moqueca de camarão
This stew consists principally of shrimp, dendé oil and coconut milk (along with a mixture of other ingredients in accordance with regional styles and the cook’s personal preferences).
Sometimes the strong dendé oil is left out of the dish, but to true Brazilians it’s an essential ingredient.
Tacacá
This is a Tucupi based soup common to Northern Brazil and sold by street vendors and local restaurants. It often contains shrimp and jambu (a native, sharp tasting tree fruit)
(Feature image: Alex Schwab)
