We are all products of where we were raised, and that applies equally to individuals and to entire nations. Brazil is, of course, no exception, and you can see it reflected in our food culture. Whenever you’re settling down for a meal, whether it’s a bit of street food, a home-cooked meal, or a trip to a churrascaria, you’re enjoying the culmination of thousands of years of cultural fusion in cuisine.
What countries and cultures have influenced Brazilian cuisine, and what have they brought to the table? It’s a fascinating array, so let’s go on a field trip through history and explore those cultural influences.
Table of Contents
Brazil is Very Large
Before we can really dig fully into Brazilian food culture and the influences that shaped it into what it is today, it’s worth talking a little bit about the obvious. Brazil is the fifth largest country in terms of geographical area after the United States, China, Canada, and Russia.
It’s not only huge, but diverse as well, with a wide range of climates and latitudes. Foods and food practices that were culturally important far in the north are very different from those far in the south, and the difference between Amazonian and coastal cultures can be immense as well.
While we talk about Brazil as one country, different regions have developed their own food cultures, and even the influences that led them where they are today are different.
All of this means you can trace food cultures in different regions or along the axis of time. We’ve chosen time, so we’ll jump around a little bit, but remember that everything we say is fairly generalized. Some areas don’t play by the rules or have very distinct variations, and we’ll mention those when we can.
Before Colonization
Stretching back over 600 years ago, before Europe discovered the New World, there were already millions of people living in South America. These indigenous peoples populated everywhere from the Amazonian jungles to the coastal seaside.
Stereotypes may have you believe that indigenous cultures were uncivilized or that they lacked culinary appreciation, but nothing could be further from the truth. These people were hunters and gatherers, yes, but they also knew agriculture, and in many cases, they knew better than we do today. Sure, we can send a ferocious machine over a field to harvest a monocrop, but they knew to plant crops together in synergistic ways to ward off pests and to grow more favorable produce.
The indigenous influence can still be felt throughout Brazilian food culture today. Some of it is clear in the use of tropical fruits originally cultivated by these people. Some of it can be found in traditional cooking methods for fish found in the Amazon River.
Perhaps the clearest lingering influence of these cultures is the cassava root, also known as manioc or yuca; that root was originally cultivated into what it is today by these indigenous people.
The Arrival of Portugal
As Europe discovered North and South America, they started to parcel it out through trade deals and wars. This colonization was brutal for both the European settlers and the indigenous peoples whose land was stolen and who were driven out, enslaved, or killed. It was not a nice time!
The land we call Brazil was originally “discovered” by Pedro Alvares Cabral in the year 1500. He and his fleet brought with them many different foods and culinary techniques that irrevocably altered the land of Brazil. Spices like cinnamon and cloves, the introduction of citrus fruits, and, most important of all, sugar.
Portuguese influences also brought with them culinary techniques like drying meat in the sun in the more arid northern regions of Brazil, to salt-cured meats, to the bean-based stew we know of as Feijoada.
The influence of Portugal and Europe doesn’t end there, of course. We’re just getting started.
North African Influences
A big part of the reason the Americas were colonized was to have more land with which to grow crops like sugar. Much of the settlement of Brazil was dedicated to sugarcane plantations.
For anyone who knows their history, the word “plantation” immediately brings to mind exploitation and slavery. Indeed, a big portion of this era in Brazil’s history was characterized by slavery, with slaves brought over from North African nations like Angola, Congo, Gabon, and Mozambique.
You can take a person from their land and strip them of their identity, but their culture and their traditions can carry forward, even if it’s changed. These North African slaves brought with them techniques, traditions, and even ingredients that shaped a lot of culinary practices in Brazil.
Ingredients introduced during this time included things like okra, black-eyed peas, and palm oil, all of which are staples nearly anywhere slaves were predominant. That’s why they’re also common in the American South. Dishes like Feijoada were developed using this influence.
Other dishes with North African origins include:
- Vatapa, the spicy seafood stew using bread and nuts to thicken it.
- Acaraje, a fritter made with spicy shrimp and black-eyed peas.
- Moqueca, a fish and spicy seafood stew cooked in an African way in a clay pot.
North African influences can be found all throughout Brazil, but they are most concentrated in Bahia, the northeastern region, which was most similar to the African regions from which the slaves had been stolen originally. This is why spicy foods tend to come from Bahia. Even the spicy pepper itself used in Brazil was a North African import.
Slavery was on the decline for many years by the time it was finally formally abolished in 1888, but the history is an indelible part of our history and culture, as well as our food.
Expanded European Imports
Over the subsequent hundreds of years, while Portugal maintained control over Brazil in large part, that didn’t mean we were isolated from the rest of Europe. From enterprising sugar producers to missionaries from Catholic faiths like the Jesuits, the Salesians, and the Claretians to people trying their luck in the Gold Rush of the 1700s from all across Europe, many different European foods and traditions started to make their way to Brazil.
Some of these traditions didn’t stick, but others have lingered and either exist in their original forms or have been fused into Brazilian food culture.
Italian immigrants brought with them pasta and pizzas. Today, you can find a variety of different pasta dishes in Brazil, using both Italian classic pasta and more inventive Brazilian options. Some use classic flavors as well, while others fuse together Brazilian tastes, creating dishes like Macarronada. Our pizzas are similar as much in name as anything else, with exotic toppings piled high.
Immigrants from Germany brought with them the two things most people find most iconic in German food: beer and sausage. Beer is a staple throughout Brazil, and while we certainly don’t mind our staple cachaca, beer is still the most popular alcoholic beverage. Sausage has also been developed using Brazilian spices and meat mixtures, and it is a staple in many of our dishes.
More Recent Culinary Influences
As time has continued to pass, different social and cultural happenstances have led to an influx of immigration to Brazil from a variety of different countries.
One particularly noteworthy influence on Brazilian cuisine is the Russian immigrants who brought with them a popular dish: beef stroganoff. It is, perhaps, one of the least expected dishes to find in Brazil, unlike nearly anything else. It’s also still relatively close to its original recipes; if you know stroganoff, you know stroganoff in Brazil. That’s not to say that it’s not assimilating, just that it hasn’t been as roundly customized into the Brazilian experience as many other culinary influences.
Another influence taking on the modern culinary world is Japanese. In the past few decades, Japanese immigration has been quite high, with the second-largest population of Japanese people in the world calling Brazil home. While the biggest influence they’ve brought over is sushi, a variety of culinary and cookery techniques have also been brought over. Even some of our modern culinary treats, like pastels, are a form of empanada as envisioned by Japanese immigrants.
Exploring Regional Differences
Before we wrap up, let’s explore some of the regional differences in Brazilian food. Brazil can largely be divided into four overall regions.
Northern and Northwestern Brazil is the Amazonian region, encompassing Brazilian states like Acre, Amazonas, Roraima, Para, and Amapa. This region is fairly remote and has a strong indigenous influence, largely because a significant amount of the population is still indigenous tribes living in our modern world. Fish features heavily in this area, as do tropical fruits and “superfruits” like Acai and Guarana. A unique sauce called tucupi is made from fermented cassava in this region.
Northeastern Brazil is the Bahia region, which has a lot more coastal influences and, as a consequence, a lot more North African influences. As we already mentioned above, it has a climate most similar to North Africa and is best suited to carrying forward many of the culinary traditions found in that region. This is where some of the spiciest foods in Brazil are commonplace and where unique foods that take advantage of the climate, like carne de sol.
Central-West Brazil is one of the most isolated parts of the country, moreso even than the Amazonian region, and carries forward many of the more indigenous foods from the region. A unique fruit called Pequi can be found here, and almost nowhere else, which has an almost cheesy flavor to it. It’s also home to a unique kind of farofa that has banana and plantain added to the dish.
Southeastern Brazil centers around Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Espirito Santo, and Minas Gerais. It’s the most urban and most modern of the regions, most populated with both native Brazilians and immigrants, and is very much a melting pot of everything. Culinary traditions are important, but if you want the newest examples of fusion cuisine, this is where you visit. Many of our staples, from Feijoada to Pao de Queijo to Bolinhos de Bacalao, are all found in this area, along with uncountable variations on every dish you can imagine.
Finally, southern Brazil is the culinary wild west. It’s extremely European, heavily favored by cattle ranchers, and is very meat-centric. While a few noteworthy dishes have arisen from the area, like Arroz de Carreteiro, the biggest invention of the area is also one near and dear to our hearts: churrasco.
With windy open plains, the gauchos in southern Brazil had no recourse but to dig pits for their fires to cook meat over an open flame in as safe a manner as they could. This method of cooking beef on a barbecue with skewers has been refined, and with the addition of the Rodizio-style serving method, you come to find what we offer you today at Texas de Brazil.
The Future of Brazilian Cuisine
What does the future hold for Brazil? Truly, who can say? Past culinary history has been influenced by waves of colonization and immigration, but we’re also sort of in the middle of a sort of culinary archaeology, as people study the history of indigenous peoples and their traditions, even resurrecting recipes that were long buries.
At the same time, in some of the most upscale fusion restaurants, experiments are being conducted on fusions no one would have ever thought of before.
The humble Brazilian household just keeps on keeping on, at the end of the day. We all need to eat, we eat what we like, and we customize what we like to suit our needs and the available ingredients.
At Texas de Brazil, our goal is to bring a Brazilian culinary tradition – the churrasco – to brand new audiences around the world. With branches all across the United States and in regions much further afield, we’re proud to represent Brazil on a world stage. And who knows, maybe something we learn, we’ll bring back home?
