As you know, Brazil is a hot country so fresh fruit and vegetables are in plentiful supply. As Lewis had already discovered on his journey, there are also many strange and different types of fruits that weren’t familiar to him in Europe, such as the acai berry. (Do you remember that he had tasted that strange fruit on his visit to the favela?).
Here is a photo taken at a service-station in Brazil advertising a range of natural juices:
laranja – orange; acerola – acerola; abacaxi – pineapple; caju – cashew; cupuaçu – cupuaçu; goiaba – guava; manga – mango; maracujá – passion fruit; morango – strawberry; and pitanga – red Brazilian berry.
Which of them do you know already? Which ones are strange to you too?
Lewis the Lion also tried a popular soft drink in Brazil called Guaraná Antarctica and the diet variety too. This drink is even more popular than coca-cola in Brazil. Lewis thought it had a refreshing, fruity taste.
One of Lewis’ favourite times of the day in Brazil was breakfast times because in most of the hostels or hotels he was staying at there was the most fantastic assortment of fruits, bread, ham, cheeses, jams, cereals, fruit juices, teas and coffees.
Some of his friends even bought themselves a familiar looking cereal! Do you know what cereal it is?
Interestingly enough, in Brazilian Portuguese this cereal has a different name with the word “sugar” in the title!
Do you think this a good or bad name choice, or a better or worse name choice than the English version, Frosties? Why do you think this?
In Brazil, like in many countries, there was a wide range of the sort of restaurants you could eat in. However, one particular type of restaurant that stood out was a one where you would pay for the amount of food that you ate according to its weight. One such restaurant was called “Kilograma,” like the word “Kilogram.” There was a buffet style option of lots of different foods and you simply weighed your plate and paid accordingly.
Alternatively, this restaurant would also offer a special deal where you could eat as much pizza or pasta that you wanted (that the waiters and waitresses would come around and serve) for a set price. This was good value for money at only 20 reais. (Look at the section on the Brazilian currency to work out how much that would cost in pound sterling).
Here is a photo of Helen having a very interesting pizza: chocolate and smarties! Delicious!
Usually a lot of food in Brazil (and indeed in many parts of South America) is served with rice and beans. A favourite snack food is called a “pastel” which is a bit like a pasty filled with many different fillings, such as cheese, ham and tomatoes. There was also a strange ingredient called “palmitos,” – “a palm-cabbage” which was good in little pies.
One of the other foods that Lewis enjoyed was all of the seafood, especially when he was visiting places along the coast or on the islands. When Lewis and Helen visited the island of Ilha Grande, they enjoyed an enormous paella (rice and sea-food). Here you can see a typical seafood menu.
Another popular fish dish is called moqueca de camarão. This is a traditional Brazilian seafood stew made with prawns. The stew is made from fish, onions, garlic, tomatoes and corriander. This restaurant was a specialist in this particular fish dish.
Here is a picture of a Brazilian fishmonger in Paraty.
Finally, one thing made Lewis the Lion laugh his hearty laugh in particular: he discovered some tomato ketchup sachets where they had clearly mis-spelt the English word and instead had called it: Catch up! You see, sometimes it can be tricky learning a language that is different from your own – but sometimes it can be a lot of fun too, especially when you make mistakes!
Of all of the different foods and drinks that Lewis tried in Brazil, what would you like to try the most?