Adriano Botelho Geography of flavors: essay on the dynamics of the Brazilian

country’s cuisine is part of the way of life of its people. It expresses not only the physical aspects of its geography Abut also its human, economic, social and cultural aspects. We can, through a process of “reverse engineering”, “deconstruct” a recipe in order to find the ingredients, the cultivation techniques, the used, and the type of cattle breeding predominant in a certain region. But a dish is not limited to its material aspects. It is also necessary that an “archeology of the flavors” be carried out, i.e. to deduce the main climate and soil types, the ethnic groups involved, the existing migrations, the foreign influences, as well as the cultural char- acteristics. Therefore, from the typical recipes of its cuisine, we can discover many elements that compose the human and physical geography of a region. Furthermore, as in a two-way street, the previous knowledge of the geographical factors which shape a certain society can contribute to

Flavors from 63 explain its eating habits. As Sophie Bessis said: aspect of our cuisine is its homogeneity in the daily “tell me what you eat and I will tell you to which consumption of the majority of , God you are devoted, under which latitude you with small regional variations, dominated by the live, in which culture you were born, and which duo and , accompanied by manioc flour, social group you belong to. Cuisine reading is salad and meat (beef, , poultry or fish). a fabulous journey into the self-consciousness In order to conduct a geography of flavors of each society, into the image that they have of of Brazil, we must consider these aspects of our their own identity.” cuisine, related not only to typical dishes (diver- When we speak of (or sity) but also to daily consumption (homogene- Italian, French, Chinese, etc.), we are referring ity). Furthermore, we cannot think of Brazilian to culturally established aspects that compose cuisine only in terms of traditional recipes, for, a food system which includes a group of tech- as mentioned before, cuisine, as a sociocultural niques, products, habits and behaviors related to manifestation, is part of the dynamic process that food. Nevertheless, it is not something static, for expresses the changes which a society undergoes. the exchanges among different people are - con It is in this sense that we intend, in this article, to stant and ever more intense, and the societies analyze the culinary . which create their also change through time. Thus, as we are reminded by anthropolo- Typical dishes: gist Maria Eunice Maciel, a cuisine cannot be the geography of diversity reduced to a mere collection of recipes or a list of ingredients, nor can it be transformed into for- As we look through a recipe book of Bra- mulas and combinations of elements crystallized zilian cooking, we soon observe the regional di- in space and time. versity expressed in the different typical recipes Brazilian cuisine has been, since its begin- of its cuisine. Barreado and arroz carreteiro in ning, dynamic, for it is well known that it is a the South region; (capixaba, de ba- product of influences from different social groups nana-da-terra), tutu de feijão, , feijão which were related, and continue to relate, (not tropeiro in the Southeast region; , dried always in harmonic fashion) throughout his- meat with baião de dois, paçoca of dried meat, tory. In addition, due to Brazil’s vast territorial buchada de bode, galinha à cabidela, bobó de extension, its climatic diversity, its topography camarão, sarapatel, vatapá and acarajé in the and soil, as well as the differences of settlement Northeast; duck in tucupi , maniçoba, ta- in distinct regions, it can de said that diversity is cacá in the North Region; pequi rice; tutu with one of the aspects of Brazilian cuisine, which is sausage, guariroba; mojica and roasted pacu fish expressed, geographically, through its typical re- in the Midwest are some examples. gional dishes. However, paradoxically, another Each one of these recipes reveals a way of life, a relationship between man and the geo-  The quote by Sophie Bessis was retrieved from Maria Eunice graphical environment that has been developed Maciel’s article, “Uma cozinha à brasileira” (A Brazilian cui- through various centuries and has received sev- sine), Estudos Históricos, n. 33, , 2004. eral influences from distinct ethnic groups. The  Maciel, Maria Eunice. “Uma cozinha à brasileira” (A Brazil- ian cuisine), Estudos Históricos, n. 33, Rio de Janeiro, 2004. proximity to the sea or rivers, the “mediterrane-

64 Texts from Brazil . Nº 13 Baiana making acarajé. Christian Knepper (Embratur)

Flavors from Brazil 65 aness”, the climate, the intensity of the presence economically on extensive raising system, was of native Indian, African and European cultures, marked by the semi-arid climate and by the lack the development of economic activities and of permanent rivers. Furthermore, the weight of means of communication are some of the social slavery was much smaller than in the coastal area and geographical elements that contribute to the and, consequently, the indigenous influence was formation of a . stronger, alongside the Portuguese. The signifi- Just an observation: from the studies of the cant use of dried meat, a conservation technique regional of Brazil, we can conclude that brought by the Portuguese, and of manioc flour, the five administrative macro regions defined by a trait of indigenous influence on Brazilian cook- the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statis- ing, are basic elements of food in the interior of tics (IBGE) conceal, within them, a large physical the Northeast. Paçoca of dried meat is an em- and cultural diversity, thus diverging from the blematic example of the combination: dried meat classical definition of region developed by the mixed with manioc flour. traditional school of French Geography, which The Midwest cuisine displays the influ- transformed this unit of analysis into a basic ele- ence of the populational flows that met in this ment for the study of this subject. region, almost always coming from other parts When we refer to northeastern cuisine, for of the country, mixing their regional elements. example, we cannot refrain from considering Influences of cuisines from and Minas that there are, at least, two distinctive cuisines: Gerais can be detected in Goiás, from the North- one from the coastal region and the other from east and North in and from São Paulo the interior. in do Sul. The first, which originated from the sugar- The cuisine of the North region is based cane civilization of the 16th Century, is based on on fish and manioc, with typical , like as- the contributions of the social groups that inhab- sai and Brazil nuts, which are being widely used. ited the northeastern coastline (especially the The ubiquity of the hydrographic net of the re- African, slaves; and the Portuguese, mill own- gion and the strong presence of the indigenous ers, owners of large plantations, employees of culture explain, in part, its specificities. Tucupi, the Crown and merchants). The fact that it had for example, is a typical element from the cuisine greater contact with Europe through its sugar of Pará. It is made with wild manioc and jambu trade should also be considered when we study (paracress), a typical leaf that has an anesthetic the characteristics of its cuisine. The traditional property, causing a light quivering sensation on recipes of vatapá, acarajé and – that use the tongue. Tucupi and jambu are part of two typ- spices originally from Africa in their preparation ical delicacies: tacacá and duck in tucupi sauce. – reveal not only the strong African presence in The typical cuisine of the Southeast of Bra- the cuisine of this part of Brazil, but also the in- zil also has great variety. In Espírito Santo, for tensive trade between Brazil and the African con- example, the traditional basis is fish and other tinent in the colonial period. seafood. Moqueca capixaba is their most well The second, which originated from the cat- known dish. The typical cuisines of São Paulo tle and goat husbandry activity and was based and are, however, strongly influ-

66 Texts from Brazil . Nº 13 enced by the internal trade carried out by their people during the colonial period. Feijão tro- The diversity of regional peiro is its most well known expression. Beans cuisines, and within mixed with manioc flour, torresmos, sausages, eggs, garlic, onions and spices was the basic food the macro regions, is a for the mule guides, responsible for transporting result of the combination, traded goods between Central Brazil, the coast of Rio de Janeiro and the South, being the tradi- throughout history, of tional supplier of cattle and charque (dried-beef). geographical, social and The use of native , fruits and tubers is typical of Minas Gerais cooking, as well as the cultural elements. They use of beef, pork and poultry. On the other hand, are an expression of the Rio de Janeiro cooking is marked by a strong Portuguese influence, noted by the presence of identity of Brazilians who codfish. Another strong point of Rio de Janeiro live in different parts of cuisine is the complete feijoada, which became one of Brazil’s export dishes, symbolizing Brazil- the country. ian cuisine itself. The South of Brazil depicts, in its cuisine, The diversity of regional cuisines, and the human panorama that characterized its oc- within the macro regions, is a result of the com- cupation: the presence of Portuguese in the ex- bination, throughout history, of geographical, treme south and on the coast, of Germans and social and cultural elements. They are an expres- Italians in the central mountainous area and of sion of the identity of Brazilians who live in dif- Slavs in the state of Paraná. In the extreme South, ferent parts of the country. In addition to region- the northern border of the , denominated al cuisine, an expression of diversity, Brazilian by Fernand Braudel as the “beef civilization”, the cuisine is a factor of national unity, through the extensive cattle raising activity determined the identification of the duo of as the general consumption of bovine meat under the typical dish of Brazilian daily subsistence, i.e. as form of . The Portuguese origin on the an element of national identity. coastline of , and Paraná can be found in dishes based on fish The everyday rice and beans and other seafood, and in the barreado, a typical dish from the coast of Paraná, which consists of Beyond the regional differences, the daily meat cooked for a long period in an earthen pot, dish eaten on almost all tables of the country is served with rice and manioc flour. In the moun- the duo rice with beans, accompanied by a salad, tainous region of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande some kind of meat and manioc flour. The Aurélio do Sul, the subtropical climate and the presence dictionary of the Portuguese language defines of German and Italian immigrants guaranteed the duo feijão-com-arroz (beans with rice) as “of the use of and wheat in the local cooking, everyday use; common; usual”. It is a true ele- and also of originally European recipes.

Flavors from Brazil 67 The duo rice and beans is the base for the nourishment of Brazilians, overcoming regional and social differences.

68 Texts from Brazil . Nº 13 ment of national identity, which embraces the people from North to South. Beans are the basic food for Brazilians. Its cultivation was already known, in its several va- rieties, in Brazil before its discovery and in Eu- rope and Africa. Therefore, there were very few obstacles for its assimilation by Brazilian cuisine. According to the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), the current average con- sumption of beans is 12.7 kg per Brazilian per year. In a research carried out by DataFolha in the of São Paulo, 34% of those in- terviewed responded, spontaneously, that their favorite dish was rice with beans, and 76% de- clared eating it frequently. The preferences of the consumer are regionalized and differentiated mainly by color and type of grain. It is rich in protein and is the main ingre- dient in the diet of the poorer population. The common plant is cultivated throughout the year, in most states, offering a constant supply of the product in the market. This occurs both in subsistence crops as well as in those that employ advanced techniques. It should be noted that bean production is also easier for the small fam- ily producer, because it can be planted in small properties, using little technology and the family workforce, in contrast to traditional monocultur- al plantations like and . The South region stands out in the nation- al scenario of bean plantation, followed by the Southeast, the Northeast, the Midwest and the North, respectively. The vast dissemination and the global use of beans, together with the con- stant supply and accessible prices, are important factors that explain the overall success of this within Brazilian eating habits. Rice, in its turn, came to replace manioc flour as the main companion to beans. Manioc Ready-made dish of rice with beans, and steak flour, in some regions (mainly North, Northeast Delfim Martins / Pulsar Imagens Flavors from Brazil 69 and Midwest regions), is a third indispensable resents a change in the traditional cultural habits ingredient at the table. Rice was introduced in of Brazilian society. New customs are spread by Brazil in the first few centuries of Portuguese col- mass communication and by populational mo- onization and, slowly, gained importance within bility, stimulated by internal migration. Tradi- Brazilian eating habits, becoming an essential el- tional social relations are replaced by new, gen- ement of our daily cooking. It is one of the most erally more dynamic, ones. Ideas circulate faster, nutritionally balanced , offering 20% of en- transforming centuries-old regional ways of life. ergy and 15% of protein of the daily per capita ne- Among such changes, new ways of eating make cessities; it is, also, an extremely versatile culture, headway in our society. The intense urban life- that adapts itself to different soil and climate con- style, for men and women, is one of the factors ditions. It is cultivated all over the country, and that explain these changes. was even adapted to the less humid areas (dry Along with the intense urbanization ob- land rice). Despite the relative dissemination of served since 1950, we should also consider the rice culture in the territory, about 60% of the Bra- development of the to keep up zilian production comes from the South region. with new family structures and new demands The country is known to be the largest producer of city dwellers. Thus, we observe an increase in outside the Asian continent, being among the ten the industrialization of food products consumed largest world producers. at home, with the proliferation of frozen and de- Thus, we can explain the relative homoge- hydrated food, ready-made cookies and , neity of the daily diet, not only because of cultur- and dishes, etc. More than just fulfilling al influences of distinct social groups that formed the demands of the contemporary world, the Brazilian society, but also due to agricultural and food industry creates new demands for the con- agrarian conditions. The duo rice and beans is sumer through aggressive marketing strategies. the basis for the nourishment of Brazilians, over- Besides food industrialization, coming regional and social differences because it restaurants have multiplied in order to meet the is a subsistence food, rich in nutrients, adapted needs of the portion of the population that can- to the climate and soils of almost the entire coun- not go home to take their . Fast food has try, able to be cultivated in small properties, of become part of daily Brazilian eating habits, be it constant supply and accessible prices. However, through self-service establishments; through bars new eating habits emerge with the increase of which serve “ready-made plates” or sandwiches; urbanization in our society, with the transforma- or through international junk food chains. tions of the socioeconomic structure and of cul- The other side of the coin of the industriali- ture, and with the increase in international flows zation and mass production of food is the upraise and exchanges. of regional and foreign cuisines. The taste for something “different” and “exotic” is one of the New eating habits for Brazilians? characteristics of post-modern cultures of large cosmopolitan centers all over the world, and Bra- In the decade of 1940, only 30% of the zilian metropolises are no exception to this rule. country’s population was urban. Nowadays, We can, therefore, refer to the “Disneylandiza- 80% of Brazilians live in cities. Urbanization rep-

70 Texts from Brazil . Nº 13 in what Baudrillard called the “consumer soci- The other side of the coin ety”. Cooking is affected by trends and follows of the industrialization market rules, submitting its cultural authenticity to the imposing homogeneity of tastes, becoming and mass production of food more so dictated by mass media and by needs ex- is the upraise of regional ternal to the consumer. “High cuisine” becomes a form of social differentiation and of expressing and foreign cuisines. a certain status, whereas food advertised by big The taste for something fast food chains or by food industry corporations refer more to a way of life than to food itself. An “different” and “exotic” is example is the increase in light food products one of the characteristics that sell a healthy lifestyle and seek a body shape appropriate to dominant social standards. of post-modern cultures of In this sense, a new chapter of Brazilian large cosmopolitan centers cuisine is about to be written due to these chang- es. Would we be heading to an impoverishing all over the world, and homogeneity that could represent the end of re- Brazilian metropolises are gional cooking? Would Brazilian eating habits be undergoing a fundamental change, in which the no exception to this rule. daily rice and beans loses its place to other dishes? Or would regional cuisine undergo a rediscovery tion” of world cooking, since simulacra of dif- and re-appreciation, becoming more accessible ferent world cuisines proliferate throughout the to Brazilians and foreigners? globe. The intensification of trade and financial The answers to these questions only time relations and the development of means of com- will bring. However, we should remind ourselves munication and transport have contributed to in- that Brazilian cuisine is marked, historically, by crease the consumer’s sense of proximity to dif- diversity, by the influence of distinct human and ferent parts of the world. Cooking, a sociocultural natural aspects embraced by our country. Chang- expression of different societies, could not avoid es in our eating habits and in our cuisine are part being affected by these worldwide changes. of wider social, economic, and cultural changes Finally, the act of eating itself has long that compose, as mentioned before, a dynamic ceased to simply satisfy our physiological needs. process. The direction these changes can take, in However, besides being an expression of culture, turn, depends on the lifestyle the Brazilian peo- as discussed before, eating is ever more inserted ple choose to live.

 The reference to Disney is due to the innovative aspect of one of its parks, Epcot Center, that simulates different areas of cit- Adriano Botelho ies like Mexico City, Paris, Rome, Tokyo and Beijing where one Diplomat; Master and Doctor in Human Geography, can experience “artificially” life in each of these cities, includ- University of São Paulo. ing the possibility of savoring the typical delicacies of each one of these countries. The practice of simulating other cultures is  one of the characteristics of the so-called post-modern culture. Baudrillard, Jean. “Consumer society”.

Flavors from Brazil 71