Alice Mesquita de Castro Flavors from the Smell, taste, absorb, love them.

Flavors from 97

he unknown cuisine of the Cerrado re- of Goiás: rice with pequi, chicken with pequi and quires disposition and an absence of prej- guariroba. Tudice. Those who dare do not regret it. The pequi has unique characteristics. The The twisted trees, which seem to have insides are filled with tiny thorns and one must grown without water in one of the semi-arid re- be careful when eating it. One needs to scrap gions of the Northeast, can give the impression off the pulp with their teeth. If bitten, the thorns that we are in a dry land, orphan of life, colors stick, unpleasantly, to the entire mouth. and flavors. It is a mistake made by the illad- I know what I am talking about. In the vised. The flora of the Cerrado, that occupies 1980s, during a lunch party at a friend’s house, I 25% of the national territory, is one of the richest was one of the victims of the power of pequi. Yes, of Brazil. Due to its central location, the Cerrado they had already told me I had to scrape off the has species found in the majority of the Brazilian pulp with my teeth, that I shouldn’t bite it, but, biomes (Amazon forest, Caatinga and Atlantic easier said than done. I thought I was doing ev- forest). It has such a varied and specific biodiver- erything right, when, suddenly, I felt my tongue sity that we have the desire to unveil its secrets. burn as if I had drunk acid. From my friend’s In cooking, they are many. house I went directly to the dentist’s chair – who In the Northeast, there are exotic spent an hour and a half plucking out the thorns like soursop and umbu. In the South, the diver- one-by-one with the help of a magnifying glass. sity of grapes and the quinces, for example, are I felt the results of my stupidity for two more outstanding. In the North of the country, assai months, and every now and then I would wake became a successful export product, due to the up with a strange feeling in my mouth. It was the unique character of its flavor, its texture and its pequi. beautiful color. In the area that occupies Central There is a myth that the Goiano takes ad- Brazil (Goiás, Tocantins, do Sul, vantage of the foreigner’s lack of knowledge to the south of Mato Grosso, the west and north of have some fun with the accidents caused by the , the west of Bahia and the Federal . Goianos love to see the reaction to the first District), it seems that the surprise of the layman bites. That is where it is decided who is knowl- about our local fruits is even greater. Whoever edgeable. heard of pequi, and does he know any more than Those who are experts suggest the inges- if bitten in the wrong manner it is capable of tion of a spoon of olive oil in these cases. The ol- covering your tongue and throat with thorns? ive oil seems to have the property of softening It’s true. The pequi liquor is already exported to the thorns that can, therefore, be removed with Japan. The baru nut (Baru? Does anybody know less suffering for the careless biter. what this is?) is a desired item in Germany. The pequi can be used in several prepara- The brasiliense Camb, or pequizeiro, tions. One of the most interesting is the liquor can reach up to ten meters of height. Its fruit made with syrup and the infusion of the has a greenish peel and yellow pulp. The pulp, fruit in alcohol from cereals. which is the most used part in cooking, is the base of the most popular dishes from the cuisine  Translator’s note: Goiano - a person from Goiás.

98 Texts from Brazil . Nº 13 Pequi. Nivaldo Ferreira da Silva

Flavors from Brazil 99 Buriti (moriche). Nivaldo Ferreira da Silva

100 Texts from Brazil . Nº 13 But not only on pequi does the Cerrado live. In the Brazilian Cerrado, the current star is Araticum (marolo), buriti (moriche palm), murici, the baru nut, also known by several other names, cajá (hog plum), mangaba and cagaita also have a such as cumbaru (cumaru), barujo, coco-feijão (ton- high vitamins B complex content, like vitamins ka bean) and cumarurana. B1, B2 and PP, equivalent or higher than those The baru tree produces 500 to 3,000 fruits found in fruits like avocado, banana and guava, per , with size varying from 5 to 7 cm long traditionally considered a good source for these and 3 to 5 cm in diameter. The color of the peel, vitamins. The Ministry of Health has been try- when ripe, is brownish, just like the pulp. Each ing to implement a food education program to fruit has a brown nut, rich in calories and protein. stimulate the consumption of products rich in I like to use the baru in recipes like milk sweet vitamin A and other nutrients. And for this you with baru and baru pesto. Its flavor is similar to have the fruits from the Cerrado which are ready the , but milder to the palate. to be widely used. The fruits of the Cerrado are always sur- One of the typical fruits of the Cerrado prising! Some time ago I brought jatobá flour in a which is starting to be known is the cagaita (Eu- farm in the interior of Goiás. I took it home and genia dysenterica DC), a distant relative of the stored it to soon make bread and biscuits. After Surinam cherry. It is rounded and has a light yel- a few days, a strong smell took over the kitch- low color. With a thin peel, it has an acid flavor en, keeping everyone away. I learned that jatobá and is very juicy – around 90% of its insides con- flour needs to be kept in the refrigerator and for a sists of juice. In spite of so many virtues, the ca- very short period. The characteristic smell tends gaita should be appreciated with moderation. In to increase with the natural fermentation of the excess, it produces an ill feeling similar to drunk- flour. The inhabitants of the region appreciate enness, but without the hangover the following both the mush and the bread made from jatobá day. Isn’t it incredible? very much. What about the buriti? From the family of the sugar apple, sweet- In Brasília, the headquarters of the govern- sop, and custard apple, the araticum has a harder ment of the Federal District is named Buriti Pal- peel and its flavor is stronger. ace as homage to this typical plant of the region. Those who have not yet tasted it, do not Its leaves, in the shape of a fan, are enormous know what they are missing… Guariroba, not and shiny. The fruits are eaten by the popula- gororoba! tion, mainly in the form of juices and homemade The guariroba is a type of palm tree that sweets. can reach 20 meters of height. Its leaves can The fresh or frozen pulp is used to make reach up to three meters long. The fruit grows sweets, ice cream, creams and compotes. The oil in bunches, it has a yellowish-green color with a of the pulp is used for seasoning and is also the white oily edible nut. It is the main ingredient of base for making soap. the tasty Goiano pies (empadão goiano). The dried leaves can be used to make roofs of simple, rural houses and the young leaves can be used to make hammocks, hats and baskets.  Translator’s note: Brazilian popular term for food that is poor- ly prepared and/or of poor quality.

Flavors from Brazil 101 Araticum (marolo). Nivaldo Ferreira da Silva

102 Texts from Brazil . Nº 13 Baru. Nivaldo Ferreira da Silva

Until the end of the 19th century, the wheat the bandeirantes the strength to explore Goiás. It flour found in Brazil was imported. Still, the em- is credited to one of them the idea of including padão was already considered a Brazilian deli- the guariroba to the filling of the empadão. By the cacy. The original dough was made with wheat way, guariroba is also known as bitter heart of flour, pork fat, salt and eggs. The filling was made palm, to sophisticate it. with cheese, boiled eggs, olives, pepper, pieces of After 12 years of working, tasting, eating, pork meat, a whole chicken drumstick, pieces of appreciating, and advertising the fruits of the sausage and guariroba. All the ingredients were Cerrado, I can say with authority: throw your- cooked until brown, obtaining the consistency of selves into the cuisine of the Midwest! It is still a sauce. They were baked in clay dishes with 38 unknown, unexplored, but like a far away coun- centimeters of diameter. try, it is full of secrets and surprises. I always take At that time, nobody dared to thicken the the risk. And, in fact, I never regret it. mixture with potatoes – something that was only introduced to the way of preparing the empadão in the 1930’s. The tomato was also added. Accord- Alice Mesquita de Castro ing to the historical notes, the guariroba gave Owner of the Restaurant Alice, in Brasilia.

Flavors from Brazil 103