Brazilian Eating Habits - Learn Portuguese
Everybody likes eating, right? Each country has its own food and way to prepare. The typical food of a country determines the character of the people. Let´s understand how Brazilian people live and their food habits.
Because Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer, a typical Café da manhã (breakfast) consists of a cup of café com leite (a hot milk and coffee mixture) and a piece of French bread. Many Brazilian children also drink a coffee and milk mixture for breakfast. Café da manhã also consists of fresh typical fruits, jams, cakes, cookies and more. The café da manhã is normally served around 7:00.
-Bom dia! Dormiu bem? Vamos tomar nosso café da manhã? Good morning! Did you sleep well? Let´s have our breakfast?
-Bom dia! Dormi, sim, obrigada. Vamos tomar café sim; o que teremos? Good morning! Yes, I did, thank you. Yes, let´s have our breakfast; what we have?
- Café, leite, pão, manteiga, presunto e mamão. Coffee, milk, bread, ham and papaya.
- Uhm, que delícia! Uhm, what a delight!
Almoço (lunch) is usually the biggest meal of the day. It consists of rice, black or brown beans, salad, meat, or other dishes, depending on where the family lives and what they can afford to buy it or not. The almoço is normally served at noon.
-São 12:00; terminei meu trabalho por agora. Vamos almoçar juntos? It´s noon; I finished my job by now. Can you have lunch together?
- Ok, mas só um segundo, estou terminando o meu. Ok, but just a second, I´m finishing mine.
- Ok, mas não demore, por favor, estou com fome. Ok, but, please, don´t take too long, I´m hungry.
- Pronto, terminei. Vamos! Done! Let´s go!
- Onde iremos almoçar? Where are you going to eat?
- O restaurante da esquina tem ótima comida e as batatas fritas são as melhores. The restaurant on the corner has a great food and the chips are the best.
- Já estou com água na boca.. My mouth is already watering.
Between lunch and dinner some Brazilians have a café da tarde (midafternoon), which includes coffee, hot milk, French bread and cookies. Sometimes, pastéis and empadinhas , small pastries filled with shrimp, meats or cheese that are either fried or baked, are a favorite snack. The café da tarde can vary from 15:00 to 16:00.
In the late evening, many Brazilians eat a light jantar (dinner), which can be almost the same they had at lunch time. Children enjoy desserts such as pudim or churros, fried dough rolled in sugar and filled with caramel, chocolate, or sweetened condensed milk. The jantar can vary from 19:00 to 21:00.
Vocabulário:
Refeições – Meals
| In English | In Portuguese |
| Breakfast | Café da manhã |
| Lunch | Almoço |
| Dinner | Jantar |
| Dessert | Sobremesa |
| French bread | Pão Francês |
| vinegar | Vinagre |
| jelly | Geléia |
| souce | Molhos |
| tartar sauce | Molho tártaro |
| mustard | Mostrada |
| tomato sauce | Molho de tomate |
| gravy | Molho de carne |
| rice | Arroz |
| beans | Feijão |
| salt | Sal |
Suco- juice
| In English | In Portuguese |
| passion fruit (juice) | (suco de) Maracujá |
| tomato juice | Suco de tomate |
| orange juice… | Suco de laranja |
| fish | Peixe |
| oysters | Ostras |
| sea food | Frutos do mar |
| crab | Caranguejo |
| lobster | Lagosta |
| shrimp | Camarão |
| cod | Bacalhau |
| salmon | Salmão |
| tuna | Atum |
| mussels | Mexilhões |
Frutas – Fruits
| In English | In Portuguese |
| lemon | Limão |
| orange | Laranja |
| passion fruit | Maracujá |
| papaya | Mamão |
| apple | Maçã |
| banana | Banana |
| blackberry | Amora |
| cherry | Cereja |
| grape | Uva |
| avocado | Abacate |
| pineapple | Abacaxi |
| strawberry | Morango |
| melon | Melão |
| water melon | Melancia |
| peach | Pêssego |
| fig | Figo |
Carne – Meat
| In English | In Portuguese |
| barbecue | Churrasco |
| beef/steak | Bife |
| fillet | Filé |
| cutlet | Costeleta |
| fried | Frito |
| hambúrguer | Hambúrguer |
| meat baals | Almôndegas |
| minced meat | Carne picada |
| pie | Torta |
| pork | Carne de porco |
| sausage | Linguiças/salsichas |
| sirloin | Lombo |
| smoked | Defumado |
| chicken | Frango |
| fried chicken | Frango frito |
| duck | Pato |
| roast chicken | Frango assado |
| turkey | Peru |
Vegetais – Vegetables
| In English | In Portuguese |
| aspargos | Aspargos |
| potatoes | Batatas |
| boiled potatoes | Batatas cozidas |
| beetroot | Beterraba |
| cabbage | Repolho |
| carrots | Cenouras |
| cauliflower | Couve flor |
| celery | Aipo |
| cucumber | Pepino |
| french fries | Batata frita |
| lettuce | Alface |
| tomato | Tomate |
| sweet corn | Milho verde |
| salad | Salada |
| Onion | Cebola |
| garlic | Alho |
| pepper | Pimentão |
| spinach | Espinafre |
| olives | Azeitonas |
| pumpkin | Abóbora |
Sobremesa – desert
| In English | In Portuguese |
| fruit salad | Salada de frutas |
| mousse | Musse |
| ice cream | Sorvete |
| pudding | Pudim |
| rice pudding | Arroz doce |
| pancake | Panqueca |
Diálogo
Karen and her mother are going to have lunch.
-Karen: Mãe, o que você quer para o almoço?
-Mãe: Querida, quero arroz, feijão, bife e salada.
-Karen: Temos salada de alface, tomate e azeitonas. Quer outra coisa?
- Mãe: Não, obrigada, para mim está ótimo.
- Karen: Ah, temos também abóbora cozida com cebola.
- Mãe: Muito bom, adoro.
Brazilian special dish
Feijoada
Rice, black beans, and manioc (a root vegetable like a potato) are the main foods for many Brazilians. The national dish is feijoada, a thick stew of black beans and pieces of pork and other meats. It is usually served with orange salad, white rice, farofa (ground manioc), and couve (kale), a dark green leafy vegetable that is diced and cooked until slightly crispy.