Delicacies of Salvador
There is no better place to start than with introducing and sampling the delicious food of Salvador. Heavily influenced by its African roots and indigenous people, history (in slavery) and fresh, locally sourced ingredients you will find that all local dishes have one thing in common: They are colorful, rich and food for the soul!
Acarajé
Probably the most iconic food of Salvador with deep roots in african culture and history of slavery in Brazil.
It can be found as a street food all over the city and is exclusively sold by the Baianas the Acarajé - most commonly in Rio Vermelho. Find a stall with long queues of locals to know which one's are "safe" to try!
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Acarajé is a mixture of mashed black-eyed beans, onions and shrimp fried in dendê (palm oil). According to local custom, Baianas de Acarajé pour spicy pastes, vatapá and caruru (optional) over the aracajé after they have cut it in half. The snack is topped off with a salad.
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Apart from being a daily snack acarajé was, and is, offered to the saints and gods during religious candomble ceremonies.
Pão de Queijo
This addictive cheese ball is a popular snack and breakfast food and while it originates from the state Minas Gerais, it is now a popular breakfast staple all over the country.
With the discovery of the mines in the city Ouro Preto (Black Gold) a vast slave population inhabited this area in 1700. Since wheat was not readily available, local cooks prepared bread balls out of the starch of cassava tubes - a local root vegetable introduced to them by the Tupiniquim (one of the indigenous groups of Brazil). The cassava flour is what gives the snack its distinct texture, which is chewy and elastic, while being crunchy on the outside.
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Only in the late 19th century, grated hard cheese was added.
Moqueca
Brazilian moqueca is another true national treasure and there a countless variations of this dish, depending on the state or city.
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A moqueca is typically made with shrimp or fish in a base of tomatoes, onions, garlic, lime, coriander, dendê oil (palm oil) and coconut milk.
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The Moqueca from Bahia has a strong African influence dendê oil and coconut milk became mandatory ingredients – dorado, shark, whiting and sea bass are the most used fish
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The traditional clay pot is responsible for cooking the fish and seafood evenly and perfectly harmonizing it with the seasonings, giving the dish a unique flavor and keeping it warm for longer.
Açai
The Açai berry has been around for thousands of years and is to this day a traditional food and medicinal plant.
According to folklore the tree is named after Iaça (Açai spelled backwards), the daughter of an amazonian chief, who died, mourning the death of her baby, beneath a newly sprouted tree, leading to the discovery of the plant and saving the tribe from famine.
Today Açai can be found all over the city (all over the country in fact) in Açaiterias and is served as smoothies, açai bowls or ice cream - and they are all delicious!
Feijoada
Saving the best for last - the Feijoada is a symbol of Brazilian identity and the most iconic national dish. The most widespread legend about the feijoada's origins is that the masters gave their slaves the "leftovers" of the pig to eat after the slaughterings, which they cooked together with beans and manioc flour = the first Feijoada.
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The most traditional feijoada contains all the thinkable (and unthinkable) beef or pork products - such as pork trimmings (ears, tail, feet) bacon, smoked pork ribs and at least two types of smoked sausages and jerked beef (loin and tongue) - in short, a carnivore's dream.
The taste is deliciously rich, moderately salty but not spicy, dominated by black bean and meat stew flavors. The final dish is served with beans, white rice, oranges, chopped collard greens and farofa (manioc flour made of cassava root).
