Feijoada

The feijoada ("frijolada" or "frejolada" in Spanish) is one of the typical dishes of Brazilian cuisine (considered a national dish), originally from the gastronomy of Portugal that also popularized it in Mozambique and Angola. Its basic ingredients are beans (they are usually black in Brazil, white or red in Portugal) and salted pork. It is usually presented accompanied by rice and oranges. In almost the entire Brazilian territory, it is usually sprinkled with cassava flour and in many parts a mixture of this flour with other ingredients is used, such as eggs, sausage, among others, called farofa.

Customs

In Brazil, the traditional days to eat feijoada are Wednesdays and Saturdays. On those days, restaurants offer it on their menus, and some families and groups of friends prepare feijoadas at different informal gatherings. It is a relatively cheap dish and is consumed by almost all social classes. It must be thought that, along with caipirinha, samba and carnival, they are the most internationally known elements of Brazil.

History

The Portuguese brought recipes to Brazil, with ingredients such as pig's ear, nose, tail and tongue; Therefore, the use of this animal in diets spread. In the book História da Alimentação no Brasil (History of food in Brazil), Luís da Câmara Cascudo writes about the origins of feijoada.

Many authors agree in saying that feijoada had its origin when, after the feasts that the plantation owners gave, the black slaves collected the leftovers to mix them with black beans, making a new stew.

With origins that date back to the time of slavery, according to the most widespread, although unsupported, versions. The common notion is that the tradition arrived along with the African slaves, who made a stew from the leftovers and offal that remained from the patrons' feasts, along with water and black beans; This was served with Farofa, which is a flour made with cassava (cassava in Colombia), which was already part of the slaves' dietary tradition; It was also served with oranges to prevent scurvy in slaves, which is nothing more than a vitamin C deficiency that affects their health and performance.