It's a huge indoor market that they have every day. They also had meats, cheeses, nuts, wines, spices, and more. Some things were surprisingly expensive, but its also very fresh, and the vendors routinely give out free samples if you ask to try things. It's also expected that you will barter for the actual price. Which is interesting when you don't speak the language well. But its not too hard, the price is often written, or shows up on the scale when they weigh it, so you can just offer a little less than you're willing to pay, and see how it goes. É possível provar? (Can I taste?) and Quanto custa? (How much does it cost?) were useful phrases of course. That and pointing. Here's some pics:
Pitaia Colombiana -- Columbian Pitaya (or dragonfruit)
don't think I tried this one...but for R$ 100/quilo, must be good! (~$20 US/lb)
also seen above: Cereja -- Cherry
(right) Rambutau Lichia -- Rambutan Lynchee
Unanimously the coolest looking fruit any we saw at the market, this is a fruit native to southeastern asia, especially Malaysia. Google tells me that rambutans and lynchees are actually different fruits, so this looked actually looked more like a rambutan. Anyhoo, we all wanted to try it! It was really good, sort of like a grape on the inside, but a little fleshier, and tasted excellent.
(left) Caju -- Cashew
Ah the cashew fruit. So cashews are actually the stem of a fruit, and this is that fruit. Its actually very common in Brazil, and they have suco de caju (cashew juice) right alongside suco de laranja (orange juice) and suco de uva (grape juice) in stores. They're very sweet, and the texture is soft, sort of like a rotting apple. Look how funny they look! I ended up buying one. I successfully bartered from R$ 6,24 to R$ 5,00 (about $2.35) not a significant difference really but more just for the experience. I put it to good use, as you'll see in a later entry!
Important note: Fortunately someone informed me, you can't actually eat the raw cashew on the fruit. It's toxic. I looked it up, and its true. It's because it contains a chemical called urushiol, which is actually the same chemical found in poison ivy. If you are allergic to poison ivy, eating the raw cashew can actually kill you.
If you're interested, here's the link:
Fruta Pinha (Annona Squamosa) -- Sugar Apple
Ehh, worth trying, but not my favorite. Kind of grainy and pear-like
Figo Roxo -- Purple Fig
Goiaba -- Guava
Carambola Doce -- Sweet Starfruit
Melancia Baby -- Baby Watermelon
Noni in Natura (Morinda Citrofolia L.) -- Natural Noni
A Peruvian fruit high in antioxidants and taken as a supplement to boost the body's defenses
Claimed by an online supplier:
"Immune system booster, cell regenerator (powerful antioxidant), natural antidepressant (stimulates serotonin), a regulator of blood sugar, detoxification (eliminates toxins), reducing cholesterol absorption; regulator of digestion and absorption enhancer nutrients"
Mamao Formosa -- "Beautiful" Papaya
(mamao is definitely papaya, and google gave me "beautiful" for formoso)
Actually it probably has to do with its massive size, because there were some normal-sized papayas nearby. Papayas are alright. Its a standard part of most Brazilians breakfasts. I kind of think it tastes like armpit.
Abacaxi Perola -- Pearl (?) Pineapple
My god is the pineapple here good. It's so sweet and soft, you can eat the whole core. And its more of a whiteish color, not super yellow like in the States. Again this adjective probably has more to do with the small size of these pineapples.
Quiabo -- Okra
The brown ugly things in the middle are cacao apparently
Amendoa -- Almond
They had a ton of varieties of these, including some that had a metallic looking coating. Odd. I should have tried some!
Just a cool looking spice rack. Its a shaft that spins around, and the lids are fastened to the shaft. So you just have spin the jar you want to remove to the bottom, then unscrew the jar away from the lid.
Castanha do Para -- Brazil Nut (in Brazil!!)
Time for a lunch break. We'd heard that the mortadela was a real classic sandwich here. Its like a fancier bologna, they say.
Saw this device across the way, along with some sugar cane! Think it makes something sweet.
My half of the mortadela. Think it could have used a little more meat though. Hahaha no it tasted a lot like a hot dog. The cheese was really good on there too. Actually though, some other students went to the busier mortadela place and they had even more meat on it, like almost twice this amount!
I got suco de maracuja (passionfruit juice) and Emily got abacaxi (pineapple) perhaps?
Arturo and Kelly. Kelly's was like abacaxi with mint flavoring I think
No comments:
Post a Comment