Cassidy Laffey, Exploration of Energy and Electrification: Brazil Summer 2024
Trying all the different foods was one of my favorite parts of being in Brazil. I
have always been an adventurous eater so I was excited to try all sorts of new things while abroad. I really do think the foods I got to eat showcased the Brazilian culture and allowed me to fully immerse myself in the lifestyle.
Since my trip was only two weeks, we ate out for all meals. Breakfast was
provided for us in the lobby in a buffet style and I really enjoyed it. It was a great way to start my day. It had lots of bread to choose from, and it was common to spread pumpkin paste on top of it, which I never would have thought to do in the US. Ham and cheese was also very common in Brazil, especially at breakfast. Every single morning there was a tray with sliced ham and mozzarella cheese, kind of like a charcuterie board. Also, they had fruit every morning, and I quickly became obsessed with papayas. The fruit in Brazil was just better than it is in the US. It was juicier and brighter colors, and they also made delicious fruit juices. I had pineapple juice with almost every meal. There were so many affordable and fun drink options.
In Brazil, buffets were very common which made it easy for me to try lots of new
foods. Something that is very common there is chicken hearts, and I thought they were very yummy (the texture was a tad odd though). I had the best rice and beans I had ever tried and they used cauliflower leaves as a garnish which was a new twist! They always had desserts at the buffets too, which had lots of puddings. I preferred the main courses more, but the desserts were very enjoyable too.
Two of the nights we had group dinners at fancy steak houses where they cut the
meat off a skewer and onto the plate. It was some of the best food I’ve ever eaten, and this style of cutting the meat right off the skewer originated in Brazil, so I was grateful to experience this.
Something different that I noticed is that there were so many sushi options
almost everywhere we went. We were in southern Brazil and semi-close to an ocean so that makes sense, but I definitely was not expecting that. I love sushi so I enjoyed it a lot, especially because it is not super common to find all-you-can eat sushi buffets in the US. One of the sushi rolls I ate had potato chips on it, and
it was really good!
Overall, I really enjoyed the food I got to eat in Brazil and brought lots of snacks home in my suitcase for my family and friends to try.
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