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Where it's at
The Ver O Peso Market on the riverfront in
Belem is a fascinating place, a window onto
the bountiful forest produce that drives the culinary traditions
of this distinctive area of Brazil. The city is known as the
gateway to the Amazon and is capital of the
Amazonian state of Pará. This area
is comprised mostly of descendents of Native Indians and you'll
immediately notice the difference in their facial features.
Their cuisine remains that of their ancestors, based on forest
produce like manioc (cassava), corn,
beans, yam, peanuts, peppers, wild fruits and
fresh fish.
What's in store
Get down to the market early as the fishing boats arrive with
a breathtaking array of Amazonian fish. Belem has a distinctive
regional cuisine featuring an astounding array of fruits from
the rainforest and fish from the Amazon basin. In fact, biologists
can only identify 70% of the weird and wonderful species of
fish on sale at the Ver-o-Peso market.
You can't miss the haul of giant Pirarucú
fish. This delicious fish has a consistency more
akin to chicken and is so large (it can grow up to 6 ft long
and weigh 30 pounds) that its tongue is dried and used as
a grater and its scales for nail files! Legend has it that
the species originated after the arrogant and cruel son of
an Indian chief was turned into a fish by the gods. It's often
served as posta de Pirarucú, with
a coconut sauce.
Fruit features heavily among the produce, with unique Amazonian
delicacies like Cupuaçu. This tasty
fruit, much like a large potato in appearance, is particularly
popular as a juice. The Açaí berry
has become immensely popular all over Brazil and is distributed
from the Ver O Peso. It is ground down to a pulp and eaten
in many different forms - used to make ice cream, mixed with
manioc to make a filling meal and as juice.
There are a myriad of specialities made from the produce
found at the market. Dishes to try include pato no
tucupí. Pato means duck and tucupí
is a sauce made from manioc juice, chicory and jambo leaves
(which leave the lips and gums numb!). Tacacá
is a wonderful soup also made from tucupí sauce and
contains dried shrimp and tapioca - this really is delicious
and there are stalls all over the city selling it. Traditionally
it's eaten as a snack in the late afternoon. Caldeirada
is a much-eaten fish stew and is similar to the French bouillabaisse.
Stranger still are the peculiar medicinal herbs derived from
rainforest plants and roots, cures for uncommon ailments -
such as crocodile teeth, bottled snakes and
three toed sloths - and amulets
to ward off the evil eye.
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