Cuisine of Pará

Pará cuisine refers to the traditional cuisine native to Pará, Brazil. Foods from this region primarily draw influence from Indian, African, and Portuguese cultures. The core ingredients are sourced from the Amazon jungle, and may include meats such as shrimp, crab, seafood, fish, poultry, bush meat, and duck. These meats are traditionally cooked with leaves (such as maniva, chicory, coriander), peppers, and herbs. Dishes are cooked in clay pots or barbecued wrapped up in leaves and roasted soaked in tucupi, a yellow sauce extracted from wild manioc root native to the Amazon. Dishes may be served in bowls, in containers of clay, wrapped in cocoons of banana leaves, or in vegetable fiber sifters called urupemas.

Common ingredients

Cassava

Cassava flour is an essential ingredient in Pará cuisine. The most used of the cassava flour is the manioc flour. Cassava is needed for tucupi, another essential ingredient in local cuisine. It is a yellow sauce extracted from cassava which is either accompanied by meat, fish, seafood or eaten by itself with or without jambu. Initially, cassava and its derivates were only consumed by the poor and Indian people, but over time it has become a staple for all of Pará's families.

Popular dishes

Tapioquinha

tapioquinha is a dish made from cassava flour. They can be a pancake and can take several types of fillings like chocolate, various types of cheese, or jelly. The most common way of eating tapioquinha is with butter or coconut only. Tapioquinha is often consumed as breakfast or afternoon snack, usually accompanied by coffee with milk. It can be found in simple establishments, strollers, and snack bars.

Meat dishes

Duck in tucupi: Also known as Pato no tucupi,This dish is made from duck meat, tucupi and Acmella oleracea, known in Brazil as jambu. The herb is found in the Northern region of Brazil. The tucupi is a yellow broth extracted from cassava and needs to be stewed for a week. After being baked, the duck is cut into pieces and stewed in tucupi where it soaks for some time. Then, the jambu is boiled in water with salt, drained and put on the duck. It is served with rice and cassava flour.

Fruit dishes and desserts

Desserts in Pará are mainly fruits and liqueurs from the Amazon. Fruits that are part of the regional cuisine include açaí, cupuaçu, peach, guarana and mango. Other regional fruits include bacuri, plum, jackfruit, muruci and the sapodilla. Some important fruits include:

Açaí: The fruit is commonly served whole in a bowl. It can be served with tapioca or manioc flour. Açaí is often the main meal at lunch, eaten with fish, shrimp or dry meat of ox called charque. The tree, açaizeiro, also produces the açaí palm heart. The palm heart is also frequently used in refined regional dishes.
Acerola cherry: Fruit rich in vitamin C, it is widely used in local cuisine as juices and frozen desserts.
Bacaba: Originating from a palm tree of the same family as açaí. The fruit produces a thick juice, used in the same manner as açai for drinks, sweets and ice cream. Its taste is softer than the açaí but is less sought after than it.
Bacuri: A fruit that can be eaten or made into ice cream, juices, jams, desserts as well as cocktails or alcoholic drinks. Restaurants that specialize in Pará cuisine have been using Bacuri in the composition of savory dishes in the form of sauces or purees.
Biribá: The fruit can be eaten whole or made into juices and ice cream. Its harvest is from July to September, but it can be found throughout the year in popular tourist locations.
Cupuaçu: The juice of this fruit is a staple of Pará cuisine. It is also consumed as dessert, ice cream or as a cream. One example is the Cupuaçu cream. The cream is made from condensed milk and Cupuaçu, where sugar is optional. After putting all the ingredients in the blender and mixing them, the Cupuaçu cream is taken to the freezer. The cupuaçu cream is commonly used as frosting.
Cupuí: The fruit is often used in drinks such as juice and liqueurs. It is a common find in local markets from February to May.
Tapioca flour: It is consumed with açaí as porridge or dissolved in warm milk with sugar.
Guava: The fruit is consumed fresh or as ice cream or juice. The tips of guava branches are used as a tea to combat childhood diarrhea.
Graviola: The fruit (also known as Soursop) is either consumed in its natural state or as ice cream, creams and cocktails
Inajá: The fruit is plentiful in the region of Pará. Fruits are consumed right away or used to sweeten porridges, which are thickened with manioc flour or gum.
Mangaba: The fruit has a viscous, pulpy flesh with a sweet acidic flavor. It is often used to make juices and ice cream.
Piquia: Low-income populations often consume the fruit cooked, by extracting its pulp straight from the seed and mixing it along with cassava flour, or adding the peeled fruit to a bean broth, beef stew or rice. The fruit can also be added to black coffee.
Pupunha: The fruit is often cooked with pinches of salt, it is sold mainly in the city's popular markets like Ver-o-Peso. Recently, there has been an interest in broadening and enriching the fruit's possibilities by attempting to use it to create liquors, ice cream, candy in syrup or paste. The fruit has been used in typical restaurants as a side order for beef dishes, either caramelized or mashed.
Taperebá: Used as flavor for ice cream, juices, popsicles or any other form of sweets. Taperebá juice is a famous drink in Pará.
Uxi: Either consumed naturally or with cassava flour, it is an important supplement to the caboclo people as well as the majority of the low-income population. It is also found as an ice cream flavor.