As soon as you arrive at Ilha Grande, allocate some time and money to taste the local cuisine. Here you can find a quirky mix of original Indian dishes (which were brought to the island from their homeland by the European colonists) and the Dark Continent’s cooking traditions (the continent’s natives had been living on the island for a long time as slaves). The most popular local dish has a very peculiar name which sounds pretty unusual for Europeans – «feijoada». This dish has been cooked by natives already for more than three centuries. The basic ingredients for feijoada are pork and black beans with garlic, pepper and bay leaves. The dish is served with rice, cabbage, flour, cassava, and people even add some pieces of orange. Feijoada is traditionally served in a soup plate. Even though the ingredients may seem incompatible all together, actually it turns out to be a really vivid and unexpectedly delicious dish.
Ilha Grande is a perfect place for buying authentic Brazilian goods. Here you can find clothes and shoes by American and European companies. However, high taxes and the necessity to spend …
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Despite the fact that Ilha Grande is an island, not only fish but also meat dishes are very common here. For instance, churrasco is one of the most popular delicacies. It’s a local version of a barbecue with a tomato sauce. Churrasco is usually cooked from beef, but sometimes people also take chicken or vegetables instead. People often order the dish as a quick snack and it’s also eaten with a great amount of beer during meetings with friends. Those who prefer pork would like such dishes as lombo de porco and akonao. Meat for lombo de porco is fried while the one for akonao is boiled and is served with rice, potatoes, pepper, and onions.
Carne de sol is a good snack for a beer (lots of beer) or it can also be taken as a perfect lunch for a long excursion. The dish’s beautiful name actually means dried meat which is extremely popular on the island. Another traditional dish is pato no tucup – duck meat boiled in a spicy cassava sauce. If you’re looking for something really nourishing, then local chicken stew with ham, sweet pepper, and soy with seed oil is a perfect choice. Another peculiar dish is farofa which is fried beef jerky with corn flour, olives, bananas, and pepper. You can also taste an original dish called sarapateu which is consisted of boiled pork heart with liver and vegetables. And don’t miss a chance to taste deep-fried potato balls with pork or chicken mince filling. Copyright www.orangesmile.com
Today Ilha Grande is a recognized tourist destination, but a few decades ago it was closed to travelers. There was a large prison, where dangerous criminals were imprisoned. There was the …
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Local fish dishes are known not only for its great variety but also for its originality. A good example of it is a meal called itapoa – a pudding with crab meat. There is also a splendid fried fish in the dough with shellfishes which is known as frigideira served in pots; caruru – shrimps with pepper, onions, and kibou; vatapá – fish boiled with rice and shellfishes in oil. Don’t forget to try tacaca with tucupi – a dish made from shrimps with pasta, cassava flour, and jumbo (a local plant). A Brazilian-style cooked haddock tastes really good – basically, it’s the fish baked with vegetables and different spices. Those who prefer something unusual should try the exotic bacalhau – dried and very salty cod. Another extremely tasty dish is batata soup with shrimps, coconut milk, coriander, spicy sauce, and spices. Cozido Royale is also pretty tasty and consisting of shrimps as well cooked with potatoes, bacon, onions, milk, and cream.
So, there is a great diversity of first courses on the island. Here you can find beef brains soup, cheese soup with beer or even bread soup (here it’s called «shangua»). Caldo verde is also an original dish consisting of cabbage, mutton, pork sausages, rice, and potatoes; the soup puree called takako with garlic and shrimps is also worth trying. Moreover, there are lots of different salads, like pampas which is made from cabbage, sausages, and pickled vegetables; churrasco with corn, beef, and onions; cottage cheese salad. Here on the island, you can also taste cheese salad in jelly, salad with ginger and beef tongue and even aubergine salad. Salteña (a type of baked empanada with meat, potatoes, onions, eggs, and pepper) has an interesting flavor as well.
Ilha Grande has been an extremely attractive tourist destination for the last decays. The access to the island used to be denied not only for travelers but for Brazilians as well because of …
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There is also a bunch of diverse desserts: a nice-looking local sweet roll with raisins, walnuts, honey, candied fruits, and zest; a sweet pie «rocambole»; pavé which is consisting of cookies, chocolate, cream, and condensed milk; a local dessert with coconut and almonds; sweet balls with sugar, zest, and cinnamon. And the list goes on and on. The most popular drink on the island is coffee. The locals can drink up to 30 cups of coffee a day – that’s how the drink actually popular on the island. Here you can also easily find different juices and lemonades. What about alcohol, the most popular drinks are beer, rum, distilled spirit (Cachaça), Chandon and Castel-Chatel (wines). Caipirinha (sugarcane hard liquor with sugar and lemon) is a must-have for the all the travelers who come here. Besides, you can find different cocktails with fruits (they can be with/without alcohol).
Ilha Grande - guide chapters
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