(Um pouco sobre comida Brasileira no Canada.)
In the general spirit of welcoming people to Canada, I wanted to
share something Gabriela, my significant other from Brazil, and I,
have learned about Brazilian food in Canada. We've both heard
frequent stories about Brazilians here missing the food, so I'm
writing this in the hopes that it helps some people feel less
homesick.
Bife, carne
Directly translated, 'carne' means 'meat', however in Brazil, 'carne'
seems to refer only to 'red meat' such as cow meat. In Canada, 'meat'
usually refers to any animal muscle tissue that is eaten, including
fish, chicken, and pork.
The English word for cow meat is 'beef', which can refer not only to
steaks (bife), but also to hamburgers and ground-up meat on pizzas.
The term 'filet-mingon' refers to a specific type of steak, one which
is of very high quality and cost. Other steak cuts include 'New York'
(Nova York), 'rib-eye', and 'porterhouse'. For a visual guide of the
kind of meat you're looking for, refer to this guide (
http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/beefporkothermeats/ss/cutsofbeef.htm
) and find either a local or a supermarket butcher.
Bis
These
little chocolates are unavailable in Canada, but Kit-Kat chocolate
bars are quite similar.
Com
gas / Sem gas
These
terms refer to drinks with and without carbon dioxide gas bubbles
added to them. The common Canadian terms for these are 'carbonated'
and 'non-carbonated'. A less commonly used term for carbonated is
'sparkling'.
Feijões
Compared to beans in
Brazil, canned beans in Canada are much sweeter, especially those
with maple syrup. However, refried beans
are essentially the same beans as those in Brazil – starchy and
salty.
Globo
These
crunchy, light, bagged snacks from Rio de Janeiro reminded me of
Funyuns, but without the powdered onion flavour.
Molho Ingles
(tipo Worcestershire)
This cooking sauce for meats is known as Worcestershire sauce in
Canada. It is exactly the same as in Brazil.
Sonha de Valsa
Reese's
peanut butter cups are a close substitute to these chocolates, but
they taste less natural than Sonha de Valsa.
Pao de Queijo
These puffs of
cheesebread are available (at least in Vancouver area) as a frozen
food from a company called Otimo, as well as at least one competitor.
Pastels
Spring
rolls are an imperfect substitute. These are pockets of flaky fried
dough that are like small pastels. They can be found in several
styles in different Asian restaurants. For example, Chinese spring
rolls tend to be smaller and less meaty than Vietnamese spring rolls.
At ethnic grocery stores, such as T&T Supermarket in Vancouver,
you can find the sheets to make your pastels at home, and filled with
whatever you want. So far, Gabriela and I have tried this with
breaded chicken, cheese, crème de meil (creamed corn), and Sonha de Valsa.
Yakult
These
tiny bottles of sweetened, probiotic yogurt drink are available as a
different brand, called 'Wahaha'
at T&T supermarket.
General
Strategy – Read the French side
Most
food packaging in Canada has both English and French written on it.
Even without knowing French, reading the French side of the package
can offer some more information about a food. If you know Portuguese
(or Spanish), try to guess what the following French words mean, just
by using Portuguese (or Spanish):
Sucre,
framboise, menthe, limon, bifteck, riz, froid, chaud,
crème, glace*.
Not food but…
You may have noticed that Canadian soccer is not as exciting to watch
as it is in Brazil. However, I recommend asking who knows about (ice)
hockey to show you a hockey game. From my personal experience, soccer
fans tend to learn and enjoy hockey very quickly; it's a similar
game, but with a smaller net and much more, and faster,
substitutions.
Also, there's more to Canada than just Vancouver and Toronto. For
example, the biggest shopping center in North America is in Edmonton,
Alberta. The West Edmonton Mall has lots of other theme park style
attractions too, so if you've been to Orlando, Florida and enjoyed
the Aventura Mall and Disney World, I recommend it.
*Açúcar, framboesa, menta, limao, bife, arroz, frio, quente,
creme, gelo **
**Sugar, raspberry, mint, lemon, steak, rice, cold, hot, cream, ice.
