Guarana seeds give caffeine and flavor to Brazilian soft drinks, providing a taste that is woody, earthy, and subtle. Here are three popular Brazilian drinks that you should try to dip your toe into the world of guarana.

Guaraná Antarctica

Guarana Antarctica is the second most popular soft drink in Brazil behind Coca-Cola. It’s a beloved drink that is flavored with the guarana plant and sugar, prompting people to say that it tastes like a mix of apple and berry. It has a little bit of caffeine, too.

Kuat

Coca-Cola saw the success of Guarana Antarctica in the country and wanted to get their piece of the action as well, creating Kuat. The company even tried selling this version in the United States, but it never took off.

Guaraná Schin

Guarana Schin is another Brazilian iteration of a guarana-based soft drink. Many say that this is the version that tastes most like the real fruit, meaning that it’s a little bit more astringent than others.

The post Give These Brazilian Guarana Soft Drinks a Try! appeared first on falafelandcaviar.com.

Jenipapo berries can grow a lot! Some of them are the size of a kiwi, while others are more similar to melons. They have been a staple in Brazilian cuisine for a long time, but they have recently started using them for coloring other foods. “Its most widespread usage was as a dye substance, especially for body painting, to which it has been attributed magical properties in some tribes,” researcher Victor Manuel Patiño wrote in his book History and Dispersion of the Native Fruit of the Neotropic.

Unripe jenipapo is high in genipin, a substance that releases edible blue pigment in reaction with protein and amino acids. All that’s needed for this reaction is a bit of oxygen or heat, so it’s clear how many different applications it can have in cooking. What do you think about this crazy trend?

The post Jenipapo Fruit Can Turn Anything Blue appeared first on falafelandcaviar.com.

It’s a celebration that marks the beginning of Lent, the 40-day period leading up to Easter in the Christian religion.

Different countries have large Carnival celebrations, in which special foods are often consumed. Here’s a look at some of the best from different places.

Pao de Queijo

Pao de Queijo is a traditional Carnival food in Brazilian cities such as Rio de Janeiro. It’s made of an outer shell of cassava flour, which is fried with cheese inside of it

Filloas

Filloas are an integral food to celebrate Carnival in the Galicia region of Spain. Similar to crepes, they are thin pancakes which are often topped with powdered sugar or chocolate.

Crawfish Boil

In Louisiana, residents have their own celebration of Carnival, which is called Mardi Gras. A common feast is served of boiled crawfish, a small lobster-like animal native to the region.

Macaroni Pie

In the Emilia region of Italy, residents traditionally consume this baked macaroni and cheese dish to ring in the Carnival season.

The post Tasty Carnival Treats from Around the World appeared first on falafelandcaviar.com.

If so, this person was probably enjoying mate, which is a traditional South American beverage that is particularly popular and beloved in the countries of the Southern Cone region: Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, and some parts of Brazil.

Mate is a drink which is brewed from the leaves of the yerba mate shrub. The indigenous Guaraní and Tupí communities in what is now Paraguay were the first people to use the leaves from this shrub to make what is now known as mate.

The dried leaves from the plant are chopped and ground up into a powdery mixture and then placed in a pot along with hot, but never boiling, water, and the beverage steeps in a way that is very similar to tea.

After a few minutes of brewing time, the beverage is ready to drink. The traditional vessel for mate is a gourd-shaped vase, and people drink it through a straw which contains a filter so that the powdery dried leaves aren’t drunk.

While many people think that mate is bitter and tough to drink, others would simply say that it is an acquired taste, much like coffee. Its high caffeine content and levels of antioxidants are raved about by the many enthusiasts of the beverage.

Have you ever tried mate? What did you think?

The post Mate, South America’s Favorite Hot Beverage appeared first on falafelandcaviar.com.

Guarana seeds give caffeine and flavor to Brazilian soft drinks, providing a taste that is woody, earthy, and subtle. Here are three popular Brazilian drinks that you should try to dip your toe into the world of guarana.

Guaraná Antarctica

Guarana Antarctica is the second most popular soft drink in Brazil behind Coca-Cola. It’s a beloved drink that is flavored with the guarana plant and sugar, prompting people to say that it tastes like a mix of apple and berry. It has a little bit of caffeine, too.

Kuat

Coca-Cola saw the success of Guarana Antarctica in the country and wanted to get their piece of the action as well, creating Kuat. The company even tried selling this version in the United States, but it never took off.

Guaraná Schin

Guarana Schin is another Brazilian iteration of a guarana-based soft drink. Many say that this is the version that tastes most like the real fruit, meaning that it’s a little bit more astringent than others.

The post Give These Brazilian Guarana Soft Drinks a Try! appeared first on falafelandcaviar.com.

Jenipapo berries can grow a lot! Some of them are the size of a kiwi, while others are more similar to melons. They have been a staple in Brazilian cuisine for a long time, but they have recently started using them for coloring other foods. “Its most widespread usage was as a dye substance, especially for body painting, to which it has been attributed magical properties in some tribes,” researcher Victor Manuel Patiño wrote in his book History and Dispersion of the Native Fruit of the Neotropic.

Unripe jenipapo is high in genipin, a substance that releases edible blue pigment in reaction with protein and amino acids. All that’s needed for this reaction is a bit of oxygen or heat, so it’s clear how many different applications it can have in cooking. What do you think about this crazy trend?

The post Jenipapo Fruit Can Turn Anything Blue appeared first on falafelandcaviar.com.

It’s a celebration that marks the beginning of Lent, the 40-day period leading up to Easter in the Christian religion.

Different countries have large Carnival celebrations, in which special foods are often consumed. Here’s a look at some of the best from different places.

Pao de Queijo

Pao de Queijo is a traditional Carnival food in Brazilian cities such as Rio de Janeiro. It’s made of an outer shell of cassava flour, which is fried with cheese inside of it

Filloas

Filloas are an integral food to celebrate Carnival in the Galicia region of Spain. Similar to crepes, they are thin pancakes which are often topped with powdered sugar or chocolate.

Crawfish Boil

In Louisiana, residents have their own celebration of Carnival, which is called Mardi Gras. A common feast is served of boiled crawfish, a small lobster-like animal native to the region.

Macaroni Pie

In the Emilia region of Italy, residents traditionally consume this baked macaroni and cheese dish to ring in the Carnival season.

The post Tasty Carnival Treats from Around the World appeared first on falafelandcaviar.com.

If so, this person was probably enjoying mate, which is a traditional South American beverage that is particularly popular and beloved in the countries of the Southern Cone region: Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, and some parts of Brazil.

Mate is a drink which is brewed from the leaves of the yerba mate shrub. The indigenous Guaraní and Tupí communities in what is now Paraguay were the first people to use the leaves from this shrub to make what is now known as mate.

The dried leaves from the plant are chopped and ground up into a powdery mixture and then placed in a pot along with hot, but never boiling, water, and the beverage steeps in a way that is very similar to tea.

After a few minutes of brewing time, the beverage is ready to drink. The traditional vessel for mate is a gourd-shaped vase, and people drink it through a straw which contains a filter so that the powdery dried leaves aren’t drunk.

While many people think that mate is bitter and tough to drink, others would simply say that it is an acquired taste, much like coffee. Its high caffeine content and levels of antioxidants are raved about by the many enthusiasts of the beverage.

Have you ever tried mate? What did you think?

The post Mate, South America’s Favorite Hot Beverage appeared first on falafelandcaviar.com.