Just Bought A Bottle Of Cachaca

What bother’s me about some cachaça producer’s like 51and Pitu is that they distribute and export low quality licquor with the excuse “cachaça is like that” - which is not true. Being large companies, they dominate international market but end by giving a wrong idea of what is our national licquor. So, we must count on you, foreign drinkers, to help with the quality control ;-)!

So, if you found a cachaça brand that satisfies you, stick to it. I think the rule is the same for all licquor: a good enough cachaça could be drunk by itself (of course, by those used to strong licquors). If that’s not possible, rather use it to clean your windows (while you don’t have an alcohol powered car... I do!)

What’s special about cachaça is that it’s made only with the fresh garapa (sugar cane juice, which is also a traditional highly energetic refreshment, and is being researched as an athlete’s beverage). This gives cachaça it’s distinctive, peculiar, “green”, “chlorophyla” taste (there are also the aged cachaças, in which this taste is combined and transformed by many others), and makes it very different from other cane licquors like rhum. Btw, if you have to substitute cachaça in a recipe, rather use vodka than rhum, which can be too aromatic.

2 very traditional recipes

Coquinho:
Make 2 small holes on 1 dry coconut (not the green one). Discard the water and fill with cachaça. Fill the holes with pieces of cork and some wax. Let it rest for a week. Serve iced.

Quentão: served at winter nights, like St. Antonios (tonight) and St. John’s (midwinter folk festival)
1. Caramelize 1 cup sugar, add 2 cups water, 2 sticks cinnammon, 2 pieces of ginger root, sliced, 2 limes sliced and let boil until you have a thick syrup. Add 1 liter cachaça. Don’t let it boil (some people do, but I think it looses flavour). Serve hot.

I said before that "caipirinha" is used mostly for citrics, but this is disputed. a better definition is: "caipirinhas" use mashed fruit; "batidas" are blended, or use fruit juice.

Farofa in Spirits

what FOOD is associated with history? or perhaps a piece HISTORY associated with food?

Pizza Margherita was created to honour Queen Margherita of Svoy. It has the colours of the Italian flag: white cheese, red sauce, green basil leaves

Farofa in Not About Food

Good friends bad cooks...advice needed.

I have this old friend which is such a bad cook, but she doesn't think so. As a close friend, I can tell her almost everything - for instance, when she doesn't look good, if she gained too much weight or when she's wearing something that makes her look older. I know I could even tell her that her children were ugly (but it's not true, the two cute little boys became such handsome young men...). But she's really so sensitive about her cooking! Maybe it is because deep inside she knows how bad it is. She enjoys making those weird recipes mixing all kind of ready made things. Just like Cher in that movie "Mermaids". Her guacamole is a crime! And there's a disgusting green cake made with lemon jello, grilled (?) chicken marinated in Coca Cola together with brodo (forgot the english word for brodo) cubes, and so on. Mostly, I try to avoid her place at meal times, or invite her for my place or a restaurant, but... it's not always possible. I don't know about you friends: mine is worth it. 30 years of friendship. Someone I can count on. I'd eat a bucket of that weird guacamole to keep her (please, PLEASE, don't tell her!!!)

Farofa in Not About Food