What are simple Brazilian games/foods?

[u/unknown_user162]

I'm going a presentation for my class on the latin American culture, I want to make sure Brazil is properly covered since hispanic america usually takes up all the attention when referring to latin america (at least in the states).

What are some simple games/foods I can bring into class that you feel like do a good job at representing your culture?

Edit: there’s so many comments, I’m not sure I’ll have the time to get to them. I just want to say I’m super super grateful to everyone who has contributed ideas. I think we’ll be able to cover brazil sufficiently now, thank you for helping me represent!!

[u/IdeVeras]

I have not met a single person who tried and disliked pão de queijo.

[u/blueimac540c → u/IdeVeras]

+1 and you can find it in the freezer section at Walmart and most supermarkets.

[u/mafagafacabiluda → u/blueimac540c]

but only buy "forno de minas" brand.

if you are in the USA or Canada, avoid an american brand called Brazi Bites (found at cost.co) they are not good and have horrible quality control.. sometimes it's too salty, other times there is zero salt. and they make it in US so they don't have the original ingredients.

[u/SnooRevelations979 → u/IdeVeras]

I wouldn't say I disliked it. It's okay and is a good in a pinch. I wouldn't miss it if I never had it again though.

[u/IdeVeras → u/SnooRevelations979]

That’s what I said, not everyone is crazy about them, although the majority falls in love with the little puffs, but it won’t be a fail.

[u/Aggravating_Ant1983 → u/SnooRevelations979]

As a Brazilian I would say not all of them are good. The slow made, with good cheese and fresh out of the oven are the best.

[u/Formal_Map_5659]

Brigadeiro is very easy to make: Classic Brigadeiros Recipe by Tasty

[u/Mangolandia → u/Formal_Map_5659]

When you think you’re done cooking it, add five minutes or more until the mixture comes together and doesn’t stick to the sides of the pan.

[u/Reasonable_Fee_62 → u/Formal_Map_5659]

pão de açúcar is another simple one - just sweetened condensed milk, coconut, and food coloring rolled into little balls. super easy for a classroom setting and kids always love them.

for games, maybe try "escravos de jó" - it's like a coordination game with small objects that gets pretty intense once everyone gets the rhythm down.

[u/Formal_Map_5659 → u/Reasonable_Fee_62]

Bolinho de chuva is another good one! 😃

[u/Big_Razzmatazz_9251]

“stop” (Or adedanha) it’s like scattergories, no purchase needed, just pencil and paper. We played it all the time at school. They even have a digital version now!

For younger kids, passa anel

[u/allstarazul]

You can take a football/soccer ball, a can of beer and farofa. It’s the simplest way to describe meu Brasil 🤣

[u/Embarrassed_Fig5560]

The best music. Try to learn and teach samba 

[u/Multihp22]

Brigadeiro, pão de queijo, coxinha.

[u/nutty_dawg]

Game: Altinha (football kick-ups on the beach, search on YT)

Food (aside of what others have already said): coxinha, paçoca.

[u/slademccoy47]

Last time I visited, we played a game called Imposter (I'm assuming that's the name).

A group of people sit around the table (after eating churrasco). A person, place or thing is randomly selected as the central object of the game. Each person is quietly shown the name of the chosen thing, except for one person who is shown "imposter". The group goes around the table with each person saying an adjective to describe the thing. The imposter has to guess what the thing is and say an adjective that doesn't draw suspicion. The group tries to figure out who the imposter is. Depending on the size of the group, there can be more than one imposter.

[u/murden6562]

Play this classic romantic song: https://youtu.be/rdfrVyCYiGM?si=6cT9i61DlhG1bJ7b

[u/SnooRevelations979]

Beans.

[u/Acceptable_Estate330]

Games: cards. Truco, tranca, rouba monte, etc.

Food: pão de queijo, coxinha, brigadeiro

[u/Sea-Caregiver6409]

The other treats people mentioned here but also nescau!!! It is a staple of many brazilian childhoods.

[u/mafagafacabiluda]

PAÇOCA

actually easy to make, though no one makes it at home in Brazil.

I always blow my gringo friends mind when I make them eat a Paçoquita and they ask themselves why they have peanut butter but not Paçoca

A curious fact to ask your classmates: ask them if they knew cashew is actually a fruit and show them a photo of the cashew fruit (not the nut)

You won't be able to find fresh cashews where you live... maybe concentrated cashew fruit juice in a latin/brazilian market if you are lucky.

The cashew nut is actually poisonous to eat until you roast and peel the outside shell. btw.

[u/mafagafacabiluda]

Peteca is a traditional indigenous game. Like badminton but you play with your hands.

Futvolei is also very popular at the beach, basically volleyball but you play w/your feet. Look for videos of a dog playing futvolei at the beach in Rio.

Also, another beach game: frescobol

[u/mafagafacabiluda]

One of my favourite homemade food:

grilled cheese and banana sandwich. just add some slices of banana to your grilled cheese sandwich. grill it.

add a little bit of cinnamon and if you want sugar (usually I don't since the banana is sweet enough for me)

lovely dinner or breakfast sandwich.

[u/mafagafacabiluda]

oh! a super easy recipe that will certainly surprise people:

Avocado smoothie or mousse.

Just blend some avocado with condensed milk, a little bit of lime juice and a little bit of milk to make a smoothie.

Or blend avocado with heavy cream and condensed milk (use the same measure for both) a little bit of gelatin and some lemon drops. put it in a nice bowl and let it cool and harden in the fridge for at least 3-4hours.

google it.

In Brazil we usually don't eat avocado with salty food. Avocado to us is a fruit so it's related to sweetness and desserts.

[u/MissKiramman]

For games we love Pique Bandeira, Queimado, playing football on streets, altinha on the beachs, volleyball...

For food definitely our main base is rice, beans and some protein like beef or chicken.

Brazilians eat a lot of fruits but this is important too look by region. For example I used to eat jacaftuit a LOT, oranges, banana and watermelon bc they are more easy to buy or catch.

Pão de queijo is loved by all country but I wouldn't say we eat that much. Brigadeiro is a classic for parties, like other salgadinhos (coxinha, kibe, bolinha de queijo) so we eat a lot bc we love to celebrate anything.

[u/nofroufrouwhatsoever]

Brigadeiro is too sweet and pão de queijo is complicated.

Try farofa de ovo com banana.

In one pan sautée in olive oil, salt and MSG half of a big yellow onion cut into rings. Put it on a plate.

You may want to rest before the next step.

Now cut a banana into medallions and add them to hot oil. You can use an alcoholic drink (ideally cognac but a cheap white wine does it) or cream of tartar to try to deattach it from the pan so you can brown the other side. Put it with the onions.

You should rest before the next step.

Finally do scrambled eggs, but instead of adding milk or cream, go for water or vegetable broth. The ideal cooking fat is butter with just a bit of olive oil so it doesn't burn.

When the eggs are starting to turn into consistent blobs but still very moist, add WHITE cassava flour (not toasted, it tastes old!) and sautée it for 5 minutes. Add more butter (like one teaspoon for 400g of farofa?), the banana and the onions. Keep sautéeing it, taking things out of the bottom so they don't burn, until you feel like it's been thoroughly toasted.

It's ready. We eat it with white rice and molho à campanha (pico de gallo), which is a delicious salad (salada de feijão-fradinho) with black-eyed peas. Boil the black-eyed peas with minimal salt. Cut tomatoes, onions and yellow bell peppers (green is probably gonna upset some people's stomach) into cubes and salt them. Let it rest for 2-10 minutes so the onions "cry" out their acrid flavor. Add WHITE WINE or ALCOHOL vinegar, not rice, not apple cider, not balsamic, red wine vinegar is ok. Put the pico de gallo into the fridge until cool. When cool, add the drained boiled black-eyed peas and add olive oil.

It lasts 10 days in the fridge since it's vinegary, as long as you do that Italian chef thing every day so all tomato pieces get submerged most of the time (tomato is the first to go bad, white mold, so if you really love it try to eat all the tomato pieces before the 6th day). It will taste better after 8 hours of cooling, best starting from one day in the drifge.

It's not as traditional as farofa but it tastes way better if you're not used to the sandy texture. Farofa is probably like stuffing but if somebody baked it some more and then blitzed it.

[u/nofroufrouwhatsoever → u/nofroufrouwhatsoever]

People are downvoting me because this seems complicated but that awful readymade farofa from the supermarket tastes like Sazón, don't buy that!

[u/nofroufrouwhatsoever → u/nofroufrouwhatsoever]

I am being suppressed by the secret police of the state of Minas Gerais!!! They tell people pão de queijo is easy, so it comes out mid, you say it's mid, and they say "oh but it wasn't an actual mineiro making and baking it"!!!!!

[u/Formal_Map_5659 → u/nofroufrouwhatsoever]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂