Cachaça Cocktails.CAIPIRINHA FROM RIO DE JANEIRO

         DELICIOUS CAIPIRINHAS  RECIPES





Ingredients


4 lime wedges (from 1/2 lime)
7 green grapes
2 teaspoons raw sugar, such as turbinado or Demerara
1/4 cup (2 ounces) cachaca
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) semisweet white wine such as Gewürztraminer
8 to 10 ice cubes


Special equipment:
1 (4-to 5-inch) wooden skewer
In cocktail shaker, stir together lime wedges, 5 grapes, and sugar. Using wooden muddler or spoon, pound and press until fruit is crushed and juices are released. Add cachaca, wine, and ice, and shake vigorously for 25 seconds. Pour into old-fashioned glass. Thread remaining 2 grapes onto skewer, place in drink, and serve immediately.






xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Amazonia


2 tablespoons (1 ounce) cachaca
6 fresh mint leaves
8 to 10 ice cubes
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) apple juice
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) simple syrup
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) Champagne or any sparkling wine
1 apple slice




In cocktail shaker, stir together cachaca and mint. Using wooden muddler or spoon, pound and press just until mint is bruised. Add ice, apple juice, lime juice, and simple syrup, and shake vigorously for 25 seconds. Strain into Champagne glass. Top with Champagne. Place apple slice in drink and serve immediately.




xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx






Tangerine-Ginger Caipirinha


•3 small chopped seeded tangerines or small oranges (no need to peel)
•1/4 cup sugar
•1 tablespoon grated peeled ginger
•3/4 cup tangerine juice
•1 1/2 cup cachaça (Brazilian sugarcane liquor) or vodka.
Divide tangerines or small oranges among 6 tumblers. Add 2 teaspoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon grated peeled ginger to each glass. Crush the ingredients in the bottom of the glass with a muddler or handle of a wooden spoon. Top each drink with 2 tablespoons tangerine juice and 1/4 cup cachaça (Brazilian sugarcane liquor) or vodka. Fill glasses with ice cubes, stir, and serve.




xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Plum Caipirinha


•2 ripe, firm red plums
•1/2 cup refined, white sugar
•1/4 cup brown sugar
•1/4 cup water
•3 limes, diced and pitted
•1 cup cachaça
Halve and pit plums. Whisk the sugars and water together in a small saucepan. Add the plums and simmer over medium heat, until tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes. Cool plums in the liquid.




xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx




Strawberry & Basil Caipirinha
•2 oz. Leblon Cachaça
•3 strawberries
•3 basil leaves - torn
•¼ lime
•2 tsp superfine sugar or 1 oz simple syrup
Muddle the lime, strawberries, basil and sugar in a shaker. Fill the shaker with ice and add Leblon Cachaça. Shake vigorously. Serve in a rocks glass. Garnish with a strawberry and a basil leaf.

Coconut water (água de coco )

Coconut water (água de coco in Portuguese) is the clear liquid inside young green coconuts. Inside the coconut is a round cavity which is filled with this liquid, surrounded by a jelly-like substance. As the coconut matures, the liquid evaporates, and the jelly hardens into the familiar white "meat" of a dried coconut. It is very refreshing drink, and in Brazil is usually served directly from a chilled fresh coconut, which has been opened on the top with a machete. Coconut vendors are ubiquitous on Brazilian beaches, and can be found as well on streets and squares all over Brazil. Coconut water is extremely nutritious, without having many calories, and is often recommended for people with dietary products. It has only 16.7 calories in 100 grams, and has high amounts of potassium and and other minerals. In fact, per ounce, coconut water has more electrolytes than most sport drinks, and more potassium than bananas. It is a sterile liquid, so there is no health concerns in areas where water might be polluted. It is even used as an intravenous hydrating solution in some tropical areas where no saline solution is available.

Acai berries: the richest fruit sources of antioxidants.

A Brazilian berry popular in health food contains antioxidants that destroyed cultured human cancer cells in a recent University of Florida in Gainesville study, one of the first to investigate the fruit’s purported benefits.


Published today in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the study showed extracts from acai (ah-SAH’-ee) berries triggered a self-destruct reaction in up to 86 % of leukemia cells tested, said Stephen Talcott, an assistant teacher with University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.


“Acai berries are considered one of the richest fruit sources of antioxidants,” Talcott said. “This reasearch was an important step toward learning what people may gain from using dietary supplements, beverages or other products prepared with the berries.”


He cautioned that the research, funded by University of Florida sources, was not planned to show whether compounds found in acai berries could prevent leukemia in people.


“This was just a cell-culture model and we don’t want to give anyone fake expectation,” Talcott said. “We are optimistic by the findings, however. Compounds that show good activity against cancer cells in a model organism are probably to have favorable effects in our bodies.”


Additional fruits, as well as grapes, guavas and mangoes, have antioxidants shown to kill cancer cells in comparable studies, he said. Experts are not sure how much effect antioxidants have on cancer cells in the human body, for the reason that factors such as nutrient assimilation, metabolism and the influence of other biochemical processes may influence the antioxidants’ chemical activity.


Another University of Florida research, slated to end in 2006, will explore the effects of acai’s antioxidants on healthy human subjects, Talcott said. The research will decide how well the compounds are absorbed into the blood, and how they may change blood pressure, cholesterol levels and associated health indicators. Up to now, just primary study has been done on acai berries, which include at least fifty to seventy five as-yet unknown compounds.


“One reason so small is known about acai berries is that they’re perishable and are usually used right away after collecting,” he said. “Products made with processed acai berries have only been accessible for about 5 years, so researchers everywhere in the world have had small or no chance to study açai.”


Talcott said University of Florida is one of the pioneers institutions outside Brazil with people researching açai berries. Besides Talcott, University of Florida’s acai research team includes Susan Percival, a university lecturer with the food science and human nutrition department, David Del Pozo-Insfran, a doctoral scholar with the department and Susanne Mertens-Talcott, a postdoctoral associate with the pharmaceutics department of University of Florida’s College of Pharmacy.


Euterpe oleracea palm tree produces acai berries, common in floodplain areas of the Amazon River, Talcott said. When mature, the berries are dark purple and about the size of a blueberry. Açais have a slim coating of edible pulp around a big seed.


In the past, Brazilians have used acai berries to treat digestive problems and skin conditions, he said. Current marketing efforts by retail merchants and online businesses recommend acai products can assist clients lose weight, lower cholesterol and increase energy.


“Many claims are being made, but most of them haven’t been experienced scientifically,” Talcott said. “We are just starting to comprehend the intricacy of the acai berry and its health-promoting effects.”


In the present University of Florida research, 6 singular chemical extracts were made from acai fruit pulp, and every extract was made in seven concentrations.


Four of the extracts were shown to kill considerable numbers of leukemia cells when applied for twenty four hours. Anywhere from about 35% to 86% of the cells died, depending on the concentration and extract.


The University of Florida research shows that research on foods not usually consumed in the US is imperative, since it may lead to surprising discoveries, said Joshua Bomser, an assistant lecturer of molecular nutrition and functional foods at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.


“Growing use of vegetables and fruits is related with diminish risk for a lot of diseases, as well as cancer and heart problems,” said Bomser, who studies the effects of diet on chronic diseases. “Getting no less than 5 servings daily of these substance is still a great advice for promoting best possible health.”

CAIPIRINHA RECIPE

                                                                                                
                                                                     Caipirinha
This traditional Brazilian drink prepared with cachaça is very popular in Europe and the U.S. I guess you could say it USED TO be Brazil's best-kept secret, but it's the connoisseur's cocktail of choice from New York City to Miami, commanding hefty prices. The first time I had one outside Brazil was a long time ago: I walked into a small bar in Domodossola, a small city in northern Italy near the Swiss border, and had a great caipirinha prepared for me by an Italian barman in love with Brazilian music...and caipirinhas! Some of the foods to eat with caipirinhas: fried manioc, codfish balls, and caldinho de feijão (soupy black beans served in a tall glass or a small bowl). Enjoy!
1 lime
2 ounces of cachaça
Sugar to taste
Ice cubes


Wash the lime and roll it on the board to loosen the juices. Cut the lime into pieces and place them in a glass. Sprinkle with the sugar and crush the pieces (pulp side up) with a pestle. (We have a long, wooden one from Brazil, made specifically for this purpose.) Just enough to release the juice, otherwise it'll get bitter. Add the cachaça and stir to mix. Add the ice and stir again. It is delicious and potent!
You can also make a pitcher of caipirinha. Figure out how many people and multiply amounts. If you can't find cachaça where you live, use a good vodka. The drink will then be called caipiroshka. No vodka? Use white rum and you will have a caipiríssima. Caipirinhas made with sake and lychee are all the rage in Brazil now! Try one...We have a recipe for caipirinha made with tangerine, but you can also try the Brazilian fruit called lima-da-Pérsia (pictured here), strawberries, kiwi, fresh passion fruit with mint, passion fruit with pitanga, watermelon, you name it...To see all kinds of Brazilian fruits, visit our At the Feira pages.
The city of Paraty gave its name to the drink: parati is a synonym for cachaça. Other words for it include: pinga, caninha, branquinha, malvada. There are tours of distillers in the state of Minas Gerais, much in the same way as you'd tour vineyards in Sonoma Valley, France or the Brazilian Vale dos Vinhedos, with the added bonus of their famous regional cuisine. Cachaça is also notorious for brands with pornographic labels...they're hilarious!
Cachaça has also inspired many famous Brazilian songs, "Moda da Pinga" and the famous carnaval song "Cachaça" are my favorites.
You can use cachaça to flambé bananas and other food; add it to hot chocolate and even to coffee; marinate pork loin and pork chops, etc.
Senac has published a book about cachaça that's extremely informative; I finally found out why it's different from rum, for example...It's made from cane juice outright. You can also get the Caipirinha book above on your next trip to Brazil.

A great place to visit in Leblon is Academia da Cachaça, Rua Conde Bernadotte. Great selection of drinks and traditional foods to eat with them. A new place to taste very special cachaças is located in the Lapa district of Rio: Cachaçaria Mangue Seco, Rua do Lavradio.

SUGAR CANE JUICE AND"YES WE HAVE BANANAS"

Sugar cane is an important member of the plant kingdom. It is originated in India. Now it is cultivated in several countries of the world.

The world’s largest producer of sugar cane is Brazil. India now has the second position only. Sugar cane is processed into various products like molasses, ethanol, table sugar, rum etc.


Sugar cane juice is commonly devoured in all the countries where it is produced. Sugar cane juice is a highly refreshing drink. It contains about 15 per cent natural sugar and is rich in organic salts and vitamins.
The sugar cane juice has several health benefits and medicinal properties most of which remains unknown to the masses. It strengthens the stomach, kidneys, heart, eyes, and brain and sex organs. It can be used in the treatment of fevers. In fever related diseases, where there is great protein loss, sugar cane juice supplements the body with necessary protein and food elements.


Sugar cane juice has no simple sugar. It can be cherished by diabetics without any concern. It is excellent for digestion. Sugar cane juice is a mild laxative too due to its high potassium content. It is a rich source of iron and calcium also.


Sugar cane juice is alkaline in nature. It helps the body in fighting off cancer. s The sugar cane juice is especially effective in prostate and breast cancer and helps to put the patient on the path of recovery and excellent in treating urinary related diseases. It keeps the urine flow clear and aids the kidneys to perform better and relieves the burning sensation which arises due to infections of the urinary tract.




THE MOST POPULAR  BRASILIAM BANANAS       

                                                              Brazil is pride of place belongs to the banana, even though it only came to Brazil after the arrival of the Portuguese. It is the most commonly eaten fruit in the country, and Brazil's production is second in the world, trailing only India's.Even though the fruit is not native to Brazil, and can be grown successfully almost everywhere in the country.Recently the Brazilian Department of Agriculture identified the six most common banana varieties in Brazil and published a taste and nutritional comparison of them.

                                                   
 Banana prata (silver banana) - Description: up to 10 inches (25 cm) in length. Not as sweet as most other eating bananas. Can be fried as well as eaten raw. The most commonly eaten variety in Brazil. Nutritional characteristics: Like the banana-maçã, an important source of manganese.


.

Banana-da-terra (known in English as plaintain) -  Has less sugar than most bananas and more starch. Not eaten raw, but cooked when green (starchy taste) or when ripe (sweet taste). Nutritional characteristics: the most highly caloric banana, due to presence of starchy carbohydrates. Up to 60% higher calories than some other varieties of banana.

 Banana-maçã (Apple banana) - Description: up to 6 inches (15 cm) in length. Sweet and with flavor reminiscent of apples. Skin is dark yellow and when ripe, the skin can turn completely black. Nutritional characteristics: the banana variety that is richest in manganese, important in the metabolism of proteins and carbohydrates.









           
                                                                   

CAFE - THE "WELCOME" IN BRASIL

One could sit here and write volumes about coffee in Brazil, but if you want to read a good book about it, go to your local library and look for a copy of Vassouras: A Brazilian Coffee County, 1850-1890. The Roles of Planter and Slave in a Changing Society. Stanley J. Stein. New York: Atheneum, 1976. Instead, we'll tell you a little about cafezinho, a word that more than being a diminutive for café is almost a synonym for "welcome" in Brazil. (The antique coffee maker pictured here comes from Minas Gerais.)


Wherever you go, the minute you walk in the door, someone will pop the question "você toma/aceita/quer um cafezinho?" (do you want a cafezinho?) and they won't take no for an answer. Or maybe they won't even ask and the cafezinho will soon materialize on a dainty tray brought in by a maid. In offices, someone will come by and serve cafezinhos to you at your desk, so don't be surprised if, smack in the middle of a business discussion, your Brazilian counterpart offers you a cafezinho too. And, at that point, the conversation may well switch to a non-business topic while you sip away at your coffee. Or you can "belly up to the bar" at any botequim with a counter in Rio and enjoy your cafezinho in a traditional botequim cup...I got one as a present from a botequim owner in Leblon and now use it at home in Miami. Even Starbucks at the chic Shopping Leblon in Rio gives the option of having a paper cup like in the U.S. or a real cup!


Espressos have become so common now in Brazil that you have to specify "carioca," if you want a traditional cafezinho in Rio de Janeiro. At the padaria or bakery, you can still order a cafezinho the old way...Who knows for how long, though!


Cafés are meeting points for business discussions, birthday celebrations, and plain kaffeeklatsch in the afternoon. People, especially those who live alone, are also in the habit of having breakfast in a bakery or café. And entire families go out to these places for breakfast on the weekend; they're the IN place to meet your friends to chat and read the Sunday paper together

DRINKS,FRUITS AND JUYCES FROM BRASIL.