Brazilians have a funny idea of what is American. It’s a cross between what they see on TV and what they think is cool (which may or may not have anything to do with actual American customs.
To point, behold the “American Pizza” we enjoyed last night: sausage (check), cheese (check), sauce (check), ham (check), and palm hearts and egg (BZZZ! NOT actually American AT ALL).
Not only are the ingredients not traditionally American, they would send your ordinary Meat n’ Potatoes American running in the opposite direction:”Palm hearts? I don’t know. Sounds kind weird…Eggs! On pizza?? What in the Sam Hill…Get me outta here!”
If I had my way, I’d add Brazilian pizza to that list of 100 Brazilian foods to try. It’s pretty tasty Brazilians like pizza a lot and have made it their own. Thin crust, less sauce (this irritates me–what did tomatoes ever do to you Brazil?), and regular appearances of corn, green olives, chicken, cream cheese, and palm hearts.
Pizza is served with packets of mayo, ketchup (to compensate for the lack of sauce, ftw), and olive oil. Proper etiquette is to eat it with a fork and knife. No New York-style folding and jamming, thankyouverymuch. Brazilians are at a loss of what to do if the pizza is served before the utensils (me: you’re effing kidding right? You snooze, you lose…Slide that puppy over here!) In sum, Brazilian pizza is definitely worth trying, and definitely NOT anything like an American pizza.
Of course there’s nothing like the tastes of home. One of my delights at the farm is that we’ve repaired our wood-fired oven. American pizza (extra sauce and cheese, please) is a regular treat. Folding encouraged.
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I’ve come to embrace and love Brazilian pizza. But I only refer to it as pizza with air quotes. I describe it to people as more of a casserole. Of course I tend to stick to the bacon only pizza (crust, sauce, cheese, bacon), since it’s as close to US style as I can get. BTW, leite condensado and banana on a pizza? Let’s call it what it is – that’s a dessert!
I haven’t seen that combination! Wow! Definitely dessert 🙂
There is a restaurant in Governador Valadares called Pizza Park where the kids can play in a Chuck-E-Cheese-esque play area. The waiters walk around with trays of different pizza slices and as they call out what they’re carrying, you can wave them over for a slice. The banana pizza is delicious, but not for an entree, haha.
I think I drove by a Pizza Park in Theófilo Otoni too (now WHERE, that’s the question). Maybe we’ll make an outing and try it!
I think I remember seeing an egg on a pizza in Italy! To be fair, I think every country has a different way of preparing their pizzas (or pizze, as would be the Italian plural). The best I’ve eaten lately was in Argentina with my cousins : crust, sauce, blue cheese and nuts!!! Delicious!!!! Oh, oh, and : crust, sauce, ham, mozzarella and RUCULA!!!! Pretty awesome (I’m drolling just to remember).
Definitely true. What I find funny is that I suspect they think their pizza is “very American” when it’s really Brazilian! Those Argentinian pizzas sound divine! They remind me of my all-time favorite: pears, Gorgonzola, walnuts and honey… Mmmm!