Gastronomic hell on earth
Brazil has the most beautiful botanical gardens and gave me the worst food poisoning ever
This is the story of how Brazil defeated me gastronomically. It is hilarious to look back at such a disastrous trip.
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I expected to adore Brazil, as I had desired to visit the country since I was a teen, since meeting some Brazilians my age at my summer school, and be mesmerised by their tales of life, food, and everything. At 16, who doesn’t dream of soaking in the sun and drinking caipirinha on a beach with good vibes and music?
So when some work colleagues organised a trip there and invited me to join, I was delighted! Finally! I was expecting to taste everything, like everything and come back with a wealth of experiences.
But it all went sideways.
To my dismay, I discovered that cashews, along with macadamia nuts, are my least favourite nuts. I also found cashew fruit juice absolutely not into my tunes. Actually, I thought it was revolting.
I can eat the nuts if needed, but I rather stick to all other varieties to be happy. Try to beat Piedmont hazelnuts, Greek almonds, Sicilian Pistachios, or Portuguese pine nuts!
This lack of love for a typical Brazilian ingredient (cashew seems to be in everything) was the suspicious start of the exact opposite of a gastronomic love story.
It was, for me, a horror story.
And it was unexpected.
I adore most Asian cuisines, and have a secret passion for African cuisine, especially the East African one.
When I lived in Rome, I ate countless times at the local Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants, and yet, the cuisine in Brazil almost killed me.
To this day, I still cringe at the idea of biting into cassava, mandioca, tapioca, and tucupi. In the meantime, I forgot all the other names of the food I tasted.
The smell of dendé (palm oil) makes me physically sick.