This one was exciting because…ta-da! My favorite sweets lady got a sign for her booth!
She also had some new treats to share which were 50 centavos more expensive per item, by the way. I have a feeling it might have been to cover the cost of the new sign. Luckily, her sweets are worth every penny. In fact, I feel kind of sorry for all the other doces booths there. They don’t get much business when she is around.
First, was the usually cocada in the cup. I like this so much more than the variety that is laid out to dry and get crunchy. This type you eat with a spoon and my absolute favorite is the one with maracujá (passion fruit). Oh, and I’ve discovered the secret to getting it just the way I like it. Buy it the very first day.
I love it when it is really tart along with the sugary sweet syrup it is mixed in. However, as it sits for the two weeks that the feira takes place, the sugar seems to take over and it loses all of the tartness associated with the fruit. My husband suggested I go ahead and get it the first night there and I was pleased for sure.
Her new item this time was doce de abóbora – pumpkin candy. This certainly isn’t a new thing, but I have never seen her offer it before. Now this is some interesting stuff. My husband loves it. I love pumpkin everything, but I just can’t seem to develop a fond taste for this sweet. It is sugary like the others, but carries this raw squash flavor with it that is difficult to explain. I can enjoy it in small bites, but I only want a little. I guess roasted pumpkin is more my thing.
Now, shifting gears to the Portuguese tent. The last time I went to this particular fest a good friend of mine taught me all about the Portuguese desserts. A lady, who has some mad skill at pushing marketing her product sells traditional Portuguese desserts. The pastries travel in from Sao Paulo state and you can only get them at this fest each year. They are first come, first serve and once she runs out, that’s it.
Knowing this bit of important info we headed to the booth on one of our first nights at the fest. Having never been to Portugal and using only these desserts as my judge (not a good move, I know), I would say the popular desserts there are based in egg-heavy custards and nuts. Very different from my neck of the woods, yet good at the same time.
Unfortunately I have no idea what the names of these items are. When I said the woman selling them was good at marketing I really meant she talked incredibly fast. Even my husband had a hard time catching every word. So basically we chose by looks and a few random words such as nozes (nuts) and specific fruits.
The first one consisted of a dry paper-like pastry holding a sweetened, egg custard. It was thick and rich. The pastry probably doesn’t sound too appetizing with my description, but it went well with the custard.
Next, this one was chosen based on that huge walnut on top. We have walnuts here, but they are very expensive so I jump at the chance to get them when they are included in other things I’m buying. It was similar to a nut pie or tart. A pie-like crust filled with a sweetened nut paste.
So maybe I’ll be surprised if another feira pops up before I leave. But otherwise I send a sweet farewell to one of the best things about the city of Maringá.
6 comments:
Lori--random, but i was wondering, if one was wanting to make a cheesecake in brasil, what would you suggest they use instead of cream cheese?
OMG, this was NOT the post I needed to see trying to be on a diet. you're killing me, Lori, killing me!!!!
Hello Lori,
I think the first Portuguese desert is called "pastel de Belem" or maybe "pastel de Santa Clara". If I am not mistaken, one of them have the custard (like the one you ate) and one of them doesn't. I just never remember which one! :) In any case, they are both super delicious!
On a kind of random topic, I wish I had in NJ the nice Kentucky birds you mentioned in an earlier post! Last week this crazy bird was making awful sounds (no, there was no singing) in the morning and I though "Where are all the nice birds"? And then I thought of your post and realized they must be in Kentucky! ;)
Mallory - I emailed you. You can get cream cheese here. They actually sell Philadelphia along with a Brazilian brand. The thing is that it's more like a spreadable kind in a tub. I've been meaning to give it a try with cheesecake, but haven't yet. I'm not sure how it would hold up. Not sure if you have tried the cheesecake they have here. Eh, not so great. Perhaps this is why.
Maybe a cheesecake with ricotta instead? Most of the ricotta cheese here is dry, but sometimes you can find ricotta cremoso in the tub near the other cheeses.
Kyle - Sorry about that. But I don't think you need to be on a diet. Your body is probably using every calorie it can to recover. Eat a dessert! I said so. ;)
Marcela - Thanks so much for passing on the info! That is so funny about the birds. Perhaps it is simply an issue of what is familiar to each of us. Ha, ha!
I have made cheesecake with the cream cheese from here and it turned out fine. I use rosca cookies (kind of like nilla wafers) for the crust since you cannot get graham crackers.
corinne - Thanks so much for letting me know. I've been wanting make one, but didn't want to make the investment in all the cream cheese if it wasn't going to turn out well. Great to know about the cookies too!
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