Jean Baptiste Debret and the iconography of Brazilian food in the 19th century

Abstract

The French painter Jean-Baptiste Debret, who lived in Brazil for fifteen years, provided significant input to the study of the country’s food habits of the early 19th century through a number of watercolors portraying Brazilian society. The consumption of manioc meal as a substitute for bread stands out among other staple foods, such as corn, rice, meat, and beans.

Key words: Debret, manioc meal, Brazilian food habits

Resumo

O pintor francês Jean-Baptiste Debret, que habitou as terras brasileiras por 15 anos, deixou uma série de informações para o estudo dos hábitos alimentares do país no início do século XIX por meio de diversas aquarelas sobre a sociedade brasileira. É notável o consumo de farinha de mandioca como substituto do pão, entre outros alimentos de base como o milho, o arroz, a carne e o feijão.

Palavras chave : Debret, farinha de mandioca, hábitos alimentares brasileiros

 1.    Introduction

The objective of this paper is to provide input on Brazilian food habits in the 19^th century, in light of the work of the French painter Jean-Baptiste Debret, who lived in Brazil for 15 years. Debret depicted the daily life of the Brazilians with significant details through landscapes, still-lives, slaves, their masters, and the Brazilian multi-ethnic society of that period. Nothing escaped the fine perception of a man who not only painted portrays, but also, at times with a rather critical view, looked into the souls of the Brazilians and their lives.

It goes without saying that representations of food are omnipresent in Debret’s work. Tropical fruit that did not exist in Europe are often painted in still-lives. Enslaved black men or women working or selling food on the street were scenes that also appealed to the painter. Indigenous and white men, as well as the main events of the Portuguese Court equally stood out in his work.

2.                 

            2. The artist

Jean Baptiste Debret was born in Paris in 1768, and died in the same city in1848. He came to Rio de Janeiro in 1817 where he lived until 1831, to participate in the French Artistic Mission, commanded by the Portuguese King D. John VI. The purpose of the mission was to increment the arts in the recently upgraded colony and included, in addition to the painter, architects, engineers, professors, artisans, and the like.

The period he lived in Brazil was critical in the history of the country. Debret witnessed the wake of a nation, and thus portrayed a number of significant events, such as the arrival of the Austrian princess Dona Leopoldina, who was to marry D. Pedro, the independence of Brazil in 1822, the coronation of Emperor D. Pedro shortly after, as well as his resignation and departure for Portugal, among other important historical events.

As one of the most important painters of the First Empire, Debret was extremely interested in people’s daily life. Cultural aspects of Brazilian society, like music and dance, street scenes with people of all walks of life, the lush tropical vegetation that surrounded the city of Rio de Janeiro or the Portuguese-style architecture are some of the examples of the representations that appear in his work.

Naturally, a good number of his paintings are dedicated to food. A great deal of still-lives of tropical fruit and vegetables that did not exist in Europe has been depicted. He also painted scenes of meat trade, food vendors, street markets, the life in the port, and people eating, buying, and selling food.

Interestingly, Debret was not hired to paint such things, a work to which he dedicated secretly. His primary mission was to found and coordinate a school of fine arts and to portray the events related to the Portuguese Royal family. But his interest in, and passion for the country led him to go further and paint routine scenes he witnessed on the streets. As a result, a magnificent photograph of Brazilian society and their food habits emerged through his work.

When he went back to France in 1831, the painter brought back most of his work, which provided significant material to the writing of his book. It was not until the early 20^th century that most of his artistic work was brought back to Brazil as a result of the visionary action of Mr. Castro Maya, a Paris-born Brazilian who acquired the collection, donating to the Museum in the mid 20^th century.

3.                 

          3. Iconography analysis

3.1  The carne seca shop

Carne seca, or jerked beef, was one of the primary sources of animal protein for 19^th century Brazilians. The slopes of Rio de Janeiro were no good land for cattle raising, which was practiced in the south of the country, in the Province of Rio Grande do Sul, approximately 1,000 km south of Rio.

The cattle was brought in by paulistas (São Paulo natives), but arrived in the Court in bad condition. The long journey made the cattle exhausted and thin, a fact which made fresh meat not only expensive but also low end. Jerked beef seemed to be the ideal solution for that issue. The meat was dried in the same site where the cattle were slaughtered, then fat and high quality, yielding a much better product. The jerked beef was packed and sent to Rio either by boat or land, and was sold in the many city shops, as shown in the example painted by Debret.

The shopkeeper was often a poor relative of the producer in the South, which is the case of the young man sitting in the front of the carne seca shop, as  Debret himself points out, un assez grossier personage issu d’un Portugais de basse extraction (p. 258). Here the writings of the painter also play a significant role in the history of sensitivity. With no sound or smells, paintings are restricted to the visual aspect. But Debret is keen in describing the foul smell of the shop, which also serves as the boy’s sleeping room, in the upper mezzanine.

Next to the boy two pieces of dried meat are hanging, which would be finely sliced for retail sale. Those were equally an indicator of the quality of the shop’s products.  Three larger piles of meat are stocked in the back. In the foreground, to the left, four pieces of tallow may be observed, and immediately behind, a heap of dried fish. Four pieces of lard are lying on the foreground, the indispensable toucinho, present in the daily dishes of Brazilian cuisine, which suggests an influence of the regional cuisines of São Paulo and Minas Gerais.

To the left, in the back, fine animal grease is stocked inside bladders. Also, a line of candles made from animal fat is available for purchase. At last, salted beef tongues hanging from the ceiling complete the supply of meats “with the most disgusting smell.”

Debret was not lying when he mentions the omnipresence of lard in Brazilian cuisine. Clearly a Portuguese influence, as exemplified in a Portuguese cook book published in Rio in the 19^th century, whose recipes will virtually include dry pork in all recipes it describes (Rodrigues, 1808). However, the carne seca shop sold exclusively dry pork. In order to buy fresh meat, shoppers would have to go to the pork butcher’s, as described in the next session.

Jean-Baptiste Debret, The carne seca shop, 1829.Watercolor 15 x 20.5cm.

Museus Castro Maya, Rio de Janeiro, IBRAM MinC

3.2  The pork butcher’s

The watercolor the pork butcher’s in the museum is a smaller picture than the one described in Voyage Picturesque, and omits a scene showing two slave boys bringing in two whole pigs for the new supply of the day. In fact, sanitation regulations obliged pork vendors to supply their businesses twice a day, first at 8 am and later in the day at 6 or 7 pm.

Despite the rigid sanitary regulations, the artist is critical about the hygiene of the shop, and observes that it is the most disgusting of all food shops in the city, noticing the presence of rats on the premises (De toutes les boutiques de la capital celle du marchand de viande de porc est la plus dégoûtante, autant par l’odeur fade qui s’en exale…les rats, pensonnieres gratuits, mangent le comptoir pendant la nuit… p. 282). Also, he points out the savage manner in which the shopkeeper cuts off a piece of meat, holding it with his teeth.

Debret remarks that pork meat and fat is highly consumed by the Brazilians of all walks of life. However, the wealthy are more likely to consume pork loin whereas the poor would have to satisfy with less noble parts of the animal, such as feet or ears, which would be added to their stews. The next session discusses one of these stews, the famed angu.

3.3  Black women cooking and selling angu

Although it is a common belief that only rich people had slaves in large monoculture farms, in reality it was not so. Many of the middle class white families had one or two slaves who helped with domestic work and ordinary household chores. In times of penury, feeding a large family plus the whole entourage could be a tricky task. Therefore, it was customary for such middle class white men to send their slaves to the streets to sell food so as to increment the family budget. 

This is perhaps the origins of street food in Brazil. From sweets to savory dishes to fresh fruit and juice, everything could be found on the markets and squares of Rio in the 19^th century. The slaves cooked the food themselves, so it may be easily assumed that a touch of African taste would be added to the dishes that they sold for a few vinténs.

This watercolor is particularly interesting because it shows not only food being sold on the street, but also being prepared there. Three black women improvise a fire where they place four huge cast iron pots. Inside, a stock is prepared with vegetables, such as onions, tomatoes, and okra – an African ingredient, to which is added cubed offal, like liver, heart, tongue, and parts of the head. Spice such as chili, bay leaf, parsley or sage season the dish. To garnish, some manioc flour is served onto the plate, with which clients make small balls using their fingers. Pork fat and raw palm oil[1], another African ingredient, supply the lipids needed for a substantial meal. In Debret’s own words, the dish had good taste (…voila le mets, d’ailleurs assez succulent et de bon goût… p. 245).

Clients were often slaves who were not fed at their masters’ and ordinary passer-bys, who would eat at the spot or take the angu away (the expression ‘for here or to go’ may have been invented at that time). Small plates of faience or clay were available and a large mussel shell served as spoon. The cost was one vintém (two sous and six deniers, in French currency) for a small dish or three vinténs (seven sous and six deniers) for a larger portion. A take-away order, with the price of four vinténs (ten sous), would feed five to six poor people, provided that some bananas or oranges were added.

This hearty meal was served as from early in the morning – 6 to 10 am, and then from 12 to 2 pm. Interestingly, although the dish is clearly described as a popular meal, it also appealed to the well-off, as described by the author: …le mets…qui figure sur la table de la classe aisée, et dont elles se régalent, à titre de plaisenterie, pour sauver leur amour-propre compromise (p. 245).

The scene takes place at the popular fish market beach, near the customs, which gathers a crowd of people. It is seven o’clock in morning, but the sun is already up and the two sitting men, who work at the customs and have therefore a great appetite, protect their heads with a turban. A tomato vendor, an habitué of the market, is installed across from the cooks and enjoys her meal.

The manioc meal plays here a critical role as a primary source of carbohydrate in Brazilian food habits of the 19^th century, appearing as the most important staple food. Its long shelf life allied to easiness of transportation and nutritious value characterized Brazilian cuisine. Native to Brazil, the manioc has been the staple food of the Brazilian Indigenous since pre-Colombian times and it was later exported to Africa with significant success, where it became a popular staple food.

There is also a remarkable cultural aspect involving this product. Its dry texture allows for a perfect combination with stew-like dishes, a Portuguese heritage. Debret notices that the customs workers use their fingers to make small balls of manioc meal mixing it with the sauce of the stew. 

The fact that manioc meal does not require any cooking makes it a very versatile product, which is poured virtually onto any dish, even to this date. Brazilians seldom set the table without a bowl of manioc meal on it. Meats, vegetables, and stews are some of the dishes that manioc meal may be added to, not to mention the myriad of dishes which use it in their preparation. Although some authors referred to the manioc meal as a substitute for bread (Debret, 2014; Von Martius, 2008; Luccock, 2008, and elsewhere), white bread was available in the city as shown in the following session.

Jean-Baptiste Debret, Women selling angu, 1826 .Watercolor 18.2 x 23.6cm.

Museus Castro Maya, Rio de Janeiro, IBRAM MinC

3.4  The bakery

Rio de Janeiro was already quite a cosmopolitan city in early 19^th century, with an estimate population of 500,000 inhabitants (Gomes, 2007). It was the most important port in South America and the primary stop from ships coming from Europe on their way to the Pacific as well as the main point of departure for those going to the Old Continent. Its multi-ethnic population consisted of Natives, Africans, Portuguese, and other European Caucasians who were attracted to opportunities in the New World. Intermarriage among those different ethnic populations gave birth to a pluralistic society (Freyre, 1974), which characterized Brazilian ethnic formation as well as its cuisine.

However, Europeans coming to this hot tropical city had it hard finding bread, their customary source of carbohydrate and the most common staple in Europe at the time. Debret lists only six bakeries in Rio in 1816 and only two mills. Even though wheat was grown in the Province of Rio Grande do Sul in the south of the colony, wheat flour was also imported from both North America and Europe.

However, two years after the crowning of the Emperor, a flow of foreigners, especially French, but also Italians and Germans, boosted the number of bakeries. Their shops were described as excellent, and produced, in addition to bread, sea biscuits, cookies, and doughnuts.

In the interior of the shop, a small boy, sent by his master, is buying a pound of bread for the price of four vinténs (ten sous - but as the price of flour increased, the weight of bread could plummet). Considering that four vinténs could buy a meal for five people, it is worthy noticing that bread was not only expensive, but a luxury item.

Wheat would arrive in bags made of leather and a sample has recently been placed on the floor.  To the right, an armoire du bluteau[2] is ready to receive the recently-arrived wheat. A slave will operate it by means of a lever, producing a bothering sound (Cette machine, mise un movement par un Nègre, incommode de son bruit les voisins et les passants, pendant une grande partie de la journée, p 273).

The author justifies the small number of bakers and the scarcity of bread due to the ‘general usage of manioc meal instead of wheat’ (L’usage général de la farine de manioc, au lieu de celle de froment, faisait de notre profession de Boulanger, au Brésil, une industrie de luxe, p. 273). Indeed, other authors remark that manioc meal was often a substitute for bread. Von Martius (2008) states that ‘mesmo o pão de trigo come-o o brasileiro moderadamente e prefere-lhe a sua farinha’ (Brazilians hardly ever eat wheat bread and would rather have their (manioc) flour, p. 288.). Luccock (2008) is also rather adamant in this regard: ‘em lugar do pão, usam de farinha de mandioca’ (instead of bread, they (Brazilians) use manioc meal, p. 194). The following session will present a second replacement for the wheat flour, the corn flour.

Jean-Baptiste Debret, The Bakery, circa 1820-1830 .Watercolor 15.5 x 22cm.

Museus Castro Maya, Rio de Janeiro, IBRAM MinC

3.5  The corn vendor

    The black woman selling roasted corn is a freed woman who has her own business, as opposed to the other woman, who sells corn for her master and is supplying the freed woman with input.  A black girl carrying a baby is enjoying a piece of corn recently purchased. Next to her are three rocks on the ground which served as a cooking facility the previous evening. The author describes the details of what had been cooked on that fire – a ragout of black beans and a piece of toucinho, topped with manioc meal. Without knowing, Debret is describing the ancestor of the most symbolic Brazilian dish – the feijoada.

       In addition to being roasted on its cob, corn has several other uses in the country. What the vendor is selling is green corn, whose grains may also be removed from the cob and cooked like peas, according to the author. It is worth noticing that Europeans often attempted to establish a resemblance between exotic food from the tropics and the food they were familiarized with. That attempt may explain why some American foods became popular in Europe while others were not immediately incorporated into the European diet.

       Debret did not seem to be familiarized with corn, or at least with popcorn, given the extremely detailed description he makes of it. He goes on describing corn meal, corn floor, canjica and other corn by-products and dishes. Interestingly, he states that corn is quite present in the food habits of Mineiros (Minas Gerais natives), and how they substitute wheat flour for corn flour to make bread (les mineiros mangent habituelment du gâteau de farine de blé de Turquie, en guise de pain. p. 201). Even today, corn flour broas are a typical patisserie item from Minas Gerais.

4.    

Jean-Baptiste Debret, The Corn vendor, 1820 .Watercolor 15.7 x 21.9cm.

Museus Castro Maya, Rio de Janeiro, IBRAM MiNC

          4. Conclusion

During fifteen years living in Rio de Janeiro in the early 19^th century, the French painter Jean-Baptiste Debret created an unprecedented and perhaps matchless rapport of Brazilian society through hundreds of paintings, drawings, portrays, watercolors, and other works of art. His innumerous accounts of the Brazilian eating habits in the period provide a one of a kind list of fruits, staple foods, meats, dishes, drinks, and customs in addition to an astounding amount of information on the commerce of foods, where they were purchased, how they were sold, and who ate them.

It becomes important to point out that his written work Voyage pittoresque et historique au Brésil, which he wrote upon his return in France between 1834 and 1839, far complements his artistic work. It is because of his detailed accounts that we understand who the people in his watercolors are, and what they represent in Brazilian society. Because of the book, for instance, we know whether a black woman selling food on the street is a freed or an enslaved person. We understand better for whom the black people frequenting the shops are buying food – themselves or their masters. And the details of his descriptions come to the point of writing a list of which ingredients are in a hot pot of food, boiling on a street corner of Rio.

Such richness of details allows us to design a significantly well-structured scheme of the eating habits of the Brazilian people in the 19^th century. Hence one of the primary conclusions which may be drawn, the abyss between what ate the upper and middle class and the enslaved men. And by comparing the current food habits of Brazilians today, it is quite clear that, on the one hand, the lower classes changed their food habits as a means of social ascent. The exclusiveness of white bread at that time, for example, has faded away as it is today a common breakfast item on every Brazilian table. On the other hand, the manioc meal, a food item which has often been associated with slavery and therefore rather despised by the upper class, has gained value and experiences a revival in the most notorious restaurants of Brazil.

In sum, an interesting sociological conclusion may be drawn from these findings, which is the fact that food items go through cycles of consumption and desire. The poor desire a food item that is normally consumed by the rich, and acquire the means to consume that food. The rich, in turn, lose interest in that food item since it is no longer exclusive. On the other end of the cycle, the rich desire a popular food item which has historically been consumed by the poor, but they make it seem luxurious by stratifying it.

What I am calling “the cycle of food consumption and desire” was not developed in Brazil for it has been exemplified in other places, such as Europe, and in other times, such as the Middle and Modern Ages. Take the example of pepper in the Middle Ages, which stopped being used by the rich as it became accessible to the poor (Laurioux, 2002), or the example of white bread, formerly the food of the French elite, but today an extremely popular item in France. Finally, the cycle of food consumption and desire may provide interesting sociological explanation of the reasons why people change their eating habits, as it may equally foresee which foods will be fashionable in the future.

Paulo Seidl
Tours, April, 2016

Disclaimer: This is the fruit of intellectual production. When quoting, please provide appropriate academic reference.

5.    

      5. References

Debret, J.B. 2014 (1834, 1839). Voyage Historique et Picturesque au Brésil, (Introduction by Leenhardt, J.). Arles, Impremeries Nacionales

Derby, O. 2008. Farinha de milho e mandioca em São Paulo e Minas Gerais. In 

Cascudo, L. C. Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil (p 208). São Paulo, Global Editora.

Desoer, F.J. (ed), 1767. Petite Encyclopedie ou les elemmens de connaissances humaines. Liège. In https://books.google.com.br/books?id=J_hWAAAAcAAJ&pg=PP9&lpg=PP9&dq=Desoer+F+J+petite+encyclopedie&source=bl&ots=TtY4Cairsf&sig=jot8JVcOfvU0MUXTh36wi9x7MtU&hl=pt-BR&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXy5_nruPLAhXM1hoKHZ46CgoQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=Desoer%20F%20J%20petite%20encyclopedie&f=false

Freyre, G. 1974 (1952). Mâitres et esclaves. Paris, Gallimard.

Gomes, L. 2007. 1808. São Paulo, Ed. Planeta.

Koster, H., 2008. Refeições no Nordeste. In Cascudo, L. C. Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil (pp 199 to 202). São Paulo, Global Editora.

Laurioux, B. 2002. Manger au Moyen Âge. Pratiques et discours alimentaires en Europe aux XIVe et XVe siècles. Paris, Hachette.

Luccock, J., 2008. As refeições no Rio de Janeiro no princípio do século XIX. In 

Cascudo, L. C. Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil (pp 194 to 198). São Paulo, Global Editora.

Marcgrave, J. 2008. Cardápio do indígena nordestino. In Cascudo, L. C. Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil (pp 284 to 287). São Paulo, Global Editora.

Rodrigues, D. 1808. A arte da cozinha. Rio de Janeiro, Typ. J. J. Barroso.

Saint-Hilaire, A., 2008. O passadio em Minas Gerais. In Cascudo, L. C. Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil (pp 203 to 205). São Paulo, Global Editora.

Von Martius, C. F. F., 2008. Dieta carioca em 1817. In Cascudo, L. C. Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil (pp 288 to 289) . São Paulo, Global Editora.

http://museuscastromaya.com.br/colecoes/brasiliana/ last visited April 01, 2016

---

[1] The author uses the phrase l’huile de coco d’Inde à couleur d’or et au goût de beurre frais, which I interpret as raw palm oil.

[2]Desoer, in his 1767 Petite Encyclopedie, describes a bluteau as ‘une espèce d’armoire basse et longue, pour passer Le bled moulu au moulin & en séparer le son.’

A Brazilian Dinner

Jean-Baptiste Debret (1768-1848)

A Brazilian dinner, 1827. Watercolor, 15,7 x 21,9 cm

Museus Castro Maya, Rio de Janeiro – IBRAM – MinC

A Brazilian Dinner

Paulo Seidl

Université François Rabelais

Abstract

The watercolor A Brazilian dinner painted by Jean-Baptiste Debret and the homologous text the artist has written provide substantial information on the eating habits and table manners of upper class Brazilians in the 19^th century. Among them, the type of food they ate indicates a large amount of meat, the presence of manioc meal on the table, and the lack of rice as a staple side dish. Also, it confirms the Caucasian, African, and Indigenous influences of Brazilian cuisine.

 Resumo

A aquarela Um jantar brasileiro de Jean-Baptiste Debret e o texto homólogo que escreveu forneceram diversas  informações sobre os hábitos alimentares e as maneiras à mesa da classe alta brasileira no século XIX. Entre essas, o tipo de comida que comiam revela uma grande quantidade de carne, a presença da farinha de mandioca na mesa, e a ausência de arroz como alimento básico. Além disso, confirma as influências europeias, africanas e indígenas da cozinha brasileira.

1.    Introduction

The objective of this short article is to provide insight on Brazilian eating habits and table manners in the 19^th century, in light of the analysis of the watercolor A Brazilian Dinner by Jean-Baptiste Debret, who lived in Brazil between 1817 and 1831. This was a critical historical time for Brazil, when a number of important historical events took place and marked the birth of a nation.

Debret was a keen observer of Brazilian society. He was particularly interested on street scenes, food trade, and people of all walks of life, including enslaved black people, who were the object of a great many art works he produced during his long stay in the tropics (Straumann, 2002). Upon his return in France, he wrote Voyage pittoresque et historique au Brésil, which was published in 1834 (volume I) and 1839 (volume II). In his book, extremely detailed information is given on each of his paintings, adding a substantial surplus to the already rich collection of information he had left by means of his paintings.

The watercolor A Brazilian Dinner is among those commented works. It stands out as a unique piece, as most of his works depict the underprivileged class and popular events. Instead, the Brazilian Dinner portrays a wealthy family, but at the same time provides paramount input for the study of eating habits of a society at its wake.

2.    Brazilian society in the 19^th century

Debret painted the Brazilian Dinner in 1827, when the independence of the country had been proclaimed only five years before. Rio de Janeiro was a bustling city at that time, with an estimated population of 500,000 inhabitants (Gomes, 2007). Slavery was still legal, and Africans dominated the street scenes because they were in charge of supplying the household of their masters with food, water, charcoal, and other basic needs of the carioca families. As a result, slaves were a very common site on the streets, shops, and markets.

Most families, regardless of their economic status, had at least one slave in the household.  Wealthy families, naturally, had more than one and it was customary for masters to send their slaves to the street to sell food in order to supplement the domestic income. Freed men equally carried out these tasks.

Life was rough for the slaves. Deprived of freedom and sometimes of their language and culture, they could be severely punished for small misdemeanor, depending on the rigidity of their patrons. Living a life with no rest, their only hope was to raise enough money to buy their freedom, sometimes at an exorbitant price. They did so by putting aside part of the profit they made from the selling of food on the street, a deal previously arranged with their masters. Farm slaves could not contemplate this dream due to the fact that they had no contact with people or currency.

In addition to blacks, who could be overwhelming in number, whites, mestizos, and indigenous were among a multi-ethnic and growing society in Rio de Janeiro. White men could be Brazilian-born or foreigners, most often Portuguese, but also French, Italian, and German, among other European nationals who came to the tropics to venture new opportunities.

3.    Iconography analysis

A Brazilian dinner

Among the many watercolors painted by Debret abundantly describing Brazilian food culture in the 19^th century, the only one that portrays a meal is the Brazilian Dinner. The table is set with a number of foods on it. The master of the house is sitting at the table accompanied by his wife while three slaves stand around and two nude black children sit on the floor. Thus, table manners may be identified, such as the use of tableware (very long forks and knives), a wine glass, a water pitcher, individual plates and several platters with food. The atmosphere is relaxed, perhaps a little too casual for the artist’s European manners, excused by high temperatures which ‘abandons the good manners’ and ‘neglects the dress code’ (Debret, 2014, p 166).

A number of items in the dining room suggest that the family is well-off, such as their garments, the furniture, the white tablecloth, as well as the wine glass and platters on the table. The poor hardly ever had a table, and usually ate on the floor. If they were to drink an alcoholic beverage, it would be cachaça, a sugarcane spirit. Likewise, they would not have a tablecloth and ate most often ate with their hands, habits that remind those of European peasants in the Middle Ages (Laurioux, 2002).

The description the artist wrote accompanying the watercolor is equally insightful. In it, Debret expresses his disgust when compares one of the children, who is being fed by the housewife, to a dog, which has been repeatedly painted by European artists from the Middle to the Modern Ages (…la femme s’amuse de ses petits negrillons, qui remplace la famille presque éteinte de petits chiens carlins en Europe, p. 166).

The differences between the meals of higher and lower classes are also present in his description, mainly concerning the variety of food. The meal of the family consisted of several dishes, including a breaded soup (whose recipe reminds that of the famed Parisian soupe restaurante), boiled meats, a shrimp coulis, chicken rice, cooked vegetables, a roast, and a pile of oranges. This could have been a meal in any European country if not for two items, namely the escaldado and the chili sauce. The former is manioc meal plunged with hot stock while the latter is made with malagueta (bird-eye) chili and vinegar.

As a good Frenchman, Debret observes that there is no bread on the table. Actually, although bread is consumed by the Brazilian elite, its lack could be justified by the consumption of manioc meal, here presented in the form of an escaldado. Cascudo (2008), in his Anthology of the Brazilian Foods, lists a number of 19^th century foreign writers who endorsed Debret’s observations on bread, such as Von Martius and Marcgrave. Others imply that corn flour was an equally good replacement, like Saint-Hilaire and Derby.

While the well-off Caucasians had abundant food on their tables, lower classes, including poor Caucasians, enslaved or free Africans, as well as mestizos, had to content themselves with a one-dish meal, a porridge-like food prepared with manioc or corn floor, vegetables and pieces of meat, referred to as angu. Interestingly, in Brazilian Portuguese, this word today has a rather pejorative connotation, implying something like dog food, or food made haphazardly.

Debret’s depiction of a Brazilian dinner is consistent with the description of John Luccock (2008), an Englishman who lived in Brazil between 1808 and 1818 and traveled in the Brazilian countryside. Luccock also points out that manioc was a substitute for bread on Brazilian tables, and peasants often ate it with their hands, making use of a knife only to cut the meat. Tables were inexistent, for meals were served upon a board set over two trestles, revealing table manners similar to those in the Middle Ages (Laurioux, 2002).

If we compare today’s meal of the upper class with that of 200 years ago, similarities and differences could be pointed out. Firstly, it is important to bring out that what Debret calls ‘dinner’ (dîner) is actually an afternoon meal, which would occur as from 12 or 1 pm. As for similarities, most of the dishes illustrated would not be a surprise to any Brazilian. The meats and their techniques, such as stewed or roasted, the vegetables, the hot sauce, the fruit, and above all the omnipresence of the manioc meal, here in form of a purée (although the word pirão is of a more updated usage than escaldado, as used by the author).

The striking difference, however, is two-pronged. First, the amount of food seems rather excessive for two people, as today a couple would not be likely to serve such substantial amounts in an ordinary dinner (or lunch, if terminology is to be adapted). It is conjectured that leftovers would be consumed by the large entourage, which today is inexistent or at least substantially reduced, or saved for the next day. Secondly, the variety of food and the combination thereof is rather out of the ordinary for current standards. It does not seem likely that soup would be eaten in an afternoon meal nowadays, or shrimp, beef, and poultry be served in the same meal. It seems like the menu presented, and the order in which it appears has an influence of eating habits of Modern Age’s bourgeoisie.

Finally, another striking difference is the lack of white rice, which today dominates the scene on any Brazilian tables. Although rice is present on the menu of the Brazilian Dinner, it is cooked with chicken and functions more like a main meat dish than a side dish, as it is normally served today. These observations, despite having an anecdotal side, are seconded by the findings of Barbosa (2007), who carried out substantial research on the Brazilian food habits of the early 21^st century.

4.    Conclusion

Jean-Baptiste Debret witnessed a critical time for the formation of Brazilian society. The arrival of the Portuguese Royal Family with the transfer of the Portuguese court to the colony in 1808 brought about significant changes in Brazilian eating habits. By means of his art works, Debret illustrated the birth of a cuisine

Brazilian multi-ethnic society and their pluralistic cuisine started to be defined at that time. The influences the Brazilian dinner illustrate are noticeable, such as European table manners and meats, the constant African touch of the cooks, and the indigenous heritage like the manioc meal and chili.

As a suggestion for further development, a closer analysis of dozens of the artist’s work, accompanied or not by their description on Voyage Pittoresque could reveal precious findings on Brazilian food habits of the 19^th century.

5.    References

Barbosa, L. 2007. Feijão com arroz e arroz com feijão. O Brasil no prato dos brasileiros. In Horizontes Antropoloógicos, Porto Alegre, 13, 87-116

Debret, J.B. 2014 (1834, 1839). Voyage Historique et Picturesque au Brésil, (Introduction by Leenhardt, J.). Arles, Impremeries Nacionales

Derby, O. 2008. Farinha de milho e mandioca em São Paulo e Minas Gerais. In Cascudo, L. C. Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil (pp 208). São Paulo, Global Editora.

Gomes, L. 2007. 1808. São Paulo, Ed. Planeta.

http://museuscastromaya.com.br/colecoes/brasiliana/ last visited April 01, 2016

Laurioux, B. 2002. Manger au Moyen Âge. Pratiques et discours alimentaires en Europe aux XIVe et XVe siècles. Paris, Hachette.

Luccock, J., 2008. As refeições no Rio de Janeiro no princípio do século XIX. In Cascudo, L. C. Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil (pp 194 to 1998). São Paulo, Global Editora.

Marcgrave, J. 2008. Cardápio do indígena nordestino. In Cascudo, L. C. Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil (pp 284 to 287). São Paulo, Global Editora.

Saint-Hilaire, A., 2008. O passadio em Minas Gerais. In Cascudo, L. C. Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil (pp 203 to 205). São Paulo, Global Editora.

Straumann, P. (ed)., 2002. Rio de Janeiro - la ville métisse. Paris, Editions Chandeigne.

Von Martius, C. F. F., 2008. Dieta carioca em 1817. In Cascudo, L. C. Antologia da Alimentação no Brasil (pp 288 to 289) . São Paulo, Global Editora. 

A deliciosa cozinha marroquina

MEP do chá

Cores, sabores, texturas, temperos, tagines, tagines, tagines... eis um apanhado muito básico da cozinha desse lindo país, um lugar caótico, exuberante, machista, interessante, paradoxal, caliente. Não, não estou falando do Brasil, mas do Marrocos, um país localizado no norte da África, ali do lado da Espanha, encravado entre o deserto Saara, o mar Mediterrâneo e o oceano Atlântico.

A cozinha do Marrocos se encaixa perfeitamente no perfil da dieta mediterrânea, o que pode querer dizer muito, mas aqui me refiro particularmente ao frescor dos legumes, das frutas e das ervas, do pão onipresente nas refeições ou do azeite de oliva que besunta a comida. Viajar pelo país, ainda que logisticamente difícil, é um prazer tanto para o palato como para os outros sentidos.

 Salada marroquina com pão e suco de laranja espremido na hora

Café da manhã - tirando as azeitonas, igual ao nosso

Afinal o que come esse povo mais berbere do que árabe, de crença islamita, de herança africana? Começo este tour gastronômico pela tagine, uma panela rasa de tampa cônica, feita de cerâmica, que se encontra em qualquer esquina (à venda como artesanato) ou nas cozinhas (como utensílio doméstico) do Marrocos. Para a minha decepção, pude constatar que nem todos os pratos denominados tagines são de fato feitos em uma panela tagine. É possível que o seu tagine de frango e ameixas tenha sido feito em uma panela convencional, para depois ser meramente apresentado na tagine. Como saber? Desconfie de uma tagine extremamente decorada e limpinha, acredite naquela meio desgastada com fundo queimado e comida grudada. Sim, com ‘pegado’ mesmo, como dizem nossos nordestinos. Tagine que não tem pegado é para inglês ver (ou francês, ou japonês, ou sei lá).

Minha primeira refeição

Cacho de tâmaras secando ao sol

Estou arbitrariamente atribuindo o gênero masculino ao prato tagine e o feminino à panela tagine, para não perder a mania de ser didático. E o que é feito nela? Seu conteúdo é um guisado, normalmente com poucos pedaços de carne, geralmente frango ou cordeiro, e legumes, como batata ou cenoura, em um caldo espesso bastante condimentado. Esse molho é feito com tomates, cebolas e temperos como canela, cominho, cardamomo, etc. Frutas secas, como ameixa ou tâmara, dão-lhe um sabor adocicado e o picles de limão (siciliano, o amarelo), um toque agridoce. Pode ser finalizado com Has-el-Ranout, uma mistura de temperos semelhante ao masala indiano, mas o gosto de cominho predomina.

O tagine, entretanto, nunca é o primeiro prato. Talvez por influência da França, de cujo país o Marrocos foi um protetorado por anos, eles gostem de um serviço à la française, com vários pratos sendo servidos em sequência. Pode-se começar por uma sopa, em geral vegetariana, com legumes, leguminosas e cereais. As sopas, que são igualmente condimentadas e espessas, são também vendidas na rua por preço irrisório, algo como quatro dirhams (0,4 euros). São invariavelmente acompanhadas por pão.

Tajine autêntico, servido na rua, um dos melhores que comi

Em seguida vem a salada, que também é condimentada, e quase sempre leva coentro fresco e cominho e já vem temperada com azeite e limão. Naturalmente, há vários tipos, mas a mais comum é a salada marroquina, um equivalente ao nosso vinagrete de churrasco, com tomate, cebola, pimentão verde e as indefectíveis e deliciosas azeitonas. São invariavelmente acompanhadas por pão.

Finalmente serve-se o prato principal, que pode ser o tagine, mas também o cuscuz marroquino. Aqui, coloco o acento na maneira como o cereal é preparado. Ao contrário do ‘cuscuz marroquino’ que se encontra nos supermercados brasileiros e europeus, que é aquele grão amarelinho semipronto, o verdadeiro cuscuz marroquino é artesanal e está longe de ser um prato rápido. Trata-se de uma farinha de sêmola com granulação maior, sobre a qual se borrifa água e mais farinha de sêmola, desta vez bem fina, fazendo-se subseqüentes camadas de farinha que vão aos poucos se aderindo ao grão. Tudo isso é feito pelas hábeis mãos das mulheres marroquinas sobre uma mesa ou tabuleiro, cujo processo recebe o nome de ‘rolar o cuscuz’.

Sopa de lentilha, cenoura, batata, grãos e temperos

Uma vez ‘rolado’, o cuscuz deve descansar para ser finalmente cozido no vapor, por pelo menos duas horas, nas cuscuzeiras que conhecemos tão bem. O cereal é servido com um guisado de carne e legumes, que leva os mesmos temperos descritos acima, e pode ser feito na panela abaixo da cuscuzeira. As duas partes dessa são normalmente vedadas com um pano de prato bem apertado para garantir que todo o vapor que emana do guisado cozinhe o cuscuz. É invariavelmente acompanhado por pão.

Comida marroquina não é marroquina se não for servida ou seguida de chá de menta. É chá verde importado da China, com menta fresca, quase sempre já adocicado e feito com um charme especial. Primeiramente, o chá fica em infusão em um bule típico, decorado com as gravuras tradicionais. Após a infusão, despeja-se o chá nos copinhos (semelhante aos nossos copos de pinga) de uma altura considerável, de um a dois palmos, para que o chá faça espuma. Chá sem espuma não é chá. Todo mundo faz o chá dessa maneira.

Há ainda os doces clássicos da confeitaria marroquina e também um forte apego àquela francesa. Os marroquinos são docinhos de massa folhada ou sablée com recheio de frutas secas e castanhas. Na praça Djma El Fnar, que é o grande centro de atrações dentro da Medina de Marrakech e declarada Patrimônio Universal pela UNESCO, esses docinhos são vendidos por garotos em carrinhos empurrados à mão. Na praça também vendem-se, junto a centenas de ambulantes, sucos cítricos espremidos na hora, um deleite para um brasileiro vivendo na Europa.

Banhado por dois mares diferentes, o Marrocos não poderia deixar de servir peixes e frutos do mar. Consumi-os bem frescos, tanto na famosa Praça como no porto de Essaouira, uma belíssima cidade murada na costa Atlântica, também Patrimônio da Humanidade. Fritos ou grelhados, foram camarões, lulas, caranguejos e vários tipos de peixes. Para acompanhar, um molhinho à base de tomate e rodelas de limão siciliano. São invariavelmente servidos com pão.

Curiosamente, embora o azeite reine entre as matérias gordurosas, não é costume levá-lo à mesa, e os garçons sempre estranhavam quando eu pedia azeite. Demoravam para trazê-lo, visto que claramente não contavam com um galeteiro. Vinha à mesa em uma vasilhinha com uma colher. Outros exemplos de gordura são a manteiga salgada de ovelha e o óleo de argham, uma preciosidade da cozinha e uma panacéia da fitoterapia e perfumaria. Com gosto de avelã e de café, lembra nosso óleo de babaçu.

Pão comercializado na rua - cena comum

O leitor deve ter percebido que, no Marrocos, como na maioria dos países mediterrâneos, toda comida é acompanhada por pão. Foi aí uma grata surpresa. Como professor de cozinha, dediquei diversas aulas a esse país, inclusive na pós-graduação, quando inseri a Cozinha Marroquina no contexto de Cozinha Mediterrânea. Fiz, pois, o tal pão, meio às cegas, sem ter certeza de que a receita que eu havia retirado de um excelente livro que ganhei de minha filha iria ou não funcionar. Deu certo! O pão que fiz no Brasil com uma mistura de farinhas (de trigo e de sêmola) chegou bem perto dos deliciosos pães que comi no café, almoço e jantar durante minha breve estadia nesse delicioso país.

Não pude deixar de perceber certa semelhança com nossa cozinha. Embora o tempero seja completamente diferente, as técnicas são bastante parecidas, já que a maioria dos preparos são guisados. A mais, o frescor dos legumes e das frutas, além da grande presença de leguminosas, como feijões ou lentilhas e os sucos espremidos na hora chegaram a dar saudades. Mas é certo que a cozinha marroquina tem suas particularidades, sendo de excelente sabor e frescor. Uma comida sã, saborosa e honesta que vale a pena experimentar.