When we go in search of Southeast Flavors Minas Gerais appears as a territory where food, affectivity, tradition and memory interspersed with a delicious banquet. To talk about Minas is to talk about cheese, crackling, handcrafted products and especially people in love with their homeland.
On my journey in search of Southeast flavors for the special season CNN Viagem & Gastronomy: Flavors of Brazil I landed in Belo Horizonte to taste a “crucible” of state flavors.
To fulfill the mission, I went to the Central market one of the most emblematic sights of the capital of Minas Gerais, to try various cheeses, one more delicious than the other. To finish the experience, a lunch in Xapuri with the right to pork rinds, angu and cookware in the firewood, crowned my passage through “Beagá”.
Mercadão and Mineiros Cheese
The most striking aromas and flavors of mining culture intersect in the corridors of the Belo Horizonte Central Market in the city center.
Born in 1929 as an outdoor fair next to Raul Soares Square, the tents stayed there until 1964, when, after going and goings, the marketers gathered to cover the site with a shed. Today, 95 years later, the Market adds over 400 stores which bring to our mouth the best Minas Gerais offers.
Beyond Liver with Jiló do Bar da Lôra and Torresmus’ cracklingmy paradinha this time was in Capital Roça typically Minas Gerais warehouse with delights of the state, including antipasti, olive oils, cafes, sweets and jams.
But they are Handmade cheese that steal the scene. A variety of them can be tasted on the counter.
“All handmade minas cheese needs to be done with four ingredients: cow’s raw milk, salt, curd and pingo, which is natural dairy yeast. In addition, it needs to be manually pressed and matured on wooden shelves. Each region has its ripening period. In Canastra is 14 days and in other regions can be 17 to 22” Eduardo Girão journalist and cheese specialist.
Experiencing the most diverse types of the delicacy becomes a true celebration with the recent UNESCO Intangible Heritage Title for “Ways of making artisanal minas cheese ”The recognition came in December, being the first product of Brazilian food culture to have the title chancel by the United Nations Agency (UN).
Cheeses are produced throughout the state, but the Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company (Emater-MG) distinguishes 10 microregions as producers of handmade minas cheese. They are: Serro, Serra do Salitre, Araxá, Campos das Vertentes, Canastra, Cerrado, Diamantina, between mountains: from piety to caraça, mountains of Ibitipoca and Triangulo Mineiro.
In Minas Gerais, there are more than 8,800 establishments for the production of the various types of handcrafted cheese.
Canastra Cheese and Other Delights
One of the best selling cheeses on site is the Canasta . One of the examples of the house is the Canastra grass one of the first Brazilian cheese awarded in France, as it took silver medal in 2015 at the Mondial du Fromage of Tours, the “Oscar” of world cheese.
“Canastra cheese has a smaller acidity and, as it matures it, becomes more spicy. Some producers do so with smooth shell and others leave the rustic peel, which wrinkles and has manifestation of the natural molds of the property,” says Eduardo.
Another interesting example is JM cheese, produced in Alagoa, in Serra da Mantiqueira. It is a cheese that can remember Parmesan, with lighter touch and hard dough.
Now a question that does not want to silence: Do you eat cheese bark or not? “Many times the shell is part of the experience. It brings crispness and brings complexity in the perception of flavors and aromas. Many of the aromas are present in the shell, but not in the mass,” emphasizes Eduardo.
If you have a taste of want more and want to try out cheeses miners in different ways, my tip is to read this article to organize your next trip to BH.
South of Minas gains geographical indication for wine production
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Source: CNN Brasil
Johanna Foster is an expert opinion writer with over 7 years of experience. She has a reputation for delivering insightful and thought-provoking articles on a variety of subjects. Her work can be found on some of the top online news websites, and she is currently lending her voice to the world stock market.
