MAPLE SYRUP & BLUEBERRIES - What foods do you most miss?

Good news and bad news folks... I found the website of a specialty foods market that sells hundreds of things we Gringos love to eat - blueberries and maple syrup among them. Check it out, but be warned if you take any kind of heart medication you may want to take a pass on this one, the prices are astronomical. Looks like I won't be making a blueberry pie anytime soon. LOL

varanda. com.br

Good news for you! I just found and bought some yesterday. I haven't opened it yet, I think I am going to build a shrine around it and worship it for a week or two. haha It is supposed to real maple and it is from Canada. Here is the small issue, sit down for this one... it was a little over $33R. It is in Liberdade neighborhood. The syrup was at a store named Sho Chiku Bai at Rua Galvao Bueno 48, close to the Metro station. In that store or ones near them, you will also find fresh blueberries, cheap mushrooms and other great stuff. I even found Skippy peanut butter there, and I have found marshmallow cream at the grocery store... now all we need is some "Wonder Bread" for a true east coast "fluffer- nutter". haha

One of the things I haven't found yet, though, is corn tortillas. I wonder if anybody knows where to get some?

Hi there,

I've just seen blueberries for sale on Pao de Acucar supermaket this week (paodeacucar.com.br) and they hape maple syrup as well (yes, it is pricey...).

For nachos, tortillas, there is this place: villabuena.com.br (the website is in portuguese, maybe you need to use google translator)

Hope it helps.

Flavia

Hi Flavia and welcome to Expat.com!

Thanks for the tips.

Harmonie.

I like to buy blueberries at Casa Santa Luzia (+- R$ 13,00/package - frozen) fresh blueberries are more expensive.

* Alameda Lorena, 1471 - Jardim Paulista - São Paulo *

I love this supermarket, it is a little expensive but they have a great selection of imported items.

Hi Julyanna,

Thanks for your reply. I too have recently discovered Casa Santa Luzia in Consolação... it is an incredible place. I have never seen so many high-end imported foods in one place in my life. I am going to watch myself carefully while I'm there so as not to shoot my budget all to H _ _ _. For sure, if you can't find it at Casa Santa Luzia it either is not available in Brazil or you just don't need it in the first place. LOL Compared to local supermarkets and national products the imported foods are expensive by Brazilian standards, yes. But, when you convert the shelf price to the currency of the product's country of origin, the prices are really not all that bad, I don't see the mark-up as being excessive.

Regards,
James

If i move to pakistan i woud miss going to my local chip shop. A mug of proper tea, and shouting to my daughter to turn the music down !!. Also getting a hug from her.
Would miss making scones, choc chip cookies, lentil soup and my tuna pasta bake.

is funny this. Im a brazilian living in USA since 2006 and I miss so much brazilian food....coxinha, pao de queijo, pastel even the pizza there is better with catupiry crust...I still cant stand peanut butter jelly sanduiches and pancakes for breakfast lol For brazilians pancakes are made with groud beef haha

Hi babibarbie,

I know exactly what you mean. The very first time I experienced Brazilian food in Canada I was addicted... especially to pão de queijo and to feijoada. That is one of the reasons that I came here to live. After living here for over ten years now I am sure that I could never go back to Canada, I would just miss good Brazilian food tooooooooooooo much!

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog

wjwoodward
I respect all opinios and taste but to miss pancakes and peanut butter in Brazil is crazy lol I miss a lot pastel de feira and the pizza there...not counting the bbq places, esfihas... Brazil food is great, once you taste it cant come back to american food lol

My husband is american and he never had try rice and beans before marry me! Now he makes me cook for him almost everyday it, is his favorite food lol

I just thought of something else i would miss...a jam piece.

Another tip: if you are an aerican living in Brazil and miss blueberries (I personally dont like blueberry) you should try "Jabuticaba". http://www.paty.posto7.com.br/frutajabu … 25x466.jpg

I miss jabuticaba so much, cant find anywhere in US...a little bit more about the yummy fruit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabuticaba

Hi babibarbie,

It's all a matter of one's culture.

As much as pastel, feijão and arroz make up part of the Brazilian culture, as do other regional dishes like moqueca de peixe, acarajé, vatapã, etc.,  Things like pancakes, maple syrup, peanut butter, grape jelly, etc., make up part of the North American culture as well.

I certainly agree that if I ever did go back to Canada I would certainly miss things like Feijoada, Moqueca, Pão de Queijo and Churrasco very very much. That does not stop me, however, from missing some of the foods from my home country that I have enjoyed since childhood.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil Animator, Expat-blog

wjwoodward

I agree 100% with you. I dont like peanut butter and jelly but I feed my kids with it lol Its just the culture and I respect it.

P.S: Im so jealous you are in Brazil now lol Im craving for coxinhas lol

Have a great day

Frango com Catupiri????  I'll send you some by SEDEX if you want!  kkkkkkkkkkk

By the way, do you live in Miami/Dade or somewhere else in FLA?

Thanks the mexicans we can find pastel dough at groceries! Btw i made pastel today lol is not a feira pastel but....quebra o galho lol

We are living in Orlando! Very hot an sunny here right now

Thanks God here we have a brazilian grocery and bakery.  I can find catupiry and eat coxinhas but the prices are terrible! One catupiry small is about 8 dollars! Urgh

just thought of something else i would miss

mince and tatties

stovies

haggis neeps and tatties

I miss dill pickles!!! I bring maple syrup flavoring from the spice section of the grocery store and mix with sugar syrup.

When in Brazil I miss Mexican food (my home salsa is horrible, I'm a taker for any recipe if someone has a good one!), Indian food and I miss vegetables, in general. We eat a lot more vegetables in Canada than in Brazil.

At least the good fruits, good meat and good sushi make up for it, and also next time I move to Brazil I will be cooking myself, so I can cook a ton of vegetables and salads!!

Good evening, all.

I am not new to SP but the COVID19 situation has me here for a lengthy amount of time.  Does anyone know where I can find a few American foods in the areas close to Santo Amaro, Interlagos, or anywhere close?  Pancake syrup, peanut butter, hummus?  I know.  Odd selections but I am missing them.  My husband is Brazilian and an amazing cook but sometimes I just have these cravings.  Any advice would be helpful.

GypsyGyrl wrote:

Good evening, all.

I am not new to SP but the COVID19 situation has me here for a lengthy amount of time.  Does anyone know where I can find a few American foods in the areas close to Santo Amaro, Interlagos, or anywhere close?  Pancake syrup, peanut butter, hummus?  I know.  Odd selections but I am missing them.  My husband is Brazilian and an amazing cook but sometimes I just have these cravings.  Any advice would be helpful.

Health and fitness stores, the kind that sell dietary supplements to people who are serious about their workouts, often carry peanut butter.  Ask for "pasta de amendoim".  It won't taste like Skippy or Jif -- much more like homemade, or the very old fashioned kind where the oil used to separate out at the top and need to be stirred back in.  And it sticks to the roof of your mouth. 

The highest class supermarkets in your area should carry maple syrup -- look in the same aisle that has honey.  It's commonly sold in 250 ml bottles, in a shape you'll recognize.  It's expensive -- 100% pure, and imported from Canada -- but it should be there.

The Greater São Paulo area has an enormous population of Syro-Lebanese background, so if you find maple syrup, I'd ask for hummus in the same place.

*ETA*  The Portuguese name for maple syrup is "xarope de bordo", so if you see that on the label, you definitely have the right stuff.  The name is almost unknown in Brazil, though, so asking for it by name will probably just get blank expressions in return.

Agree with abthree. Even in a smaller city as Foz, I found Maple syrup (Real from Canada) in a specialty mercado which imports food items. Pancakes can be made from scratch. As for blueberries, no, but I always bring back some each trip. (except this year). They are canned, so it gets thru customs.

A really really good and spicy Mexican food like we do have in California!

robal wrote:

A really really good and spicy Mexican food like we do have in California!

Amen.........
Even take a chain. Do miss a good Chinese/Thai place also.

Texanbrazil wrote:

robal wrote:

A really really good and spicy Mexican food like we do have in California!

Amen.........
Even take a chain. Do miss a good Chinese/Thai place also.

Can´t find good Chinese at the place I live in. Porto Alegre, yes. In your state, Curitiba has the best Chinese or for dining - arguably has the best restaurants in Brazil. I lived in Curitiba for a while when I was starting out. I visit once in a while just to see later developments. One of my favorite cities...

Thai food I´ve yet to find here.

robal

I miss the affordable oriental food (Thai,Lebanese, korean, Malaysian, and etc)...Here in SP...It is absurd the prices. You've got to dig gold in your pockets.

Yeah agree on Curitiba. When the kids were going to collage we would go often.
Believe it or not, CdE, PY has a great Chinese place. It was small when I first went, now new better location.

Hi GypsyGyrl,

There are several supermarkets in São Paulo that sell peanut butter, maple syrup and hummus. Check out St. Marche. It has all three items. There is a location near you in Chacara Flora.

They are also on Rappi.

Texanbrazil wrote:

Yeah agree on Curitiba. When the kids were going to collage we would go often.
Believe it or not, CdE, PY has a great Chinese place. It was small when I first went, now new better location.

Yeah, but is it worth a couple of hours to cross the bridge?

abthree wrote:

Texanbrazil wrote:

Yeah agree on Curitiba. When the kids were going to collage we would go often.
Believe it or not, CdE, PY has a great Chinese place. It was small when I first went, now new better location.

Yeah, but is it worth a couple of hours to cross the bridge?

No. If you get the bus from the rodoviaria in Foz do Iguaçu to Ciudad del Este it only takes around 20 minutes or so. You get there and shopping is great (especially electronics) and varieties of restaurants. Parilladas (grilled meat) is ubiquitous. But I prefer to dine on the Brazilian side with churrascarias like Bufalo Branco, etc. Be careful though and identify yourself that you live in Brasil, otherwise they charge twice as much like of Paraguayans!

robal

nv91 wrote:

I miss the affordable oriental food (Thai,Lebanese, korean, Malaysian, and etc)...Here in SP...It is absurd the prices. You've got to dig gold in your pockets.

I know where you´re coming from. When I was active duty military stationed in Washington state,  I used to cross to Canada to eat at the China town in Vancouver. It was a blast as Canadian immigration officers upon seeing my vehicular military decal warned me that I should not bring weapons to Canada.
But Canadians have always that friendly smile unlike the US - the kinda serious invincible and suspicious demeanor even after seeing my military decal and my Texas license plate! Those were the days! Very cheap Oriental food in Vancouver and what a night life!

robal

Texas plates!!!!!!! I wish I would have saved one for my outdoor kitchen.
Same way driving from TX to NOLA. They see the plates and you get a different menu with higher prices.'

I brought my Texas plates with me to Brazil, but a friend in Pomerode, SC confiscated the thing for his living room decoration. I lived in Texas for a few years because of military obligations...

robal

When I was riding a ferry in Vancouver going to an island in Canada, a Canadian girl was joking when she saw my license plate: Oh no, of all the places! Another Texan! Will never forget that!

robal wrote:

No. If you get the bus from the rodoviaria in Foz do Iguaçu to Ciudad del Este it only takes around 20 minutes or so. You get there and shopping is great (especially electronics) and varieties of restaurants. Parilladas (grilled meat) is ubiquitous. But I prefer to dine on the Brazilian side with churrascarias like Bufalo Branco, etc. Be careful though and identify yourself that you live in Brasil, otherwise they charge twice as much like of Paraguayans!

robal

Just going by what Tex told us when we were there with him in January - and what we experienced ourselves -- on the bus.  🤷‍♂️

robal wrote:

I brought my Texas plates with me to Brazil, but a friend in Pomerode, SC confiscated the thing for his living room decoration. I lived in Texas for a few years because of military obligations...

robal

I get a lot of comment in my Texas flag... S.A. ?
They are getting hit hard
Have not heard from my side kicks in S.A. Hope they are ok.

You met Tex already?