When visiting Brazil, it’s clear that food markets and street fairs play a big role in Brazilian life. Food markets in Brazil are a sight to behold because they’re full of exotic fruit (frutas) and veg (vegetais) that you just don’t see in the UK. One of the delights of shopping at food markets in Brazil is that stallholders are keen for you to taste what’s on offer, so you’ll be able to sample the produce before making a purchase.
Visiting mercados e feiras
Other than supermarkets (supermercados), there are two main types of food market in Brazil, markets (mercados) and street fairs (feiras). Mercados, or municipal markets, are housed in large buildings in major towns or cities (cidades). If you’re visiting Brazil, it’s likely that you’ll end up in a mercado at some point as they are major attractions and great places to sample local produce. In contrast, feiras, or street fairs pop-up in neighbourhoods on particular days. Visiting a feira can be a good way to venture out of the city centre and see what the suburbs (subúrbios) have to offer.
Famous marcados in Brazil include the Mercado Municipal de São Paulo, located in the centre of the city. The Mercado Municipal de São Paulo covers a huge area of almost 13,000 square metres and is teeming with life. When I last visited, I arrived just before lunchtime and sat down for a traditional pastel and beer (cerveja). The origin of Brazilian pastéis (plural of pastel) is disputed, but they became popular across Brazil by the middle of the 20th Century. Pastéis consist of a deep-fried pastry, often rectangular in shape, stuffed with minced beef (carne moída), shredded chicken (frango desfiado), cod (bacalhau) and other ingredients (ingredientes), served with a range of condiments (condimentos).
Of course, you don’t have to fly to Brazil to experience authentic Brazilian street food. Just last weekend, I went to Nine Elms Market in Vauxhall, South London where there is an excellent stall serving pastéis, which also serves as a hub for the local Brazilian community
Words and phrases for Brazilian food markets
Useful words and phrases
| how much? | quanto custa? |
| kilogram | o quilo |
| bag | a sacola |
Fruit
| fruits | as frutas |
| orange | a laranja |
| pineapple | o abacaxi |
| mango | a manga |
Salad
| salad | a salada |
| cucumber | o pepino |
| lettuce | a alface |
| tomato | o tomate |
Vegetables
| vegetables | os legumes |
| potatoes | a batata |
| broccoli | o brócolis |
| carrot | a cenoura |
| onion | a cebola |
| garlic | o alho |
Fish and meat
| fish | o peixe |
| minced beef | carne moída |
| chicken | o frango |
Other
| cheese | o queijo |
| olive oil | o azeite de oliva |
| coffee | o café |
Food market vocabulary flashcards
Test your understanding of Brazilian food market vocabulary using the flashcards below. Click on the card to reveal the translation and the arrows to move between cards:
