The price of the basic basket in Sao Paulo decreased 0.72% from the day on September 26 and October 2, based on the search of the Foundation for the Protection and Consumer Protection (Procon). The average price, which was $ 295.19 last month, went to U.S. $ 293.07.

In the weekly variation, of the 31 products surveyed, six had increased the price, and 23 products decreased and two remained stable. Among the highlights, the group of personal hygiene fell 1.26%, followed by food that retreat 0.87%. Cleaning products had a mild high of 0.88%.

During the period, the products that most influenced the value of the basket, considering their weights were: type 2 rice, whole frozen chicken , potato, soybean oil and refined sugar.

Caipirinha (pronounced [KIE-PUR-REEN-YAH]) is made with cachaça, sugar and lime. Cachaça is Brazil’s most common distilled alcoholic beverage. Cachaça is made from sugarcane alcohol, obtained from the fermentation of sugarcane juice which is afterwards distilled.

The word

The word “caipirinha” is the diminutive version of the word “caipira”, which refers to someone from the countryside, being an almost exact equivalent of the American English hillbilly. The word may be used as either a masculine or a feminine noun, but when referring to this drink it is only feminine (usage of diminutives is conspicuous in Brazil). However, a Brazilian hardly ever thinks of a “country person” when ordering a “Caipirinha”. In the mind of a Brazilian, the word “Caipirinha” is mostly associated with the drink itself.

Popularity

Caipirinha is enjoyed in restaurants, bars, and many households throughout the country. Once almost unknown outside Brazil, the drink has become more popular and more widely available in recent years, in large part due to the rising availability of first-rate brands of cachaça outside Brazil. The International Bartender Association has designated it as one of their Official Cocktails and has labeled it one of the 50 greatest drinks of all time

Preparation

» 1 small lime
» 1 1/2 tsp sugar
» 1 1/2 oz cachaca

Cut the top and bottom off the lime, then cut lengthwise in quarters and place in an old fashioned glass, skin side down. Add sugar and, using a pestle, crush lime and muddle until sugar is dissolved. FIll the glass nearly to the top with crushed ice, pour in the cachaca and sitr.

DRINK WITH MODERATION. IF YOU DRINK DON’T DRIVE.

The future of corn and soybeans traded on exchanges in Chicago (CBOT) ended on the rise, driven by the floods in the Mid-west U.S., conditions that threaten the predictions of both crops. The commodity recorded records in stock for the seventh consecutive session.

The July contract corn recorded increase of 22.75 cents, to $ 7.3175 per bushel, reaching achieve record for the first ending of $ 7.3750 per bushel.

The December contract on the next crop, showed high of 25.50 cents, quoted at U.S. $ 7.65 per bushel. The contract in July of 2009 reached a historical maximum for the cereal, from $ 7.8450 per bushel.

The contract for July soybeans rose 23.50 cents, quoted at $ 15.60 per bushel. On November the crop advanced 18.50 cents, to $ 15.31 per bushel.

At the beginning of the stock trading, soy, corn and wheat had a falling pressured by the realization of profits.

But the wheat also closed high, influenced by the movement in soybeans and corn and by technical buying.

The July wheat gained 31 cents, to $ 8.82 per bushel.

Brazilian Steakhouses or churrascarias are very well accepted overseas, especially in US. There are over 100 Brazilian restaurants established in US. They’re mainly located in cities where the concentration of Brazilian people is bigger.

Some of these restaurants became very famous after a while, such as Fogo de Chão e Texas de Brazil. Those restaurants came to US to be on top of the list. They invest in their infrastructure, the atmosphere is perfect, and the concept is new, the food is well prepared and delicious and the customer service is the best they can offer.

The only complain about this kind of restaurant is the high prices. But this kind of place you go once in while, so doesn’t matter if you have to pay a little bit more sometimes.

In fact, if you intend to go there and appreciate the food and don’t want to spend too much money you can go for lunch,

That’s going to save you half price in comparison to dinner.

As Yahoo! Local said about Fogo de Chão

“Fogo de Chão is a paradise for meat lovers! Diners can exploit the all-you-can eat service to the maximum with its wide range of salads, Brazilian side dishes, vegetables and of course sizzling fire-cooked meats. Traditional Brazilian drinks and desserts complete the meal and a 27 foot tall wine cellar should reassure any wine lover. Don’t forget to try their decadent signature dessert, Papaya Cream.”

As Yahoo! Local said about Texas de Brazil

“Treat yourself to our sumptuous fifty item salad area including appetizers, soups, salads and side items. Enjoy the house baked Brazilian cheese bread and our signature cocktail, the Caipirinha. Let one of our in-house wine connoisseurs select the perfect wine pairing from our extensive, award-winning wine list. Turn your card to green and prepare to be swarmed by a troop of carvers generously serving various cuts of sizzling Angus beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and Brazilian sausage. These delicious cuts are slow roasted over an open flame and accompanied by garlic mashed potatoes and sweet fried bananas. Try one of our a la carte items: Australian cold water lobster tail and Brazilian shrimp cocktail. Enjoy a dessert selection, then relax with an after dinner drink, espresso, or hand rolled cigar. With service, feasting, and an ambience as such, it is more than fine dining…it is Texas de Brazil.”

I’ve personally been in both of them many times and in my opinion Fogo de Chão has a better service than Texas de Brazil. There’s this time I was having dinner in Fogo de Chão at Beverly hill’s location with my co-workers and there were so many people serving our table that I started to freak out a little bit. We had to flip to RED to give us time to eat some of the food before they bring us more. We had a great time that night.

The fruit, a small, round, black-purple drupe about 1 inch (25 mm) in diameter, similar in appearance and size to a grape but with less pulp, is produced in branched panicles of 700 to 900 fruits. Two crops of fruit are produced per year. The fruit has a single large seed about 7–10 mm in diameter. The exocarp of the ripe fruits is a deep purple color, or green, depending on the kind of açaí and its maturity. The mesocarp is pulpy and thin, with a consistent thickness of 1 mm or less. It surrounds the voluminous and hard endocarp which contains a seed with a diminutive embryo and abundant endosperm.^{[citation needed]} The seed makes up about 80% of the fruit (Schauss, 2006c).

Harvesting and uses

Stem

Heart of palm, the soft inner growing tip of some palms (Euterpe edulis, Euterpe oleracea, Bactris gasipaes), is often consumed in salads.^{[citation needed]}

Fruit

Serving of açaí juice

The berries are also harvested as food. In a study of three traditional Caboclo populations in the Amazon region of Brazil, açaí palm was described as the most important plant species because the fruit makes up such a major component of diet (up to 42% of the total food intake by weight) and is economically valuable in the region (Murrieta et al., 1999).

The juice and pulp of açaí fruits (Euterpe oleracea) are frequently used in various juice blends, smoothies, sodas, and other beverages. In northern Brazil, açaí (or jussara, which is one of the fruit’s common folk names) is traditionally served in gourds called “cuias” with tapioca and, depending on the local preference, can be consumed either salty or sweet (sugar, rapadura and honey are known to be used in the mix). Açaí has become popular in southern Brazil where it is consumed cold as açaí na tigela (“açaí in the bowl”), mostly mixed with granola – a fad where açai is considered as an energizer. Açaí is also widely consumed in Brazil as an ice cream flavor or juice.

As açaí deteriorates rapidly after harvest, its raw material is generally only available outside the immediate growing region as juice or fruit pulp that has been frozen, dried, or freeze-dried. However, several companies now manufacture juices, other health drinks, and sorbets made from açaí berries, often in combination with other fruits.

Other uses

Apart from the use of its berries as food, the açai palm has other purposes. Leaves may be used for making hats, mats, baskets, brooms and roof thatch for homes, and trunk wood, resistant to pests, for building construction (Silva, 2005).

Comprising 80% of the berry mass, seeds may be ground for livestock food or as a component of organic soil for plants. Planted seeds are used for new palm tree stock which, under the right growing conditions, requires only months to form seedlings, although açaí palm has not been successfully cultivated outside of South America (Schauss, 2006c). Seeds are also used to make a variety of jewelry and souvenirs^{[citation needed]}.

In traditional medical practices, fruit and roots have been used for treating gastrointestinal problems and sap as an astringent^{[citation needed]}. The seeds are a source of polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids (see below; Plotkin, 1984; Silva, 2005; Schauss et al., 2006a).

Nutritional content

Several early studies done on the nutritional composition of açaí were summarized by Rogez in a 2000 book in Portuguese entitled “Açaí: Preparo, Composição e Melhoramento de Conservação” (Schauss et al. 2006a). Other previous studies dating back to the 1930s and 40s were not always in agreement on nutritional contents.

A recent study using modern procedures and a standardized freeze-dried açaí fruit pulp and skin powder found nutrient analysis results from 100 g (3.5 ounces) of powder to equal 533.9 calories, 52.2 g carbohydrates, 8.1 g protein and 32.5 g total fat. The carbohydrate portion includes 44.2 g of fiber (Schauss et al. 2006a). Having nearly one-third of its mass as dietary fiber, açaí is an exceptional source of this valuable macronutrient: a 100 g serving of the powder would provide all the recommended fiber needs for adults (20-30 g per day).

Açaí is particularly rich in fatty acids, feeling oily to the touch. It contains high levels of the monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid (56.2% of total fats). It is also rich in palmitic acid (24.1% of total fats, a saturated fat) and the polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid linoleic acid (12.5% of total fats). (Schauss et al. 2006a). β-sitosterol (beta-sitosterol), a phytosterol that competes with dietary cholesterol for absorption and so may reduce blood cholesterol levels, is also unusually rich (78-91% of total sterols) (Lubrano, 1994; Schauss 2006a).

A later study found vitamin C content was negligible, calcium levels of 260 mg, iron to be 4.4 mg and vitamin A equal to 1002 IU per 100 g of dry weight (Schauss et al. 2006a). A recent study found 19 amino acids in pulp and skin powder, with especially high contents of aspartic acid and glutamic acid. The amino acid content totalled 7.59% of the total dry weight (Schauss et al. 2006a).

Due to the large amount of waste that accumulates during the harvesting of the hearts of palm, sawdust from the left-over trunks of the açaí palms have been analyzed for possible uses including energy utilization. The inner layer of the trunk is mineral rich, and is significantly higher in all the minerals that were tested including sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron compared to the outer layer of the tree. This inner layer could potentially be used as a source for these minerals. Ash content (often used as an alkaline source for saponification or in plant fertilizers) was also higher in the inner section of the tree. Levels of lignins, cellulose, holocellulose and gross heat production were slightly higher in the outer trunk layers, and cellulose levels were fairly high overall (Dyer, 1996).

Antioxidant phytochemicals

The dense pigmentation of açaí has led to several experimental studies of its anthocyanins, a group of polyphenols that give the deep color to berries, other fruits and vegetables and are high in antioxidant value under active research for potential health benefits[1]. A recent study using a standardized freeze-dried açaí fruit pulp and skin powder found the total anthocyanin levels to be 319 mg per 100 grams (Schauss et al., 2006a). Cyandin 3-glucoside and cyanidin 3-rutinoside are major açaí anthocyanins [2].

Twelve other flavonoid-like compounds were additionally found in the Schauss et al. 2006a study, including homoorientin, orientin, taxifolin deoxyhexose, isovitexin and scoparin, as well as several unknown flavonoids. Proanthocyanidins, another group of polyphenolic compounds high in antioxidant value, totalled 1,289 mg per 100 grams of the freeze-dried pulp/skin powder, with a profile similar to that of blueberries (Schauss et al., 2006a). Resveratrol was additionally found to be present in acai in this study, although at low levels of 1.1 microgram per gram.

A number of studies have measured the antioxidant strength of açaí. Unfortunately, the sources of açaí and preparations (e.g., whole fruit, juice, extract or soluble powder) for reporting the results vary. A recent report using a standardized oxygen radical absorbance capacity or ORAC analysis on a freeze-dried açaí powder found that this powder showed a high antioxidant effect against peroxyl radical (1027 micromol TE/g). This is approximately 10% more than lowbush blueberry or cranberry on a dry weight basis (Wu, 2004). The ORAC value for this freeze-dried powder was significantly higher than when other methods of drying the fruit were tested (Schauss, 2006c). Other powders with ORAC values this high include cinnamon (2675 micromol TE/g), cloves (3144 micromol TE/g), turmeric (2001 micromol TE/g) and dried oregano (1593 micromol TE/g) (Wu, 2004).

The freeze-dried powder also showed very high activity against superoxide, with a SOD assay level of 1614 units/g. Superoxide is thought to be the initial producer of other more potent reactive oxygen species, and thus protection against it is very important as a first line of defense for the body. Antioxidant activity against both peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radicals was also observed, although effects were milder than that seen against peroxyl radical and superoxide. Additionally, antioxidant molecules from the freeze-dried powder were shown to actually enter freshly obtained human neutrophils and inhibit oxidation induced by hydrogen peroxide, even at very low concentrations of the açaí powder including 0.1 part per trillion (Schauss et al., 2006b). A previous report using a total oxygen scavenging capacity assay also found that açaí has extremely high antioxidant effects against peroxyl radical, as well as a high capacity against peroxynitrite, and a moderate capacity against hydroxyl radical when compared with other fruit and vegetable juices[3] .

Only 10% of açaí’s high antioxidant effects could be explained by its anthocyanin content[4], indicating that other polyphenols contribute most of the antioxidant activity. Schauss et al. similarly found that that ratio of the hydrophilic ORAC levels to the total phenolics in the freeze-dried fruit was 50, a higher value than the typical fruit and vegetable ratio of 10^{[citation needed]}.

Schauss et al. (2006b) also utilized the “Total Antioxidant” or TAO assay to differentiate the “fast-acting” (measured at 30 seconds) and “slow-acting” (measured at 30 minutes) antioxidant levels present in freeze-dried powder. Acai was found to have a higher “slow-acting” antioxidant components, suggesting a more sustained antioxidant effect compared to “fast-acting” components.

Antioxidant values of the seeds of the açaí fruit have also been reported (Rodrigues, 2006). Similarly to the berries, the antioxidant capacity of the seeds were strongest against peroxyl radicals, at a concentration in the same order of magnitude as the berries. The seeds had a stronger antioxidant effect than the berries for peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radicals, although still less than its effects against peroxy radical. The results of this study were not linear based on the concentration of the seeds that were used. The authors suggest the future use of the seeds (a by-product of juice making) for antioxidant benefits such as prolonging shelf-life of foods.

Other Research

Açaí, in the form of a specific freeze-dried fruit pulp, was shown to have mild inhibitory effects on cyclooxygenase enzymes COX-1 and COX-2 (Schauss et al., 2006b), both of which have roles in acute and chronic inflammation.

Lower concentrations of the freeze-dried pulp were found to be slightly stimulating to macrophages in vitro. Macrophages are white blood cells that are an important part of the immune system of the body. Also in macrophages, freeze-dried açaí pulp was found to inhibit the production of nitric oxide that had been induced by the potent inflammatory inducer lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which is part of the cell membrane of certain bacteria (Schauss et al. 2006b). This effect increased as the concentration of the açaí increased.

In 2006, a study performed at the University of Florida showed that açaí fractions containing polyphenolics could reduce proliferation of HL-60 leukemia cells in vitro. This was most likely due to increased rapid cell death (apoptosis) as fractions were also found to activate caspase-3 (an enzyme important in apoptosis) which was inversely correlated to cell death. (Pozo-Insfran et al., 2006).

Due to its deep pigmentation, orally-administered açaí has been tested as a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging of the gastrointestinal system (Cordova-Fraga et al., 2004). Its anthocyanins have been characterized for stability as a natural food coloring agent (Del Pozo-Insfran et al., 2004).

source » wikipedia.org

* 1 In Latin America
* 2 In Europe
* 3 See also
* 4 References

In Latin America

In Argentina and Uruguay a churrasco is a thick cut of skirt steak.[2] Gauchos would have grilled churrasco as part of their asado, now the national dish of both countries, served with chimichurri, salad and fried or mashed potatoes, and sometimes a fried egg.

In Nicaragua churrasco is tenderloin steak.[2] It may be served with chimichurri sauce as in Argentina and is a very traditional dish in the country. Nicaraguan style churrasco is famous in Cuba, Thailand, Nigeria, and the US state of Texas.

In Guatemala, churrasco is regarded as a typical dish, often eaten in familiar gatherings and festive occasions. It is usually served topped with chirmol, a red sauce containing chopped tomatoes and onions, and accompanied by corn, guacamole, grilled potatoes , stewed black beans, rice and tortillas.

In Puerto Rico, churrasco is skirt or flank steak, which is grilled or stewed with peppers & onions.

In Chile, churrasco refers to a thin cut of steak which varies depending on the desired quality of the sandwich. The slices are grilled and served on a toasted bun, usually accompanied with tomato, avocado and mayonnaise, in the case of a churrasco italiano. Another popular dish, churrasco a lo pobre (”poor man’s churrasco”), consists of a churrasco served with french fries, fried egg, and caramelized onions.

In Brazil, churrasco is the term for a barbecue, similar to the Argentine asado, which originated in southern Brazil. Brazilian churrasco contains a variety of meats which may be cooked on a purpose-built “churrasqueira”, a grill or barbecue, often with supports for spits or skewers.[ 3] Portable “churrasqueiras” are similar to those used to prepare the Argentinian and Uruguayan asado, with a grill support, but many Brazilian “churrasqueiras” do not have grills, only the skewers above the embers. The meat may alternatively be cooked on large metal or wood skewers resting on a support or stuck into the ground and roasted with the embers of charcoal (wood may also be used, especially in the State of Rio Grande do Sul).

In Europe

In Portugal, Frango de Churrasco with piri piri (a kind of salty roasted chicken cooked on the churrasqueira, spiced with hot red chili sauce) is very popular and appreciated. Portuguese churrasco and chicken dishes are very popular in countries with Portuguese communities, such as Canada, Australia, Venezuela and South Africa.

The term churrasco is used in former Portuguese colonies—a Churrasco Moçambicano is a grilled meat dish from Mozambique, for instance.

In Galicia, churrasco refers almost exclusively to grilled pork or beef spare-ribs. Galicians who emigrated to America in the 20th century took the recipe for churrasco. Nowadays many Galicians of all social classes prepare a churrascada.

The country produces almost 7 million metric tons of beef each year from a total population of 165 million head.
One “missing picture” in the Brazilian cattle industry though, is that of a North American-style feedlot. Only 4% of the cattle killed each year are “fattened” in feedlots. With Europe being Brazil’s main beef export market, the majority is grown to finish under a hormone-free regime on grass pastures. At times during th

e dry season, small amounts of corn or soybean meal may be used to supplement grass gains.

Most cattle are sold directly by farmers to small, inefficient slaughterhouses — seldom with intermediate traders. Only breeding stock is sold through live auction markets.

Brazil has tripled its beef exports in the past three years to about 550,000 tons. Through export-certified entities like Bertin Group Ltd., the Brazilian government hopes to increase exports to 1.15 million tons by 2003. Brazilian beef is exported to Chile, Egypt, Germany, Iran, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, the European Union and the U.S.