Churrasco is a Spanish and Portuguese term referring to beef or grilled meat more generally, differing across Latin America and Europe, but a primary dish in the countries of Argentina, Brazil, Nicaragua, Uruguay and other Latin American countries.A churrascaria is a restaurant serving grilled meat, many offering as much as you can eat: the waiters move around the restaurant with the skewers, slicing meat onto the client’s plate.[1] This serving style is called Espeto Corrido or Rodizio.Contents

* 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.

…..Click here to read more

A picture really can say a thousand words. And, while a week-long trip through Brazil’s cattle country can only scratch the surface of this country’s vast beef industry, it goes a long way in learning a few facts and dispelling a few myths.

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.

Understand the main oleoginosas used to make the vegetable fuel.

Soy » the use of this grain is interesting in the current conjuncture on account of the great offer, but have only 20% of percentage of oil.

Sunflower » the percentage of oil vary between from 42% to 45% and it’s a good alternative because its has a very fast cycle (between 90 to 140 days) and can be cultivate as little/fast crop.

Castor oil » native from Africa, it’s rustic and has a cycle from 100 to 300 days, longer than sunflower, but its percentage of oil is grater: from 45% to 60%. This oil is very viscous, what makes very difficult to transform in biodiesel.

Cotton » its harvest isn’t turned exclusively to the biodiesel

Dende » it is one of the biggest ROI between the other raw material

Pinhao-manso » its percentage of oil vary between from 30% to 40%

The new market that uses renewable fuel is favorable to the environment and open doors for small farmers. But it is still necessary to balance between risks and opportunities.After had provoked a energetic revolution when constructed a process to transform sugar cane in ethanol, Brazil is having the change to repeat this accomplish with Biodiesel. This new renewable fuel shares qualities with ethanol just starting from the environment benefits.Used in substitution of the petroleum’s derivatives, as much ethanol as biodiesel convert themselves in capable tools of delay global warming, reducing billions of tons of carbon dioxide throw in the atmosphere every year.The biodiesel’s advantage starts being more democratic to small farmers. Besides that, products already established in the Brazilian agro business, like cotton and soy, can live with new growth like pinhao-manso. That’s the main difference between biodiesel and ethanol: the multiplicity of raw material.The green fuel’s challenge is to elevate its productive chain as efficient as ethanol’s. There is enough market for both. In a world that demands each time more clean energy, there’s no competition between renewable energy.

Since September of 2007 the Brazilian money is getting stronger against US dollar.