Waitrose reveals its Rio favourites

With all eyes on Rio for the the Olympic Games, Waitrose has revealed that the UK is embracing Brazilian cuisine, as shoppers gets ready for a carnival of South American dining.

The 2016 Olympic Games officially starts in Rio today (Friday, August 5) with the opening ceremony at the Maracana Stadium

Sales at the supermarket chain of the Brazilian style beef steak Picanha have risen by a fifth, as summer barbecues take on a Brazilian theme in honour of the Games.

The grocery multiple said the rump steak is the most prized cut in Brazil due to its tenderness, adding that it has a stronger flavour than other cuts of beef, due to the layer of fat on top. Waitrose introduced the meat, which is dry aged for 30 days, into its premium Waitrose 1 range earlier this year.

Waitrose meat buyer Robert Hues said: “There is definitely an appetite for Brazilian food and drink as we approach Rio 2016.

“We’ve already seen a rise in sales of picanha- it’s a cut packed full of flavour, which when roasted, retains its succulence. Typically cooked medium or rare, it’s then sliced into juicy steaks and finished on the barbecue.

“Brazilians go light on their seasoning, preferring to appreciate the natural flavour of the meat. However, it’s delicious served with a little lime and chilli.”

This summer Waitrose has also introduced a Brazilian cooking sauce called Capsicanca Chilli and Coconut Cook Sauce, which helps customers bring an authentic flavour of South America to mealtimes.

The tipple of choice whilst watching the games is predicted to be the Brazilian national cocktail, the Caipirinha, made using the Brazilian spirit Cachaça.

This week Waitrose introduced Leblon Cachaça: a distilled spirit made at a craft distillery using pure sugarcane juice.

The August 4 issue of customer magazine ‘Waitrose Weekend’  lists these nine ‘kitchen essentials for cooking Brazilian’:

-Kitchen Craft Master Class Crusty Bake baking tray, for Brazilian cheese bread

-Luigi Bormioli Michaelangelo cocktail glasses, for serving caipirinhas, the country’s national cocktail of cachaça: a sugarcane spirit

-Kitchen Craft Sweetly Does It tea cake mould, for baking quindim: cupcake-sized desserts with a crisp base topped with coconut-flavoured custard

-Le Creuset 24cm Volcanic cast iron round casserole, for cooking feijoada: a black bean, sausage and pork stew

-Kitchen Craft Master Class Artesa acacia wood antipasta platter board, for serving snacks such as coxinhas (made with shredded chicken and potato puree) and bolinhos de bacalhau (cod fishcakes)

-Portmeirion Sophie Conran dessert dishes, for presenting the purple berry acai, often used in frozen sorbets, topped with granola and slices of banana

-Vacu Vin roast clips and skewers: for barbecues

-Portmeirion Sophie Conran white platter, for presenting brigadeiros chocolate truffle-like delicacies

-Mason Cash terracotta casserole, for cooking up moqueca: a fish stew made in a clay pot.  

 

 

Leblon Cachaça