Picanha, pão de queijo, tutu de feijão, and vatapá. This is not a list of an unusual (but tasty) lunch, but rather some of the Brazilian dishes that have gained prominence abroad according to rankings from the online guide Taste Atlas. The site organizes various types of lists, and in the top 100 dishes in the world, traditional Brazilian barbecue ranked first among the 100, with a score of 4.75 stars.
According to Taste Atlas, the ranking in question was created considering just over 10,900 dishes that received around 271,800 valid votes with a maximum score of 5. And Brazil occupies other places on this same list. The vatapá from Bahia, for example, appears in 16th place; the escondidinho, popular throughout the country and especially in the Northeast region, ranks 58th; the tutu de feijão from Minas Gerais, also very popular in Goiás, reaches 93rd place among nearly 11,000 competitors.
For Ana Paula Jacques, the coordinator of Culture and Gastronomy at Embratur, Brazil’s presence in the rankings is a sign that foreign tourists value the ingredients of Brazilian cuisine. “It’s great to see Brazilian gastronomy gaining space around the world through our traditional dishes. This is a sign that foreign tourists appreciate our ingredients, our techniques, and ways of doing things,” she analyzed.
In her view, other traditional Brazilian dishes also deserve to be included in the selections. “Well beyond the dishes included in the Taste Atlas ranking, Brazilian gastronomy is rich in flavors from North to South of the country. Certainly, many good things are missing from this list, such as farofa, pamonha, acarajé, tacacá, and so many other delights that deserve to be among the 100 best in the world,” she highlighted.
Furthermore, according to Ana Paula Jacques, Brazil always stands out when it comes to traditional food. “Therefore, we invite you to travel to destinations like BH [Belo Horizonte, MG], Floripa [Florianópolis, SC], Belém (PA), and Paraty (RJ). These four cities have in common the fact that they are recognized by UNESCO as creative cities of gastronomy. In addition, today, Brazil hosts restaurants and chefs recognized by the main gastronomy rankings in the world and Latin America, and has the most sustainable restaurant in Latin America [Manu, by chef Manu Buffara], in Curitiba (PR), and the 4th best restaurant in the world [A Casa do Porco], in São Paulo (SP),” she added.
Best by City
The country also occupies several places in the ranking of the best foods by cities, which evaluated 16,600 locations to select the top 100. In this case, the country ranked 31st with São Paulo (SP), 43rd with Rio de Janeiro (RJ), 55th with Recife (PE), 66th with Salvador (BA), and 84th with Belo Horizonte (MG).
In another list, of the 100 best cuisines in the world, which does not indicate a specific dish, Brazil appears in 12th place. In this case, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places went to Italy, Japan, and Greece, respectively. And in 13th, 14th, and 15th come Poland, Argentina, and Turkey. In the Breakfast category, the traditional pão de queijo from Minas Gerais appears in 3rd place among the best scores and 29th among the most popular.
Best Foods by Category
The pão de queijo and tutu de feijão also appear in another selection from the guide, where they share space with the escondidinho and the internationally known caipirinha. The ranking of the best foods by category takes into account a catalog of 10,900 dishes and 6,100 food products, with 271,800 valid evaluations on these dishes and another 80,800 focused on the products, with five indicated per category.
In this selection, the pão de queijo appears in 3rd place in the breakfast category and 4th in the bread category. The tutu de feijão ranks 5th in the vegetable dishes category and 4th in the side dishes. Also noteworthy is the escondidinho, in 3rd place in the “Casseroles” category, and the churrasco gaúcho, in the category of the same name, ranked 5th. Finally, in the cocktails category, the caipirinha represents Brazil, in 5th place.
Source: Embratur