Salgados: the Brazilian snack

On any busy street in Brazil you'll find at least one snack bar that serves delicious quick bites like the one on the picture below. A foreigner may find them odd at first – especially because of their greasy apearance. But if during a trip to Rio you come across one of these places, don’t hesitate: try one of the famous Brazilian salgados. To help you choose the one that suits your taste best, we’ve made a guide of the most popular salgados in Brazil. First of all, let us tell about the culture of salgados. They are usually eaten between meals (mid-morning or the mid-afternoon) – though many people think they are heavy enough to replace a meal and make it lunch. A salgado is generally accompanied by soda, juice or caldo de cana, a drink made of sugar cane – very sweet, as you can imagine. It is very common to find combos with a salgado and a caldo de cana for around R$5. Also, as they are most often fried, they make a good pair with a cold Brazilian beer. [caption id="attachment_7850" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Typical Brazilian “lanchonete” (snack bar) / source[/caption] It is uncertain when the tradition of making this kind of Brazilian fast food began, but some things changed with time. Before, there were only fried options; now it has become easier to find baked salgados that are healthier. Also, Brazilians have incorporated eating habits from some immigrants and things like the arab sfiha are very common now. [caption id="attachment_536" align="aligncenter" width="540"] Caldo de Cana and pastel: a perfect match![/caption] So, enough said about the habit of eating salgados, let’s go to the food itself. Here’s a list of the most famous Brazilian salgados: Coxinhas: the most famous one. It’s hard to find a Brazilian who doesn’t like this fried piece of heaven. They consist of a filling of chicken surrounded by dough made of wheat flour and baked potato. It has a curious teardrop shape that comes from the time they would surround the chicken thigh with the dough and fry it directly. [caption id="attachment_538" align="aligncenter" width="540"] Coxinha: Number 1 Brazilian salgado[/caption] Pastel: originally, there were only fried versions of it, but now you can have them baked (similar to an Argentine empanada). There are a huge variety of pastel flavours that can go from the most simple (like cheese or meat) to the most elaborated ones (like brie cheese and apricot), also some sweet versions (like chocolate and strawberry). Joelho: if you have already been on a trip to Rio, you probably already know this salgado by its Rio name. However, if you cross the bridge to Niterói, they will call it “italiano”. In other places in Brazil, like Bahia they say “enroladinho”. But it whatever the name: you just need to know it is good! It is a baked dough roll with a ham and cheese filling – perfect for a mid-morning snack. [caption id="attachment_539" align="aligncenter" width="540"] Famous salgado cariocas call “Joelho” (knee)[/caption] Kibe: like the arab sfiha, kibe got famous with the influence of the Syrian-Lebanese immigrants. It is basically a eye-shaped meatball that Brazilians tend to eat with ketchup (like other salgados, by the way) and may even put some cheese inside it. [caption id="attachment_540" align="aligncenter" width="540"] Salgadinhos, the smaller version of salgados, are usually served at parties.[/caption]  For more information on Rio's delicious food, read our guide to Rio de Janeiro's cuisine.

Happy Travels!