Canadian made Jabuticaba Jam

Today we had a revolutionary change in Águas da Prata. Urso Branco made Brasilian Jabuticaba Jam. The is that beautiful jam made from the Jabuticaba Berries grown in our yard and all over Brasil. See our other Blog Amazing Jabuticaba for more information and a video about making the Jabuticaba Jam.

So this is not 100% Canadian, It is more like 98% Brasillian with a 2% Canadian content. Urso Branco made it under that watchful eye of his wife Judy, the expert (she made it twice already).

Here are step by step instructions to make Jabuticaba Jam (Geléia de Jabuticaba). All you need is the berries and some sugar and an empty jar with a screw top lid.




First gather as many berries as you want. We only intended to make 1 jar this time so we had a small amount of the berries. By the way, if you don't live in Brasil, Tough Luck! Come and Visit us to make your own Jabuticaba Jam.





Put the berries in a pot.





Use your fist to smash the berries.





Cover the berries with water.





Now boil some other water in a small pot. We will use it to sterilize the jar.





Pour the boiling water into the jar and the lid. Swish it around, dump it out then set the jar aside.





Now boil the Jabuticaba berries.





Every so often take a sample and see if it is getting dark.





When it is dark enough it is ready for the next step. The juice should have thickened enough to drip slowly from the ladle or spoon.





Pour the juice from the berries into a sieve over a pot.





Don't press unless you feel you must. Just dump the skins and seeds.





Now you have a pot with delightful juice ready for the next stage.





Pour it into a glass bowl and mark where the juice comes up to in the bowl.





Pour the juice back into the pot.





Get a bag of crystal sugar.





Put it into the bowl up to the mark you made with the juice. This doesn't have to be exact. I just used three fingers on the side of the bowl. That was close enough.





Put the sugar into the pot with the juice.





Stir well to mix the sugar into the juice.





Now boil it!





Stir occasionaly.





Bring it to a vigorous boil.





It may take 5 to 15 minutes depending on how much juice you have. Then take a small pot or a ladle and scoop the juce from the pot.





Pout it into the sterilized jar. Then cover immediately.





It should look exactly like this. Let it stand for two to three days to thinken.


Now you are ready to serve the finest jam you ever had. It goes nice on toast.

So if I can make it you can too! Try it.

I guess this process will work with most berries. Try it an let us know how you make out.




Photos by Urso Branco

Read More and See More Photos ......

Potato Salad - The Brasileira way

What could be better on a hot summer day than that old standby Potato Salad (Maionese).

Potato Salad (Brasilian style) is the first meal Judy's grandmother taught me to make. Her grandmother invented Maionese and it has become a Brasilian favourite ever since. Every Brasilian Family makes this meal at least once a week in the summer!!

Here is how to make 100% genuine Brasilian Maionese and all the trimmings. It is simple, economical and tasty.

Now you can make it too and compare it with Canadian Style.







Pick the potato(es) of your choice and peel it along with carrot(s).





Cut them in small pieces to cook faster.




When cooked mash the potatoes.





Add some mayonnaise to help mix the mashed potatoes.





Add the chopped (not too small) carrots.





Chop some onions.





Add to the mix.





Mix it all together.





Add some peas.





Add some chopped green pepper.





Mix well.





Take a can of tuna. (in water is best)





We added half the can here because we were making a small maionese.





Mix thoroughly.





We used a different brand of Mayonnaise but that doesn't matter. Use whatever you normally use.





Put in the bowl and mix well.





Now put a layer of mayonnaise on top and spread all over.





Now make a crater in the middle. The potato beside the dish shows the type we used.





Peel a tomato, thick, and coil it up in the crater to garnish the dish. Add parsley for colour.





Now put the finished dish ion the refrigerator to chill it.





Here is the finished dish along with "Eggs on a Horse". That is what Brasileiros call eggs on steak.





Now the table is set for a lovely summer lunch. See the cucumber on the plates too.


This is a great dish to compare with the Canadian version.

Recipe Variations.

Potatoes - use any type you like
Veggies - add any type you like
such as: Cucumber, Green Onions, Tomatoes, Peas, Corn, Cabbage, Carrots, Red Pepper, Green Pepper, etc.
Just be sure to chop them into small pieces.
Use whatever Mayonaise you like. I select very low fat, ultra light for health reasons.
Garnish with Tomato and parsley.
Add tuna (in water is best).
Let stand in the Refrigerator to blend the flavours.


As in the Canadian version you can add whatever pleases you and use as much or as little of any of the ingredients as to your taste. This was a small dish to serve two. If you have 30 or 40 of your best friends over for lunch just make more of the same.

If you do have a big party it would be fun to make both styles so they can all enjoy Canadian and Brasillian cooking.

Now it is your turn to make the maionese. Try it and let us know how you like it.

Judy was the chef here and Urso Branco just took photos! He was also chief taster too!



Photos by Urso Branco

Read More and See More Photos ......

Coffee Cake with Chocolate

Santa Rita Coffee Cake with Chocolate

Santa Rita changed their coffee bag from the gold on the right above, to the red. They included a bonus with the new package. On the back of the bag is a recipe for Coffee Cake with Chocolate.

So we had to try it out.

This is not a Canadian Recipe adapted to Brasil but rather a full Brasileiro Recipe that I thought you might like to try to prepare for yourself.

The recipe calls for uniquely Brasileiro measuring instruments. The mention a Tea Cup and a Coffee Cup so that is exactly what we used. The teacup is on the right, below, and the coffee cup is that tiny one on the left. The teacup is one cup in Canada but I am not certain of the equivalent in Canada of a coffee cup. It appears to be approximately 1/3 of a cup.

They also say use a soup spoon. In Canada that would be a Tablespoon. As in all recipes measurements are alway flexible to suit your taste.





They also say use a soup spoon. In Canada that would be a Tablespoon. As in all recipes measurements are alway flexible to suit your taste.




First you separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs. We use both so don't throw anything out.





The recipe calls for two eggs.





Add a cup of sugar.





Add 1/2 cup of butter.





Beat it until it is creamy.





Now add a glass of skim milk.





Plus 2 cups of wheat flour.





Now pretend you are a mixer and beat it all smooth.





Pour on 100g of semi-bitter chocolate.





Add 1 coffee cup of coffee. Of course the recipe calls for Santa Rita Coffee but maybe other brands will be satisfactory. *SMILE* Stir until completely smooth.





Now take the egg whiter and pretend you are a mixer again and beat them until they are white as snow.





Take an Angel Food Cake Tin and oil it lightly. Since we have chocolate in the recipe, oil is better than butter for this purpose.





Now add the yeast to the mix.











And stir, stir, stir.





Drop in the "snow" and stir gently until it disappears.





Add the mix to the cake tin.





Now it is ready for the oven.





Put the cake in a prewarmed average oven and bake for an hour or until a stick put in the cakes comes back out clean.





While the cake is cooking someone must clean the cake mix bowl. That time honoured tradition fell to Urso Branco. Notice the technique . . . use fingers, no spoons. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!





Now if you are Brasileiro(a) have a brasileiro coffee while the cake cooks.





But if you are a Canadian (or American) have a real coffee. *SMILE* Maybe even 2 mugs.




Here is the finished Masterpiece.




The Master Tester approves!!!!


Note: The Pastry Chef was Judy and Urso Branco assisted a little while taking photos.

The Recipe on the Coffee Bag is written in Portuguese, of course, but here is the English Translation.

RECIPE - Coffee Cake with Chocolate

Beat the whites of 2 eggs until white as snow. Mix the egg yolks with 1 teacup of sugar and 1/2 teacup of butter and beat well until the mass is creamy. Add 1 cup of skimmed milk and 2 teacups of wheat flour. Continue beating per 10 minutes. Add 100g of semi-bitter chocolate (the recipe said melt the chocolate - we used powdered chocolate). Aadd 1 coffeecup of coffee and mix well. Later add 1 soup spoon of yeast in the mix and I beat quickly. Remove and add clear in snow, mixing delicately. Pour the mix in a cake mould that has been coated lightly with wheat flour. Bake in an average, prewarmed oven, for 1 hour, or until a stick in the cake comes out.

This English translation provides the correct details but not the colourful Brasieiro terminology.




Photos by Urso Branco

Read More and See More Photos ......