In Brazil, pastel is serious business – so much so that it is on the electoral menu of politicians every four years.
But this Brazilian gastronomic institution has also won a loyal international audience.
It was voted the 11th tastiest delicacy in the world, according to the gastronomic encyclopedia TasteAtlas.
The traditional delicacy of bars and markets received a score of 4.6 (out of 5 possible points) in the survey conducted by the publication, ahead of the famous French brioches, the Argentinean empanadas, and even the Austrian apfelstrudel.
An authentic pastry, according to TastleAtlas, is more than just fried dough filled with an infinite number of combinations – most traditionally cheese or meat – it should have a thin, crispy shell, be served warm, and be eaten with the hands for an excellent taste.
Sweet or salty, the encyclopedia recommended tasting it with two classics of our cuisine: beer or sugar cane juice.
Its origin, however, was considered uncertain, but the publication pointed out that the recipe may have evolved from Chinese spring rolls brought to the country by immigrants.
WINNER IS PORTUGUESE
The pastel de Belém took the top in the ranking, thanks to a 4.9 rating.
The traditional thin pastry filled with cream based on milk, eggs, sugar, lemon, and cinnamon was created by monks of the Order of St. Jerome in 1837 in the Lisbon neighborhood.
It is important to remember that the famous “pastelzinho” only receives this name if produced in Belém.
If it is prepared in Lisbon or Brazil, it is simply a custard tart.
Its combination, however, is so irresistible that it has been named one of the 50 best things to eat in the world by the British newspaper The Guardian.
The encyclopedia team explains that its methodology considers the evaluation of the international gastronomic public through votes on its website that are filtered, eliminating, according to Atlas, guesses potentially linked to bots or “nationalists”.
With information from UOL