https://www.catherinebalston.com/food-and-drink-writing daily 0.75 2022-07-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503070766289-XPI5D9RHGROMCY8D5M4U/image-asset.jpeg Food and drink writing - Rediscovering Brazilian ingredients: book review Alex Atala, of the award-winning São Paulo restaurant D.O.M., opens the door to Brazil’s larder in his glossy coffee table recipe book. Time Out São Paulo, November 2013 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1601768068536-B3Y92QP5HTJQGYG0J8JM/acai-large.jpg Food and drink writing - Protect the Amazon Rainforest By Eating These 5 Foods Cattle ranchers keep burning the Amazon, but supporting sustainable food producers can help conserve it. Asparagus Magazine, September 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503084881959-NCUKYHEHXIJ115O3M9BJ/leao-vermelho.jpg Food and drink writing - The foodie traveller in... São Paulo state The Leão Vermelho is a quirky dining experience held in the chef/waiter/bottle-washer’s grandparents’ house. The Guardian, April 2015 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503096579186-15F63MBEBUA0VCU9RWE6/Bar-do-Armando-square.jpg Food and drink writing - Brazil World Cup: Ten cheap eats in Manaus For England fans heading to the middle of the Amazon for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, we track down the tastiest and most affordable bites and bars... The Guardian, June 2014 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503089965139-MPPDMSOV7YFVK6D7OXAY/best-cocktails.jpg Food and drink writing - São Paulo's most creative cocktails Time Out São Paulo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503089974314-LFZURFDTO1GYMSEDCU0K/best-designed-restaurants.jpg Food and drink writing - São Paulo's stunning restaurants Time Out São Paulo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503090694046-9112QSIG1LIFONYERYVQ/veloso-bar_ext_pi.jpg Food and drink writing - Drink like a local Time Out London https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/4397ead1-2584-4fe3-adfd-9e85dfb083c4/culture-atalaia-large.jpeg Food and drink writing - Meet the Women Cheesemakers from Brazil’s Serra da Mantiquera The mountain range just north of São Paulo, South America’s largest metropolis, has no history of cheese making. But a group of determined women are changing that, and earning international recognition for their innovative cheeses. Culture Magazine, July 2022 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1635272350344-OV7WGNMOYDPTX2PHINIJ/cheese-professor-small.jpg Food and drink writing - The Brazilian Cheesemaker Triumph: A 2nd Place Finish at Mondial du Fromage The Brazilian Cheesemaker Triumph: A 2nd Place Finish at Mondial du Fromage, Cheese Professor, Oct 2021 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503068695018-QYRSQ8766A4B88D8Q1X4/image-asset.jpeg Food and drink writing - Favela dining in Rio Rio de Janeiro's favelas have long been lawless no-go zones – but now that some have driven out the drug gangs, their restaurants are attracting increasing numbers of tourists. The Guardian, May 2014 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1579827423502-JMFE6G82Q5PPWP49P759/grubstreet-manu-large.jpg Food and drink writing - Modern Brazilian cuisine in NYC Curitiba is the home of Manu, the ten-table restaurant run by Manoella Buffara that has become one of Brazil’s most-talked-about food destinations… Grub Street (New York Magazine), December 2019 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503089604835-THN2MF681E9YT6GNVRHG/amma-close-up.jpg Food and drink writing - Cupuaçu: Brazil's new alternative to chocolate Forget carob; Cupuaçu, cocoa's Brazilian cousin, is a new contender in the field of tasty chocolate substitutes. The Guardian, April 2014 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503070154827-J4NJV11OGNVA6423T5T9/image-asset.jpeg Food and drink writing - Alberto Landgraf: interview The chef behind one of São Paulo's top contemporary restaurants, Epice, talks talent, textures and the city’s gastronomy scene. Time Out São Paulo, October 2012 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606599027857-82N8YM8BPW1JJG0YMYTP/octavio-cafe-large.jpg Food and drink writing - The Revolutionary Coffee Shops Bringing Craft Beans Back to Brazil It’s the end of the coffee harvest in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, and a warehouse in the capital is buzzing with life. Jute sacks of green coffee beans are piled up. Vine Pair (NYC), October 2019 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503095642686-KK7XLQOLTJG3WIBXICUU/bbc-moqueca.jpg Food and drink writing - 10 foods to try in Brazil BBC Good Food https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503095652705-8910VITOZANKBQYL2NQU/bbc-irish-stew.jpg Food and drink writing - 10 foods to try in Ireland BBC Good Food https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503071293081-TZ55I8VZWZ00GEO0LHM3/image-asset.jpeg Food and drink writing - Lima London: restaurant review A second London venue showcasing Virgilio Martinez’s Peruvian cooking style - but here focusing on texture and taste rather than high-tech wizardry. Time Out London, July 2014 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503096631488-YFRKGO08JHWKI410VHTD/food-xapuri.jpg Food and drink writing - Ten cheap eats in Belo Horizonte Minas Gerais has one of the best regional cuisines in Brazil – hearty slow food served in big portions. Where to eat out in the state capital. The Guardian, June 2014 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606598798297-EYZ3CD5DDNW0HX8M8YMO/nat-geo-cachaca-large.jpg Food and drink writing - Ask the expert: Cachaça in São Paulo Cachaça, known as “pinga”, is a Brazilian spirit made by distilling fermented sugarcane juice. It dates back to the 16th century, when Portuguese settlers… National Geographic Traveller Food, Summer 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/6cfe5064-6c47-4ce5-9c1c-a706d98d2c60/adventure-clarinda.jpeg Food and drink writing - Meet the Indigenous entrepreneurs redefining the narrative in Manaus The Brazilian city of Manaus is often thought of as simply a jumping-off point for jungle adventures. But a new wave of Indigenous entrepreneurs, long sidelined by the city’s colonial rule, are inviting visitors to stay a while and explore the native cultures of the Amazon. Adventure.com, July 2022 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1511811623010-YJES0OPXPRXGR29SXX6B/black-cow-460.jpg Food and drink writing - The world's first vodka made from milk Smooth, creamy and crystal clear, Black Cow vodka is the world’s first pure milk vodka. Catherine Balston visits the Dorset dairy farm where it’s produced. Love Food, November 2017 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/6566bc06-8b4b-42c0-9dbe-3314b4eedbcd/rodrigo-oliveira-large.jpg Food and drink writing - Chef’s Dish: Rodrigo Oliveira’s Caboco is a First for Modern Brazilian Cuisine What do people beyond Brazil’s borders know of its cuisine? The answer is probably very little, unless perhaps they’re thinking of juicy steaks or frozen açaí berries. Brazilian chef Rodrigo Oliveira is on a mission to change that with Caboco, the Los Angeles restaurant he opened late last year. Culture Magazine, April 2022 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503086251894-4WL1D43SU06CCQ962A5A/tapioca2.jpg Food and drink writing - Tapioca: the hated school pudding makes a culinary comeback It may be loathed by the older generation, but tapioca is a staple in many cuisines. Now a growing number of celebrated chefs are elevating it beyond bowls of milky gloop. The Guardian, April 2015 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503082759219-HS61DX8U7HZ6VGJ8NHBK/image-asset.jpeg Food and drink writing - Jamie Oliver and our food nostalgia The chef shocked fans in Brazil with his criticism of the local sweets, but emotional ties to national dishes are universal. The Guardian, August 2014 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/fde7bd1f-526b-45e8-a716-a649cce94cac/BlackTucupi_Macuxi-%281%29.jpg Food and drink writing - The Amazon’s mouth-watering “fifth flavour” The ancestral sauce of black tucupi is bringing a new sense of pride to an age-old tradition. BBC Travel, November 2020 Plus behind-the-scenes photos of learning how to make black tucupi in Roraima and Guyana’s Rupununi region >> https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1620814025482-G9E59SPR4UEZAF1GK2TB/guarana-large.JPG Food and drink writing - Guaraná: The edible “eyes of the Amazon” Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503097055628-5RVLPQA5YLNKMT1NU0TJ/scotch-egg-square.jpg Food and drink writing - Scotch eggs around the world From India to Belgium and Brazil to Poland, meatballs, meatloaves, burgers and koftas have all had an egg added to rival our British gastropub favourite. The Guardian, July 2015 https://www.catherinebalston.com/travel-writing daily 0.75 2022-11-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1571771847407-ONWNK8Q0AB695ARQDNU6/iguassu-Square.jpg Travel features - Inside the Wonder of Iguaçu Falls On the border of Brazil and Argentina is one of the world’s most breathtaking series of waterfalls. But beyond the majestic falls, there’s much more wilderness to explore. Airbnbmag, May 2019 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1513797939389-D7VMH5YHBM6KCCNW2DZG/mystery-travel-square.jpg Travel features - The best mystery trips to book The best mystery trips to book now x https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1513798028728-PDZ1GLYDTKVBFXRL3OXU/turkish-saopaulo-square.jpg Travel features - Superlative São Paulo It’s only when the debauchery of Carnaval brings the summer to a close that São Paulo, South America’s largest city, shakes the glitter from its hair and knuckles down to start the year. Turkish Airlines Skylife Magazine, February 2017 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1506110846502-8FV3XYJ43SQ9UZAWA1JA/sothebys1.jpg Travel features - São Paulo Synergy: SP-Arte 2016 In a measure of the city’s dynamism, artists and collectors are reinvigorating this historic metropolis. Sotheby's Magazine, April 2016 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/d90ce7ce-0eff-44a0-bc54-63eab1b29847/pico-neblina-large.jpg Travel features - Pico da Neblina: A sacred peak off-limits for decades Nearly 20 years ago, Brazil banned access to its highest mountain. Now, a new initiative could show how ecotourism can protect the Amazon rainforest from environmental threats. BBC Travel, October 2022 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1506973885444-SE8MOMXWQT3MWGL4FPNC/singapore3.jpg Travel features - Tasting success in Brazil: on a road trip from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro, host city for the 2016 Olympic Games In search of caiçara (coastal) cuisine along the BR-101, one of Brazil's great drives, wedged in between the Atlantic ocean and the forest-covered Serra do Mar mountains. Singapore Airlines' Priority Magazine, April 2016 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503408544925-2LGLJLA60N944NAS8G24/suitcase-sp.jpg Travel features - São Paulo city guide: The beauty in the beast It’s only from the giddy heights of the tallest São Paulo rooftops that you can begin to comprehend what a metropolis of 20 million people looks like... 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Monocle meets the people keeping the ceramic tradition alive. Monocle, March 2015 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1620813920316-A747IUUIXKVE566I6CG3/GuyanaBlackTucupi-large.jpg Travel features - The Amazon’s mouth-watering “fifth flavour” The ancestral sauce of black tucupi is making its way onto… BBC Travel, November 2020 Gallery: Behind-the-scenes photos https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1571771663280-QYO9R3SBJYLG13DA1UOQ/farol-santander-kentandreason-square.jpg Travel features - Portraits of São Paulo São Paulo’s heart beats loud and strong as the cultural capital of Brazil. Six creative residents tell Airbnbmag exactly what makes this metropolis pulse. 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Town & Country Magazine, October 2019 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503408235759-QERG81NCS31UREHY46V9/ouro-preto-square1.jpg Travel features - 48 hours in Ouro Preto Food and Travel Magazine, June 2014 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1503347827227-BT5YJDU4KWQFBG6JICIK/botafogo.jpg Travel features - Botafogo, the in-betweener neighbourhood, making its mark on Rio de Janeiro Thanks to new bars, restaurants and a creative spirit, this old Rio district between the city centre and the beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana is becoming a destination in its own right. The Guardian, March 2015 https://www.catherinebalston.com/home daily 1.0 2021-09-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1667753057874-466DYLQQKI691ANW72ZQ/pico-neblina-thumb.jpg Home Pico da Neblina: A sacred peak off-limits for decades. 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https://www.catherinebalston.com/editor daily 0.75 2017-10-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1506906300297-KJFAVU9E83N6SCB7B6TV/coca-cola-logo.png Editor https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1506906212418-1I1R8RCLJT6BUEPTLPYE/rio-logo.png Editor https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1506905860079-4A5D7M9OBLLX15Q22K0K/time-out-logo.png Editor https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1506880432191-A613KGS6JT2YM7K0SDVH/c4-logo.png Editor - in the UK. https://www.catherinebalston.com/contact daily 0.75 2017-10-01 https://www.catherinebalston.com/black-tucupi-tina-leme-scott daily 0.75 2020-11-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606264454008-ELEE67DRV01HFF6E67QC/Yupukari_Village.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott These minibuses carry passengers on the dirt road from Georgetown, Guyana’s capital, to the border crossing with Brazil in Lethem. It takes about 12 hours on a good day and sometimes can’t be done at all, when the rain turns the road into a mudbath. The road is an assault course of pot holes so it’s quite a sight to see them bouncing by at what feels like 100mph. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606264375871-JRPJCAYFWRFNP1G1A1CK/Yupukari_Village-%282%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott For much of the year the Rupununi savannah turns into a wetland. It was thought to be the location of the mythical Lake Parime – a contender for the location of Sir Walter Raleigh’s fabled city of El Dorado. Explorers including Raleigh travelled this region in search of it. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606481083363-SYJPG647NSQQS0TQH55C/Tony.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Tony is the taxi driver taking Tina and I from the border to Yupukari. Instead of the 4X4 I was promised, he turned up in a battered Toyota Carina, with a “Tony” sticker on the front windscreen and Kenny Rogers blaring out of tinny speakers. I spotted a machete as I slung my rucksack in the boot. “For killing snakes,” he said, and I’m not sure what made me more nervous, the thought of snakes or him wielding a machete. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606573574819-PCD8CPBF4IZMY19QFH2R/tony-bridge.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott A look of triumph on Tony’s face at having successfully crossed this bridge. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606264404219-Y3TY18EBHOUCX3ISLLBP/Yupukari_Village-%284%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott The locals at Yupukari are Macuxi – one of nine indigenous peoples in Guyana. The Macuxi also live over the border in Brazil and the common language that connects them on both sides of the border is Macuxi but here at Yupukari everyone speaks English too, and some of the children aren’t being taught Macuxi, sadly. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606264363436-8N61RHYAM6NQ14SADN7U/Caiman_Lodge-%285%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott The trees in the village were hung with bright red cashew apples, like baubles at Christmas. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606264360936-K60WYNAUX3E0KZMIZB9P/Caiman_Lodge-%289%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Our host at Caiman House, an eco-lodge in the centre of the village. Caiman House is one of a dozen or so eco-lodges run by indigenous peoples in the interior wilderness of Guyana. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606303904649-Q213OFAPY80U4QPI8JDC/Yupukari_Village-%2813%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott We were lucky to visit on the day of a “reading rodeo” with children visiting from the surrounding villages. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606575303146-CCJWMW6URV63ULXSA8JA/Yupukari_Village-%2810%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606575291584-PNUB0Z07TDHE46PPMXEM/Yupukari_Village-%2811%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606304037060-LF4NLUNVUC006TLA8DL7/GuyanaBlackTucupi4.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott The manioc plantation is a short walk outside Yupukari village. The women are harvesting about 100 kilos of the root vegetable to show us the process of making black tucupi. It’s a staple part of their diet, though less so now than it used to be as instant noodles and processed chicken takes its place. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606304036407-VNB9U7IMZET4I9QQFZHD/GuyanaBlackTucupi7.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606304041188-DNVT7A6Y2Y8OFK857OGB/GuyanaBlackTucupi8.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606304043437-VCT2WFB7BPVLYHINJ08I/GuyanaBlackTucupi13.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606304046385-BO4RDS00AK3GB2ZV8FY0/Manioc_Peeling1.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Back in the village, the process of making black tucupi begins. It’s going to take a couple of days all in, and is work traditionally done by women. First up, peeling the manioc. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606304051371-PV0XYBUWK0HR0R4I9Q29/Manioc_Grating-%283%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Next up, grating it. I can barely look at this photo without thinking about bleeding knuckles. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606303955698-F4202R4PJ4TRDAVH9671/Tipiti_Sieving.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott The grated manioc is then stuffed into a plaited palm tube called a matapi in Guyana or a tipiti in Brazil. The Macuxi word is tingi I am told, which meaning anaconda. It’s a perfect visual metaphor when I see the way the tube is stuffed till it is fat like a snake’s engorged belly and then stretched out thin to squeeze the manioc juice out. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606303934654-Z4E45HAV2XH9NF748OPT/Tipiti_Sieving-%283%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606303933536-JUFLB0JKT5E4XRA4NP58/Tipiti_Sieving-%288%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott The tipiti is pulled to squeeze the manioc juice out. It is left to sit for a few hours, to decant the starch, a white powder called tapioca that is cooked in a number of different ways. The juice is what we’re after though to make the black tucupi. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606577052595-6WTPJZD5KSW5AG7PDBH7/tipiti-sitting.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Sitting on this stick to pull the tipiti tight is pretty much the only moment the women take a break from what is back-breaking work. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606303939368-JTM45ESCFK3XHELO4OLN/Tipiti_Sieving-%2811%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott The grated manioc slides out of the tipiti in a solid block with a beautiful imprint of the plaited palm. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606303947018-KZYB6NSXBLIG4M1SYA09/Tipiti_Sieving-%2813%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott The manioc can be turned into a variety of other foods, but mainly different types of toasted flours as well as beiju or cassava bread. It’s great to see the children watching and taking an interest in this process, an important part of their cultural heritage. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606303956813-2VOOV8S1E9YOO907PUT6/Tipiti_Sieving-%2818%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott The grated manioc is broken up and sifted. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606263919576-WRIZWL2T20HAE4NC8W8W/Manioc_Bread-caiman.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott It is then sprinkled onto a hot stone above an open fire and packed down and cooked to make cassava bread (known as beiju in Brazil). Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606578112052-29RTO9TQ3IDOPRASCRY1/caiman-Tucupi.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott The manioc juice has been sitting for a few hours and is now ready to be boiled down into black tucupi, or cassareep as it is known in Guyana. The cauldron is placed on an open fire and the liquid will simmer down from around 40 litres to 1 litre. It’s afternoon by now, having harvested the manioc that morning, and in some communities the women carry on into the night to get it done. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606578112703-MXXDL92KHHL54QKW1WQ6/caiman-tucupi2.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott The simmering can take around six hours and the colours change from a mustard yellow to this rusty red and then in the final few minutes to dark brown as the liquid caramelises and thickens. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606578119862-MTIYFX3RE5QQ29HGZSRM/Photo-%C2%A9-Tina-Leme-Scott1.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Once it has cooled, we drizzle the black tucupi on the cassava bread. It’s a flavour bomb! Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606264323813-874FQ52WMPQLWVIYR3N0/Preparing_PepperPot4.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott The ladies cook tuma pot - a traditional Macuxi stew which apparently translates as “boiled food in a pot”. It can be made with meat or fish, plus chillies, manioc juice, black tucupi and leaves such as “chicken thyme” or eddo leaf. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606264327514-PZKEQEXAPCN5YRAZMH9G/Preparing_dishes1.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott They say the tuma pot can be left for days and still be good to eat. The black tucupi not only adds flavour and colour, but acts as a preservative. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606263920903-M9E3FPXF1CY1TY181Q1J/caiman-Dishes3.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott The tuma pot we had for lunch was made with drum bass – a fish that makes a grunting noise under the water. The farine (bottom left) is a very coarse flour with a delightfully sour flavour, made from fermented manioc. It’s a real tooth cracker though and has to be left to soften up in the juices of the stew. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606264382184-7NI57LY9SYGZ0RQMO4NH/Yupukari_Village-%283%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott After lunch we take a wander down to the river to swim with the Caiman House guide Howard. He points out plants along the way and tells us about “guard plants” - certain species of plant believed to have protective powers. Howard straps one of these plants to the back of his motorbike whenever he goes on a long journey. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606304610793-OQG5BYO1JRE5G6ANV3WM/BlackTucupi_Macuxi-%2813%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Tony turns up to collect us and we head back over the border to Brazil. The border crossing at Lethem is a surreal experience as the car winds up, round and under a bridge to be spat out on the right side of the road. I wonder how many border crossings there are in the world that involve a change in the side of the road the car drives on. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606304623875-N8SF5MBICKUJ6XD8XLDQ/BlackTucupi_Macuxi-%2814%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott This grassy landscape is the Amazonian savanna, which straddles 1.6 million acres on the triple border of Brazil, Venezuela and Guyana. Termite mounds tower perilously high, like miniature cities with suicidal engineers. The clever ones build their cities around fence posts or tree trunks. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606579722964-UNMCNKLF1QB621XL9PNB/enoque.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Near the border with Guyana, in Brazil, we visit another Macuxi community in the demarcated Raposa Serra do Sol indigenous land north of Boa vista. Enoque Raposo is a village leader and is developing community tourism initiatives as a way to instill a sense of pride in Macuxi culture in the youngsters. “There’s no word for tourism in Macuxi; ‘exchanging experiences’ is how we explain it,” he says. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606304600302-QW5YW9I6PUK31MP4OTAB/BlackTucupi_Macuxi-%2810%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Most families make black tucupi in the village, and have their own manioc plantations. The sun is searing hot at midday. This mother decants black tucupi into fizzy drink bottles. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606304577544-Y5NLQJ9K0WMR7L7FJNX2/BlackTucupi_Macuxi-%281%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Here they make the black tucupi in clay pots. Tourists can come and try it during an annual festival (Festival das Panelas de Barro) where visitors camp for three days, hiking, swimming and learning about traditional pottery techniques. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606304565709-QCQJAGQ0PS4D7HN06C5J/BlackTucupi_Wapichana-%287%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Tina and I also visit Tabalascada - a village on demarcated Wapichana territory just 15 miles outside of Boa Vista (capital of Roraima state). They’re a different ethnic group with a different language to the Macuxi but they also make black tucupi in a very similar way. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606304600602-AGP9DIJ018BSRT3JM13E/BlackTucupi_Wapichana-%2814%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Marcolino da Silva, one of the community leaders, takes us to see the manioc plantation. They change the site of the plantation every five years or so to allow the soil to recover. Indigenous groups in the Amazon have been practicising sustainable agroforestry techniques for millenia. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606304563580-9BZJ635RRIOMWCZL6GWS/BlackTucupi_Wapichana-%2812%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott The leaves of the manioc plant, sometimes called maniva are edible but like the root they need to be boiled to remove the toxic cyanide. The leaves are the main ingredient in a northern Brazilian stew called maniçoba. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/1606304547143-5E3QGMDII8QT4NSHIYGW/BlackTucupi_Wapichana-%283%29.jpg Black tucupi photos by Tina Leme Scott Lunch under the towering mango trees at Tabalascada. Photo © Tina Leme Scott https://www.catherinebalston.com/art-culture daily 0.75 2022-07-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/594418a3ff7c505fb3179750/dcd499da-91be-4a2b-9d42-1f749663205f/megafauna-thumb.JPG Culture - Megafauna A new bookshop opens in São Paulo inside the iconic Copan building. 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