By Rosa Moraes

It is a huge challenge to define what is Brazilian food. In its wide territory, going from the nearly European climate from the southern states to the vibrating equatorial temperatures of our northern borders, all kinds of landscapes and shades unroll before our eyes and on the ground above our feet. In addition, of course, to the most diverse cultural influences brought together by all the nationalities that formed Brazilian population as it is today, we could say that our food carries the memory of so many ancestors that it cannot actually be defined.

There is, though, an almost invisible identity that puts together the pieces of this rich puzzle. And this identity was undertaken through the centuries, connecting parts of Brazil that are so far from each other as, poetically saying, the Sun is from the Moon. I am talking about the “caipira” culture, that you will not know by visiting the most famous Brazilian touristic symbols, but by diving into the deep-Brazil - the one that lives and breathes in our countryside, from North to South and West to East.

The origin of the word “caipira” is Tupi (one of the main Indigenous people that inhabited Brazil before the arrival of Portuguese colonizers), derived from “caapora”. Literally, it means “inhabitant of the bush”. Morador do mato, da roça. The person that lives and works in the fields, away from the industrialised life-rhythm of the big cities. A mix of native Indigenous and former African slaves with the “tropeiros” (travellers that used to cross Brazilian countryside in very long journeys, making contact with those communities and sharing meals cooked on small campfires). And those are the people that, since colonisation times, occupied this enormous piece of Brazil that is the roça, going from São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Paraná to Mato Grosso do Sul, Tocatins and Rondônia, spreading caipira culture and all its rich humility, that has been underestimated for many, many years.

Corn, manioc, chicken, rice. Native vegetables, cachaça, beans, coffee. 50 shades of pork, tale to toe. This is the base of the infinitely creative caipira cuisine, responsible for anonymous recipes that belong to our daily table, but hadn’t found their way to haute cuisine until recently, when some of the greatest Brazilian chefs and food researchers started a careful work to rescue and treasure our caipira roots.

Among them, the couple of chefs Jefferson and Janaina Rueda, from A Casa do Porco (4th place in Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants and the only Brazilian restaurant staring at the latest World’s 50 Best list, issued on 2019), decided to take caipira food to a whole new level - and with all the respect it deserves. Born in São José do Rio Pardo, a small town at the heart of São Paulo’s countryside, Jefferson defines himself as “kitchen chef and caipira from São José”, while Janaina, born and raised in the capital of the same state, has always lifted the flag of the authenticity and importance of Brazilian popular food.

“A Casa do Porco” means “The House of Pork”. And there, caipira pork is brought to its due pedestal. Dishes such as pork tartar, caipira pork sausage, chin pork sushi and the beautiful Porco San Zé, slowly cooked to the point where your soul melt at each bite, are surrounded with what seems to be the heart of caipira history, transmitted from hand to hand and generation to generation with flavors, technique and a deep knowledge of the land. It is one of the most fulfilling gastronomic experiences you may ever have in Brazil.

But Jefferson and Janaina’s work doesn't begin at A Casa do Porco’s kitchen. It begins way before that, on the small property they own in Jefferson’s homeland, and where they grow and breed pure magic. From the different types of caipira pork (Sorocaba, Piau, Canastra, Caruncho, Pata de Mula) to Native vegetables and fruits, everything comes to life from scratch. Summed to partnerships and exchanges with local producers, it’s the neverending love story between the Rueda family and this deep-Brazil that has allowed them to place caipira food at the most exigent restaurant ranking of the world.

Another project dedicated to caipira culture takes place at Fazenda Santa Vitória - an old farm also located in the heart of São Paulo’s countryside, that shelters the Instituto Arado, research center for the Brazilian rural imaginary. This centenary property has been transformed by its owner, Fabia Raquel, on a source of livingness of the region and its cultural heritage. Hosted in a charming inn, you will only eat what comes directly from the farm’s gardens, turned into beautiful recipes by the Brazilian chef Vitor Rabelo. Cheese and yogurt are also produced with the milk of Fazenda Santa Vitória, while sausages, special rices and fruit jellies come from small local producers that keep the connection with caipira culture alive.

These are only two examples of a movement that is increasingly becoming a trend in Brazilian gastronomy, but actually means so much more than that. In times of an excruciating struggle with a government that has been leading Brazilian people to one of the biggest tragedies of the last decades, with frivolous decisions that took more than 500 thousand lives during the pandemics, the rescue of this identity is not only a way of not forgetting who we are. It is a way of remembering that we come from way behind - and will keep surviving, no matter what or who. That is what caipira soul is. And this is the true Brazilian identity, running deep under our ground in all directions, driven by anonymous and hardened hands.