CULTURES

Rice

History

There is evidence of rice cultivation as early as 3,000 BC in Southeast Asia. Grain was part of the human diet even when the food base came from hunting and fishing. Possibly, Portugueses incorporated the cereal in West Africa and the Spaniards spread it in the Americas.

Rice in

Brazil

According to some authors, Brazil was the first continent in the Americas to cultivate the cereal. Rice was already part of the diet of the Tupi, who planted it in flooded fields near the coast, even before colonization. After the arrival of Pedro Álvares Cabral, there are reports of members of the Portuguese expedition walking on Brazilian soil and returning with samples of rice, which confirms reports by Américo Vespucci who makes reference to the cereal in flooded areas of the Amazon. With great socioeconomic importance since colonial times, rice was used in the subsistence of the colonizers. With the opening of Brazilian ports in 1808, Brazil began to receive greater amounts of cereal, which resulted in a change in the eating habits of the population at the time. Brazil is among the ten main cereal producers in the world, today rice is part of Brazilian culture, playing a leading role in Brazilian dishes, together with beans they form a perfect combination both in flavor and nutritional value.