Brazilian cuisine has always had extraordinary raw materials. What has changed in the last decade is the willingness of fine-dining kitchens to treat those materials with the same seriousness that French kitchens give to their terroir. Here are five ingredients that appear on the current menu at Chanterelle Plus, and why they matter.
Pequi ¶
Pequi is the fruit of the Cerrado, the vast savannah biome that covers much of central Brazil. It has a flavour that is genuinely difficult to describe: somewhere between mango, blue cheese, and something faintly medicinal. It is divisive, which is part of why we use it. The flesh clings to a spiny pit, so it requires careful handling. We cook it into a risotto with Canastra cheese, and it is one of the most discussed dishes on the menu.
Tucupi ¶
Tucupi is a yellow liquid extracted from wild manioc root, fermented and then boiled to remove toxins. It has a sharp, slightly sour flavour with a faint bitterness that works well as an acid in place of lemon or vinegar. It is used extensively in Para state cooking, particularly in the dish tacacá. We use it in the curing liquid for the pintado ceviche, where it adds a depth that lime juice alone cannot achieve.
Cupuacu ¶
A relative of cacao, cupuacu grows in the Amazon basin and has a flavour that is sharper and more acidic than chocolate, with a tropical fruit quality that is hard to pin down. The pulp freezes well, which makes it practical for a kitchen in São Paulo. We churn it into an ice cream using cream from a dairy in Minas Gerais. It is one of the few desserts we have kept on the menu in some form since we opened in 2017.
Jabuticaba ¶
Jabuticaba is a grape-like fruit that grows directly on the trunk of its tree, which makes it one of the stranger-looking plants in the Brazilian landscape. The flavour is sweet and slightly tannic, and it makes an excellent sauce for duck or pork. We reduce it with a small amount of cachaça and black pepper. The season is short, which is why the duck dish disappears from the menu when the fruit is no longer available.
Heart of Palm ¶
Heart of palm has been on Brazilian tables for generations, but usually in a tin, in brine, as a pizza topping. The fresh version, harvested from pupunha palms grown sustainably in the Atlantic Forest region, is a different ingredient entirely. It has a clean, slightly sweet flavour and a texture that holds up well to heat. We roast it over charcoal and serve it with smoked butter. It is one of the simplest dishes on the menu and one of the most satisfying.
These ingredients appear on the current menu in various forms. The menu changes every eight weeks, so availability varies. If you want to know what is on right now, the current menu page has the full list.