One of the most anticipated moments of the year is the time to gorge on the June festival food and have fun with the dances, music and games across the country, moving the economy and Brazilian culture.
As it heats up, how about joining our gang and discovering the origins of June festival food, which are the most popular in each region of Brazil and even which are the favorites on iFood? Alavantú!
First of all, understand the origin of the June festival
The origins of this tradition date back to European festivals, especially Portuguese, which arrived in Brazil during the period of colonization, in the 16th century.
In Portugal, the festivals in June will be called Festas dos Santos Populares, which, as in Brazil, also celebrate Saint Anthony, Saint John and Saint Peter.
Another important influence was the European pagan festivals that celebrate the gods of harvest and plantations during the summer solstice, which in the northern hemisphere occurs in June.
It was from these festivities that bonfires, dancing, singing and the practice of releasing balloons at June festivities emerged. In Brazil, the celebration also received influences from indigenous and African cultures.
And what does anarriê mean?
During the square dance, the expressions we hear are, in fact, adaptations of French phrases into Portuguese. At the beginning of the dance, “alavantú” is said, which means “forward” in French. At this command, the couples walk forward, get closer and greet each other.
Soon after, we say “anarriê”, which comes from “en arrière” in French. The phrase means “back”, so at this point the couples return to their places of origin.
June festival food: what you can't miss
The June festival food is very varied, and the menu at the festivals is full of very traditional flavors of Brazilian cuisine, such as corn, cassava, peanuts, coconut, beans, rice and dried meat.
Along with dancing, bonfires and games, the arraiá cannot miss classic corn-based dishes, such as tamale, curau, couscous, hominy — and the cooked corn itself.
Peanuts are another ingredient in dishes that are popular at parties, such as paçoca and pé-de-moleque, but they are also consumed plain, roasted or caramelized.
Cassava, cassava or cassava are also essential for preparing typical recipes, such as the São João cassava cake.
There are two types of June festival food: sweet and savory. These delicacies have a strong presence and importance in fairs held throughout the country, from North to South.
There is June festival food that was adapted from dishes of indigenous, African, and Portuguese origin, such as pamonha, vatapá and rice pudding, respectively.
Savory June festival food
The savory June festival foods include roasted or boiled corn, hot dogs, kebabs, popcorn, polenta, pine nuts and hot hole (bread with roasted meat and sauce).
Sweet June festival food
The sweet foods for the June festival are São João corn cake, paçoca, tamale, pé-de-moleque, cocada, rice pudding, hominy, sweet peanuts and apple of love.
See the typical June festival foods from each region of Brazil
In addition to the traditional June festival dishes, mainly made with corn, there are those that are found in some regions of the country. See some typical dishes by region.
North East
The food of the June festival in the Northeast is influenced by African and indigenous cuisine, such as caruaru, curau, mungunzá or hominy, couscous and aluá, a fermented corn drink.
Completing the menu for the Northeastern June festivals are baião de Dois, pé de moleque, pamonha, boiled corn and dishes with sun-dried meat.
North
The typical June festival food in the North has many dishes with cassava or maniba, such as cassava cake, tapioca, maniçoba and tacacá with tucupi.
Midwest
Typical June festival foods in the Central-West are peanut cake, rice pudding, Goiás casserole, cornmeal bread and Maria Isabel rice, made with dried meat.
Southeast
The typical June festival food in the Southeast is generally made with corn, such as curau, roasted corn, popcorn and couscous from São Paulo.
Traditional snacks and dishes from the region are also present at the June festivities, such as hot dogs, cheese bread, pastries and bean soup.
South
Typical food in the South is meat-based, such as skewers, sausages and carreteiro rice. Pinhão and quentão are also very common at June festivals.
Why is corn so important in the June festival?
Corn is one of the fundamental ingredients of typical June festival foods, as it is one of the main grains produced in Brazil and the basis of traditional Brazilian cuisine.
Celebrated on April 24th, Corn Day pays homage to this cereal native to the Americas. It was cultivated in Mexico between 7,000 and 10,000 ago from a large plant called teosinte.
Finally, in Brazil, corn was the main food for the population of São Paulo, especially for the caipiras, typical figures from the interior of São Paulo, and the soul of the June festivities.
Is there June food on iFood?
Oh, yes. After all, corn is a popular food and raw material for many traditional dishes. In 2022 alone, iFood recorded more than 3 million orders with corn, with June and July being the months with the most orders.
The main corn dishes ordered through the app are corn esfiha, corn cake, corn bread, corn bread with cornmeal, chicken with corn cream, tamale and corn cream.
São Paulo is the champion state for requests for corn dishes, followed by Paraná, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro.
