June
Festival
The Feast Junina are festivities that take place in June in
Brazil and are extremely popular throughout the country and among all social
classes. Originally called joanina from Saint Anthony, they celebrate
the Catholic Saints:
Santo Antônio –
Saint Anthony – 13th June
São João – Saint
John – 24th June
São Pedro –
Saint Peter – 29th June
The church, usually with a
charity bazaar, is called a charity bazaar (quermesse). The
festivities also celebrate rural life and feature typical dress, food and
dance. They usually take place in a large open space outdoors called an arraial
and people dress up as farmers, or country folk (caipira) with straw hats and
checked shirts or dresses. São João celebrates marriage, so couples dance a
kind of square dance called Square dance (Quadrilha) which features a mock
wedding with the bride and groom. June is the time of the corn harvest, so
special dishes are prepared made with corn. Hominy sweet (Canjica)
is made from grated corn and coconut, boiled with water, milk, sugar and
cinnamon. Corn pudding (Pamonha) is a sweet concoction of corn paste which is rolled and baked
in fresh cornhusks. (Pinhão), an edible pine seed is also very popular.
Bonfires and firework displays are also important features of these colourful
two-week celebrations.
Typical foods
CANJICA- Hominy
sweet (dish made made from
grated corn and coconut, boiled with water, milk, sugar and cinnamon)
ARROZ DOCE - Rice
sweet/pudding
PIPOCA – Pop corn
BOLO DE
MILHO- Sweet corn cake
PÉ DE MOLEQUE- Peanut
brittle or groundnut chikki
MILHO VERDE - Green corn
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PAMONHA
- Corn pudding (sweet concoction of corn paste rolled and baked in fresh
cornhusks)
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CANJICA- Hominy
sweet (dish made made from
grated corn and coconut, boiled with water, milk, sugar and cinnamon).
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Recipe
Hominy sweet (Coconut Pudding)
You will need:
1 lb/500g of hominy (found in Latin Markets or Latin
aisle of your supermarket)
2 quarts of water
1 can of sweet condensed milk
1 can of coconut milk
2 1/2 cups (500ml) of whole milk
2 sticks of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
10 whole cloves (see note below)
2 tablespoons of sugar (or more to taste)
2 cups of shredded coconut
crushed, toasted peanuts (optional)
Soak the hominy in water overnight. In a large pot,
cook hominy with it's soaking water until they are soft, about 50 minutes. Add
the condensed milk, whole milk, coconut milk and mix it well. Add the spices
(cinnamon sticks, ground cinnamon, cloves) and sugar, bring it to a boil and
simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring every once in a while. The pudding will
thicken slightly. Stir in the shredded coconut and sweeten if necessary
according to your taste.
Serve hot in individual bowls topped with a pinch of
ground cinnamon and a tablespoon of crushed toasted peanuts.
June
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Bonfire
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By
Maria Quinor
* Material enviado para a Escola Parceira Riccall no Reino Unido - Inglaterra.
