Quindim ( — or ) is a popular
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian baked
dessert with Portuguese heritage, made chiefly from
sugar,
egg yolks and ground
coconut.
It is a
custard and usually presented as an upturned cup with a glistening surface and intensely yellow color. The mixture can also be made in a large ring mold (like a
savarin mold) in which case it is called a "quindão" and served in slices.
Etymology
The word quindim comes from ''dikende'' in
Kikongo
Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Angola. It is a tonal language. It was spoken by many of those who were taken from th ...
, a
Bantu language. It means "the gestures, or demeanor, or humor characteristic of adolescent girls."
Origins
The heavy use of egg yolks is characteristic of many
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
sweets and pastries, such as the ''
papo de anjo
' or ' , roughly translated as "angel's double chin", is a traditional Portuguese dessert made chiefly from whipped egg yolks, baked and then boiled in sugar syrup. The name is typically pronounced or in Portugal, or in Brazil.
Like ''fios ...
'' ("angel's crop") and ''
fios de ovos
Angel hair, called in Portuguese ''Fios de ovos'' ("egg threads") is a traditional Portuguese sweet food made of eggs (chiefly yolks), drawn into thin strands and boiled in sugar syrup. They are a traditional element in Portuguese and Brazil ...
'' ("egg threads"). Their combination with coconut and sugar was probably created by
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n slaves in 17th century Brazilian Northeast, where coconuts were abundant and sugar (from
sugarcane) was a major industry.
In popular culture
Quindim is also a
rhinoceros
A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...
character (named after the dessert) featured in
Monteiro Lobato's children's
book
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physi ...
s.
See also
*
Custard and
flan
*
List of Brazilian dishes
This is a list of dishes found in Brazilian cuisine. Brazilian cuisine was developed from Portuguese, African, Native American, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese and German influences. It varies greatly by region, reflecting the country's mix of ...
*
List of Brazilian sweets and desserts
Below is a list of sweets and desserts found in Brazilian cuisine. Brazilian cuisine has European, African and Amerindian influences. It varies greatly by region, reflecting the country's mix of native and immigrant populations, and its contine ...
*
List of custard desserts
This is a list of custard desserts, comprising prepared desserts that use custard as a primary ingredient. Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on a cooked mixture of milk or cream and egg or egg yolk.
Custard desserts
Fi ...
References
External links
Quindim– DessertEater.com
Quindim RecipeQuindimCoconut quindim
Brazilian desserts
Custard desserts
Foods containing coconut
{{Brazil-cuisine-stub