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Habits do not always have precise explanations, but it is most likely that the custom of eating feijoada on Saturdays (in São Paulo, feijoada is also eaten on Wednesdays) is a Portuguese heritage.
The Lusitanians are not as passionate about feijoada as we are, nor are there records that in any region of Portugal Saturday is feijoada day, but it is known that our feijoada is a legacy of the trasmontana feijoada, a typical dish in the north of the country, and that the Portuguese have the custom of associating some dishes with days of the week.
“In Portugal, there is a habit of eating stew on Thursdays and Sundays. Thanks to Portuguese colonization, this tradition also exists in Rio de Janeiro”, says historian Caloca Fernandes, author of the book Gastronomic Journey Through Brazil.
In addition to the stew on Thursdays and Sundays, the Portuguese eat fish on Fridays – an effect of the Catholic tradition of avoiding red meat on that day. This habit is repeated in some Brazilian cities such as São Paulo and Rio.
But in other places, things change: in Bahia, Friday is the day for efó (based on leaves), caruru (made with okra), farofa de dendê and chicken xinxim. In São Paulo, the popular restaurants that serve the famous PF (made dishes) followed the Portuguese fashion and created two traditions: the second was reserved for virado à paulista (rice, pork chops, cassava, cabbage and beans) and Tuesday became the day of Tripe.
– What part of the animals does the meat we eat come from?