Manuê or Manauê refers to several Brazilian cake varieties that have traditionally been made with corn and sugar cane molasses. The corn that is used can either by grinded fresh sweet corn, fubá de moinho (corn fubá), or grinded rehydrated dried corn kernels. Aside from these two primary ingredients, coconut milk, shredded coconut, butter and other cooking fats, cassava, sugar, and wheat flour are sometimes added for special occasions.[1]

Manuê is eaten during breakfast and in the afternoon either by itself or accompanied by a cup of coffee. It can also be found at regional fairs, festivals, and Festa Juninas.[1]

History

The cake is believed to have been developed by Portuguese housewives or enslaved Afro-Brazilians in colonial Brazil who adapted European recipes by using local ingredients. The dish was possibly influenced by Beiju, an Indigenous Brazilian cassava or corn flour flatbread cooked on a hot stone.[1]

In the 1983 version of the book História da Alimentação no Brasil [pt] (History of Food in Brazil), Luís da Câmara Cascudo wrote that manuê is a popular dessert that is eaten across Brazil and has several variations but that those made with corn are the most popular. Additionally, Cascudo wrote that the cake was eaten during lanche da tarde and not dessert, is sometimes leavened with yeast or baking soda, and is referred to by various different names.[2] Manague, manávei, manaué, and managão are some other names for variations of this dessert that have been recorded in historic cookbooks.[3]

Modern day variations

Manuê de bacia

Manuê de bacia (Bowl manuê) is a wheat flour and sugar cane molasses cake that is traditional to Paraty, a historic municipality in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro,[4][5] and is believed to be an adaption of corn-based manuês.[6] Traditional manuê was present in Paraty since its founding, where it was sold by wandering salespeople and featured in cookbooks.[1] The modern-day cake is said to have been adapted by Afro-Brazilians who substituted corn flour for imported wheat flour and added spices like ginger and nutmeg. It would have then gained its name from being baked in rectangular cake trays, which were called bacias (bowls) until the late 1800s.[6]

Manuê de milho verde fresco

Manuê de milho verde fresco (Fresh sweet corn manuê) is made with coconut milk, shredded coconut, and freshly grinded sweet corn, and is served at certain Festa Juninas in Northeastern Brazil.[1]

Mané pelado

Mané pelado is a shredded yuca and coconut cake that is traditional to the Center-West and Goiás. In 2023, researchers with Comer História (History of Eating), a project run by the College of Philosophy and Sciences [pt] at São Paulo State University, claimed that mané pelado developed from manauê.[7]

Other variations

Manuê in Fundo de Pasto [pt] communities in the Brazilian state of Bahia is made with traditional techniques. Dried milho crioulo [pt], a Brazilian corn landrace,[8][9] kernels are soaked overnight in warm water, blended, and then mixed with either rapadura, sugar cane molasses, or sugar so that it can be placed in a tray and baked in a wood oven. These manuês are sometimes sold door to door or in fairs and festivals in the Bahian sertão.[1]

Traditional cakes in Northeastern Brazil are sometimes called manuês.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Manuê". Slow Food Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  2. ^ Cascudo 1983, p. 662.
  3. ^ Bruit, Abrahão & Leanza 2007, p. 95.
  4. ^ "'Revista' mostrou as curiosidades da gastronomia de Paraty, neste sábado (23)" ['Revista' showed the curiosities of Paraty's gastronomy, this Saturday (23rd)]. Rio Sul Revista (in Brazilian Portuguese). 23 February 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  5. ^ "Paraty é uma das principais referências em gastronomia do país". Extra Online (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  6. ^ a b Reali, Heitor; Reali, Silvia (April 2004). "Manuê de bacia: O mais brasileiro dos bolos" [Manuê de bacia: The most Brazilian of cakes]. Almanaque Brasil [pt] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 24 July 2024.
  7. ^ do Amaral Jorge, Marcos (28 June 2023). "Olhar histórico revela origens dos elementos tradicionais das festas juninas" [A historical look reveals the origins of the traditional elements of the Festa Juninas.]. Jornal da Unesp (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  8. ^ de Oliveira, Moreira & Ferreira 2013, pp. 2555–2556.
  9. ^ Mosquera, Ana (16 July 2020). "Viva o milho verde, vermelho, colorido, crioulo!" [Long live green, red, colored, and crioulo corn!]. Slow Food Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 16 February 2025.
  10. ^ "O bolo de fubá e a tradição das festas juninas em São Paulo" [The bolo de fubá is traditional of festas juninas in São Paulo]. Museu da Imigração (in Brazilian Portuguese). 7 July 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2024.

Bibliography

  • Bruit, Héctor Hernán; Abrahão, Eliane Morelli; Leanza, Deborah D'Almeida (2007). Abrahão, Fernando Antonio; Kassab, Fernando (eds.). Delícias das sinhás: história e receitas culinárias da segunda metade do século XIX e início do século XX [Delights of the Sinhás: history and culinary recipes from the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Campinas: Arte Escrita Editora : CMU Publicações. ISBN 978-85-88059-11-5.
  • Cascudo, Luís da Câmara (1983). História da alimentação no Brasil [History of food in Brazil] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Belo Horizonte & São Paulo: Editora Itatiaia. LCCN 84127152.
  • de Oliveira, Raquel Barboza Reis; Moreira, Rosângela Maria Pinto; Ferreira, Josué Maldonado (11 December 2013). "Adaptability and stability of maize landrace varieties". Semina: Ciências Agrárias. 34 (6): 2555–2564. doi:10.5433/1679-0359.2013v34n6p2555. ISSN 1679-0359.
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