carioca christmas gastronomy borrows immensely from the portuguese traditions it was built upon but, like most things in brazil, it adds spins of its own with some rather unique flavors. most of the oldest recipes of brazilian cooking are derived from traditional european cuisine, especially from portugal. however, early colonists were both portuguese and french, and throughout the colonial era both french and portuguese culinary arts intertwined with african influences, to create what is today carioca traditional cuisine. interestingly, one of the most important culinary adoptions for rio de janeiro's christmas comes from the united states. no christmas is complete in rio de janeiro without roasted turkey - called peru de natal.
