Easy Pressure-Cooker Creamy Penne in 10 Minutes
Receitas Rapidas
Glossário Culinário
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the body’s main energy source and the base of much of the Brazilian table: rice, pastas, breads, potatoes, cassava and flours. They provide the energy for everyday life, and that is why sides like fluffy rice and al dente pasta sustain lunches and dinners.
Characteristics
They divide into simple ones, found in sugar, honey and fruits, and complex ones, found in rice, pastas, potatoes, cassava, corn and legumes. Whole-grain versions keep more fiber and a chewier bite, while refined ones have a softer texture. When cooked, pastas and rice absorb water and soften; the al dente point, firm without being raw, is the most appreciated in pastas.
- Simple: sugar, honey, sweets and fruits.
- Complex: rice, pastas, breads, potatoes, cassava and corn.
- Whole-grain: brown rice, whole-wheat breads and pastas, oats.
- In the pot: they absorb water and swell; the right point avoids mush.
Uses in the kitchen
Carbohydrates are the base that receives sauces and sides: pasta with Bolognese or white sauce, fluffy rice for beans, purées, farofas, homemade breads and pie crusts. In the routine, alternating rice, pasta, potatoes, cassava and couscous avoids monotony. Cooking in abundant salted water, tasting for doneness before draining, is the secret of pastas, and resting covered finishes the rice.
Substitutions
White rice can be swapped for brown or parboiled, regular pasta for whole-wheat, mashed potatoes for cassava or pumpkin purée, and wheat flour for oats in part of cakes and pancakes. Sweet potatoes, boiled cassava and corn couscous vary the side dish without leaving the group, and whole-wheat breads replace white bread at breakfast and snacks.
Fun facts
The body turns carbohydrates into glucose, fuel used even by the brain, which explains the comfort feeling of a well-made pasta or rice dish. Fresh Italian pasta and fluffy Brazilian rice were born of different cultures, but follow the same logic: grain or flour, water and just the right heat to reach the ideal texture.
