Curau facts for kids

Curau is a yummy Brazilian dessert. It's a bit like a sweet custard or a thick pudding. People make it from the juice of young corn kernels. This juice is cooked with milk and sugar until it becomes creamy and delicious.

You'll hear the name curau mostly in southern Brazilian states. These include places like São Paulo, Mato Grosso, and Mato Grosso do Sul. But this dessert has other names too! In Minas Gerais, it's called corá. In Rio de Janeiro, people call it papa-de-milho, which means 'corn porridge'. And in the northern parts of Brazil, it's often known as canjica.

How to Make Curau

Making curau is a fun process! It involves getting the fresh juice from corn and cooking it just right.

What You Need

A typical curau recipe uses about 10 ears of young corn. You'll also need about 2 to 4 cups of milk and 1 to 3 cups of sugar. Sometimes, people add a tiny bit of salt or a tablespoon of butter. For extra flavor, some recipes use coconut milk or condensed milk instead of regular milk.

Step-by-Step Cooking

First, you need to get the corn juice. You can do this by grating the corn kernels off the ears. Then, put the grated corn into a clean cloth bag. Slowly add milk while squeezing the bag. This helps to get all the juice out of the corn.

Another way is to use a blender. Blend the corn and milk together. After blending, pour the mix through a fine sieve. This separates the smooth corn liquid from any leftover bits.

Next, mix the corn liquid with the sugar and any other ingredients. Cook this mixture on the stove. You'll need to stir it often for about 45 minutes. It will get thicker and turn into a creamy dessert. You can also cook it in a microwave oven for about 12–15 minutes.

Once it's thick and creamy, pour the curau into small dessert cups or baking dishes.

Serving Curau

You can enjoy curau warm or cold. When it cools down, it becomes firm, just like a custard. People often sprinkle powdered cinnamon on top before serving. It adds a lovely smell and taste!

Curau in Brazilian Culture

Curau is more than just a dessert; it's part of Brazilian celebrations!

A Giant Dessert!

Every year since 1999, the town of Caruaru in northeast Brazil makes a huge canjica. This happens during the Festa de São João, which is a big festival in June. In 2008, this giant dessert was 35 meters long! It took 4,500 ears of corn to make it. Imagine how many people it fed!

Different Names for Corn Desserts

It's interesting that the word canjica can mean different things in Brazil. In the southern states, canjica is a different dessert. It's made from whole, ripe white corn kernels, cooked in milk until they are soft. This dish is called mungunzá doce in the northern parts of Brazil. So, depending on where you are, the same name might refer to a different yummy corn treat!