We were totally overwhelmed by the amount of amazing food at the Mercado São Cristóvão in Rio. The market is home of food, music and products from the Northeast of Brazil [full post coming soon]. We saw tons of regional sweet items we had not encountered before – many based on tapioca. However, our attention was caught by one particular sugary item that was so unusual it stumped the store clerks where we purchased it: Alfenim. Alfenim (plural alfenins) is a type of sugar paste candy made from sugar, vinegar, honey (sometimes) and butter. I have seen the translation of Alfenim somewhere as “taffy” but the kind we bought was quite hard. We bought some in “rock” form, however, sometimes it comes in fanciful shapes and forms, similar to elaborate Marzipan (see below). Alfenim was bought to Brazil and the Azores by the Portuguese. However, Alfenim is originally thought to be of Arab origin, with the name coming from “al-fenid” meaning white target. Here is a recipe for Alfenins (in Portuguese), both traditional and chocolate.
Alfenim in the shape of a dove by Jean Marconi
Eating The World 