Bread Tasting Event: Yeet the Wheat
Breads from around the world brought into Platteville to taste Alternative Title: “Gain the Grain” and “Finagle the Bagel”
Anthony Malo Photo
On Sept. 21, the UW-Platteville International Club organized the International Bread Tasting event and offered 12 varieties of bread from 12 different countries, including Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and the Netherlands.
Of the breads available, those from Brazil, Nigeria and Nepal were most definitely the best of the options in my opinion.
Representing Brazil were cheese puffs served with caldo verde sauce.
The caldo verde sauce was so good that, in fact, it enhanced the flavors of some of the plainer breads. Caldo verde sauce (which is usually a soup) is originally from Portugal, traditionally made with collard greens (or other leafy greens such as kale), potatoes, olive oil, black pepper and salt, occasionally including onion and garlic as well. The cheese puffs are small, baked rolls made from Brazilian cheeses and bread ingredients.
Representing Nigeria was orange cake.
The cake had an orange syrup on top, which had seeped into the cake properly, making the texture of the cake even softer, since it was saturated in sweet orange nectar. The cake was the sweetest of the foods offered. Orange cake is made with orange juice and orange zest, giving the cake a citrusy taste. The syrup on top is also made with orange juice, making the syrup thinner to bleed into the cake itself.
Lastly, representing Nepal was banana fried bread.
Slightly larger than the Brazilian cheese puffs, the banana fried bread was crispy on the outside, which was covered in sugar.
Inside was a soft doughy bread, with the flavor of banana
throughout, but somehow, the last bite tasted the best. This bread is made with regular bread dough and bananas, of course. It is then deep fried in vegetable oil and coated in sugar, making a sort of
“sandwich” of flavors, sweet from the sugar, savory from the oil, then sweet again from the banana.
The event was well attended, with each dining table surrounded by friends, all enjoying the breads offered. Between people chatting with each booth’s representative and talking with friends, this event was be-“loaf”-ed by all.
