G & Sweet T

I think that it is no secret that Brazilians have a fondness for sweets. It seems that this tendency towards sweets and sugar is even more pronounced in the Northeast, which has historically been the sugar-producing region of the county. Needless to say, it is pretty hard to resist all the wonderful looking desserts which surround us everyday. Of course, if we had a functioning stove, we wouldn’t have to eat out most days and would have some of the temptation removed, but I digress....

Recently we have discovered that it is impossible to buy any kind of commercial juice without sugar already added. Even orange juice. In São Paulo [yes, where the streets are paved in gold], there were a few brands of OJ which didn’t have any sugar added. No such luck here. Upon questioning, a clerk at the grocery store indicated that the only juice without sugar was a soy-based orange-flavoured drink sweetened with artificial sweetener! Fortunately, this dilemma has a positive solution called Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice, hence our rediscovery of the 25-watt juicer.

The other day, when we were out shopping for the Canada Day Party That Wasn’t, we decided to buy some tonic water in case someone wanted to have a Gin & Tonic. There were two brands available, Schweppes and Antartica. Strong believers in supporting local industry, we decided to go with the Antartica. Once home, Mark whipped up and Gin & Tonic for himself. After a sip or two, he wondered whether or not the tonic water had been sweetened. A quick check of the ingredients showed that indeed, sugar was the second ingredient! Now we will have to check the Schweppes to see if it has also been altered for the Brazilian palette!