Olá Pessoal! In this post, I’m going to talk about a simple but delicious traditional dessert called queijo com marmelada. This combination has an interesting history and even influenced a very popular recipe in Brazil: the famous Romeu e Julieta.
Queijo com Marmelada
In Portugal, this traditional dessert is made with Serra da Estrela cheese or Azeitão cheese, cut into slices and served with a layer of homemade marmelada. The stiff jam, made from ripe quinces, is sweet and slightly tart, creating the perfect contrast to the intense, creamy flavour of the cheese.
It is a simple dessert, but much appreciated at dinners or as a snack with Port wine. The tradition of cheese with quince jam dates back centuries and is an example of what the Portuguese call ‘fruit sweets with cheese’.
The Connection with Romeo and Juliet in Brazil
When the Portuguese arrived in Brazil, they brought this recipe with them. However, as quinces were not so common, they began to replace the quince with guava, creating what we now know as Romeu e Julieta (Romeo and Juliet) cheese served with guava paste – goiabada.
Thus, the Brazilian Romeo and Juliet is basically a local adaptation of the traditional Portuguese cheese with quince, maintaining the same idea of sweet-salty contrast and creamy texture. 🍴
The name Romeo and Juliet in Brazil probably came about because of the perfect union between cheese and guava paste, like the love between the two characters.
