Tapioca, cuscuz and the cuisine of corn and cassava

Corn and cassava derivatives sustain the Northeastern breakfast and appear on regional menus in João Pessoa.

Cuscuz and tapioca are among the dishes most present on regional menus in the capital of Paraíba. The Jornal da Paraíba listed them, in a January 2024 guide, alongside carne de sol, cartola and rubacão as dishes that dominate João Pessoa's tables.

Regarding cuscuz, Folha de Pernambuco explains that the dish originated among Berber peoples of the Maghreb, in North Africa, documented in a 13th-century cookbook, and arrived in Brazil with the Portuguese. Here, the version made with pounded corn kernels replaced the wheat base, and the corn variant, served with butter, coalho cheese or carne seca, became a mark of Northeastern identity. The same text notes that Indigenous peoples of the Amazon created a cuscuz made from cassava flour. There is no specific account in the sources consulted about the origin of cuscuz in Paraíba.

Tapioca, in turn, has Indigenous origins and a name from a Tupi root, according to a July 2026 report by the newspaper O Povo. The base is goma, the starch extracted from cassava during the farinhada process, when the root is grated, pressed and washed, with the goma produced the following day. The same report notes that tapioca is recognized as intangible cultural heritage in cities such as Olinda (PE), João Pessoa (PB) and Itaitinga (CE). We did not locate the act of the responsible agency for the registration in João Pessoa, so this information should be read as the newspaper's report.

In tourism policy, Paraíba Business reported that the Gastronomic Route of Paraíba brings together, among other axes, corn specialties from the Brejo region.