Tucupi
/ˌtuːkuːˈpiː/noun
A yellow Brazilian sauce made from fermented and boiled bitter-cassava juice.
Did you know?Fresh bitter-cassava juice contains cyanogenic compounds, so Indigenous Amazonian culinary techniques use processing—especially boiling—to make tucupi safe to eat.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Colonial period
Old Tupi
tukupí
“The Indigenous Tupi name for a preparation made from cassava juice; the precise internal word formation is uncertain.”
16th–17th Century
Tupi–Portuguese
tucupi
“A Tupi loanword adopted into Portuguese during colonial contact in Brazil.”
18th–19th Century
Brazilian Portuguese
tucupi
“A fermented and boiled cassava liquid used as a regional sauce, especially in Amazonian cuisine.”
Modern English
English
tucupi
“A Brazilian sauce or cooking liquid made from processed bitter-cassava juice.”