Deixar a boca cheia d'água

university extension at the Peirópolis Home Crafts and Sweets Community Association

Abstract

Handmade sweets are an intangible part of the regional culture heritage of a population. The present work aims to highlight actions in favor of the cultural memory and the appreciation of the regional handicraft of sweets of Peirópolis, Uberaba, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. In the face of multiple cultural expressions present in Minas Gerais, we point out the typical gastronomy of this state in terms of its handmade sweets. The methodology and the procedure were developed by means of ethnography the Culture Circles promoted by Paulo Freire which enabled us to identify the perception of the confectioners members of a Community Association about the diffusion of the tradition of handmade sweets. In the data analysis we noticed that the inter-generational exchange is strongly present in the way of learning, from the harvest and selection of fruits, to the preparation of the recipes, until the moment the candy reaches the customer. The work points to fruitful methods of handicraft, aiming at the preservation and the enrichment of the intangible heritage in the local community and extension activities of the Culture Circle.