Martha Teresa Siqueira Marques Melo^1,, Ana Claudia Carvalho Moura¹, Maria das Dôres Cavalcante dos Santos², Bianca Lourrany dos Santos Silva³, Ivone Freires de Oliveira Costa Nunes¹, Suely Carvalho Santiago Barreto², Marize Melo dos Santos¹, Suzana Maria Rebêlo Sampaio da Paz¹, Cecilia Maria Resende Gonçalves de Carvalho¹

public markets are integral spaces in the history of cities and neighborhoods that preserve local culture, surrounding customs and attractive practices. This study aimed to characterize the traditional typical breakfast preparations of public market restaurants. Study with a qualitative approach, conducted in a public market, an historical and cultural heritage of a northeastern Brazilian capital, being a reference point in food and gastronomy, popularly frequented by residents of the region and tourists seeking to know the regional food. The daily demand for meals in this place starts at dawn, from 4:00 am, with varied breakfast options of typical dishes, such as rice couscous, corn couscous, tapioca, fried cake, panelada and cozidão. These typical dishes are made with fresh and/or minimally processed regional ingredients purchased on the market, contributing to the sustainability of the place. New ingredients were incorporated in meals preparations, with improvement in the way of cooking, directed to the cultural context. However, it is necessary to apply techniques that can improve the nutritional quality of typical breakfast meals. At the public market can be found typical meals preparations, who identify and preserve the habits, customs and traditions of the regional food culture.

culture, culinary, symbolism, breakfast, food, collective feeding