Quitandeiras de Minas Gerais: uma revisão de literatura a propósito dos saberes e fazeres das quitandeiras mineiras.

Work on women, we will present the “quitandeiras” – women cooks and sellers of “quitandas”, which are traditional baked goods – more frequently found in the State of Minas Gerais’ countryside. They are the heirs of the black women, enslaved or freed, who sold food in the streets on trays, also known as "tray blacks" or "earnings blacks". The word derives from the term Kitanda used by the Quimbundu peoples of central-western Africa, which means tray, where foodstuffs were displayed at markets. It also designates the markets themselves and the open-air markets, widely spread throughout the continent, as well as the small commercial markets, or grocery stores. In Minas Gerais, besides referring to a physical space, “quitanda” gains another meaning: homemade pastries, cookies, cornbread, donuts, "sequilho" (a type of cookie), and cake. In the Minas Gerais cuisine, "quitanda" is everything that is served with coffee, except for bread. Minas Gerais is often considered the birthplace of "quitandas", where since the time of the gold age of Vila Rica, currently the district of Ouro Preto, the "quitandeiras" have lived in the collective imagination passing on, usually orally, to subsequent generations, their knowledge and skills in the production of their delicacies. This study found that this profession was discontinued during the 19th century, later reappearing with different women street vendors from those of the 18th century, as they were no longer black or freed women selling their goods in the city streets, but rather diversified women who learned the trade from their grandmothers and mothers, and who began to produce "quitandas" usually in their own homes, to known clients who ordered them directly. To obtain an up-to-date picture of these women, an academic research project was developed with the dual aim of mapping studies on “quitandeiras” in Minas Gerais, based on the survey of articles from 2014 to 2023 from national manuscripts; as well as identifying the profile of the “quitandeiras” and their main knowledge and skills related to this profession. We reiterate that the study was limited to the state of Minas Gerais, where the tradition of "quitandas" is recognized throughout the national territory.