PORTUGAL
FOOD & DRINK
Portuguese cuisine influences
Mediterranian cuisine
Mediterranean cuisine is
characterized by its
flexibility, its range of
ingredients and its many
regional variations
Portugal is a country where
food is revered
• Former colonial
possessions
The Portuguese were the first to
bring to Europe, through
their maritime adventures,
spices like ginger, curry or
pepper. Being the first
Europeans to visit Japan and
China, the Portuguese also
introduced Europe to rice,
tea, coffee. From the New
World (the Americas) came
the pineapple, potatoes and
tomatoes.
Meals
• Breakfast
Traditionally just coffee, milk and a bread roll with butter, jam, cheese or ham.
Sweet pastries are also very popular.
• Lunch
Often lasting over an hour is served between noon and 3 o'clock and consists in
three main couses
• Dinner
Is generally served late, around or after 8 o'clock, and has also three main courses
(and it lasts longer than lunch  )
Fish and seafood
• Portuguese food varies from
region to region, but fresh
fish and shellfish are found
on virtually every menu. The
national dish is "bacalhau,"
dried, salted cod. The
Portuguese have been
obsessed with it since the
early 16th century, when
their fishing boats reached
Newfoundland. The sailors
salted and sun-dried their
catch to make it last the long
journey home, and today
there are said to be 365
different ways of preparing it,
one for each day of the year.
• Grilled sardines and horse
mackerel are also popular in
the coastal towns, and a
mixture of other types of fish
is put into a stew called
"Caldeirada."
• The country is full of
specialty seafood
restaurants, many with
artistic displays of lobsters,
shrimp, oysters, and
crabs. To try a mixture of
these, have the rich seafood
rice, "arroz de marisco."
Meat
• Another national dish is
"cozido à portuguesa," a
thick stew of vegetables with
various kinds of meat. The
favorite kind is pork, cooked
and served in a variety of
ways. Roast suckling pig
("leitão assado") is popular
in the north of the country, as
are pork sausages called
"chouriço" or "linguiça."
• Typical of Oporto, in the
north, is tripe with haricot
beans. It is not to everyone's
taste, but has been Porto's
most famous dish since
Henry the Navigator sent a
vessel to conquer Ceuta in
Morocco and the people of
Porto slaughtered all their
livestock to provision the
crew, keeping just the
intestines for themselves.
They have been known as
"tripeiros" or "tripe eaters"
ever since.
•
The Portuguese steak, bife, is
a slice of fried beef or pork
served in a wine-based sauce
with fried potatoes, rice, or
salad. To add a few more
calories to this dish an egg,
sunny side up, may be placed
on top of the meat, in which
case the dish acquires a new
name, bife com um ovo a
cavalo, steak with an egg on
horseback. Iscas, fried liver,
were a favourite request in old
Lisbon taverns. Sometimes
they were called iscas com
elas, the elas referring to
sautéed potatoes. Small beef
or pork steaks in a roll
(respectively pregos or
bifanas) are popular snacks,
often served at beer halls with
a large mug of beer.
Soups
• Being a country with a wide
rural population and ready
availability of vegetables the
soups are usually made from
seasonal local grown
produce. The soups often
are a cheap replacement for
a full meal and therefore
they can be heavy in
consistency and very tasty.
• Caldo verde (literally green
broth), made from a soup of
kale-like cabbage thickened
with potato and containing a
slice of salpicão or chouriço
sausage, originated from the
northern province of Minho
but is now considered a
national dish.
• Canja de galinha (chicken
broth), is a filling, comforting
and ubiquitous favourite.
• Another soup-like typical
dish is the açorda where
vegetables or shellfish are
added to thick rustic bread to
create a 'dry' soup.
Desserts
• Many of the country's typical
pastries were created in
Middle Ages monasteries.
• Other pastries were created
by nuns in the 18th century,
which they sold as a means
of supplementing their
incomes. Many of their
creations, often with a high
content of eggs and sugar in
the composition, have
related names like barriga de
freira (nun's belly), papos de
anjo (angel's chests), and
toucinho do céu (bacon from
heaven).
• The Portuguese enjoy rich
egg-based desserts. These
are often seasoned with
spices such as cinnamon
and vanilla.
• Cakes and pastries are very
popular. Most towns have a
local speciality, usually egg
or cream based pastry.
Originally from Lisbon, but
popular nationwide, as well
as among the diaspora, are
pastéis de nata. These are
small, extremely rich custard
tarts.
• Also popular is arroz doce (a
typical and popular rice
pudding, a must for
Christmas time parties), is
often decorated with
elaborate stencilled patterns
of cinnamon powder
• in the Algarve region, many
recipes include almonds and
marzipan. Many traditional
recipes also include candied
squash, known as "doce de
chila/gila" and candied egg
threads called "fios de ovos,"
used as a filling or a
decoration.
Cheese
There is a wide variety of
Portuguese cheeses,
especially made from goat's or
sheep's milk, or both together.
Usually these are very strongly
flavoured and fragrant.
Portuguese cuisine does not
include cheese in its recipes,
so it is usually eaten on its own
before or after the main dishes.
WINE
Historically speaking it is difficult
to be precise about the origin
of vineyards in Portugal, and
we have to goback to the era
preceding the Bronze Age
(1500 / 700A.C), so that we
could find tracks of grape pips
in the region of Leiria (centre of
Portugal).
Portugal became the first country
of the world to create, in the
Douro region, the first
denomination of protected
origin, imposing protectionist
rules in designated areas,
such as the type of cultivation,
yield quality and control.
These conditions that are still
the base for criteria of all
existing wine denominations
in the world.
Portugal ’s most famous
contribution to the world of
wine is undoubtedly Port and
to a lesser extent, Madeira.
These are both fortified
wines, made by adding
brandy spirit to fermenting
musts
• The Minho region produces
light, refreshing white wines.
The Douro, world’s firstde
marcated wine region produces
world-class red wines, with
great power and complexity.
The Bairrada region produces
white and red wines with great
ageing potential and the Dão
region is stocked with the
wealth of indigenous grape
varieties that produces elegant
white and red wines, while the
Ribatejo is just emerging as a
quality region. However, the
Alentejo region is now well
established as the premium
wine region for producing wines
with an excellent price/quality
ratio, the reds being especially
rich and silky
LIQUEUR
• Ginjinha or simply Ginja, is a liqueur made by infusing ginja
berries, (sour cherry) in alcohol (aguardente is used) and adding
sugar together with other ingredients. Ginjinha is served in a
shot form with a piece of the fruit in the bottom of the cup (or not
– com elas ou sem elas). It is a favourite liqueur of many
Portuguese and a typical drink in Lisbon, Alcobaça and Óbidos
(in this case it is served in a small edible chocolate cup).
• In Portugal when someone is impressed by the taste of
something, they say, " Sabe que nem ginjas " (It tastes even
better than ginja). "
Coffee: Portugal's Other National
Drink
Many assume that Portugal is
famous only for Vinho do
Porto (Port) and they are
surprised when they
discover that we also have a
strong coffee culture that
goes back many years.
Portugal was responsible for
introducing coffee production
to Brazil.
Portuguese drink espresso
coffee – bica - that is how
the portuguese like their
coffee - no big American
cups of brewed coffee, no
lattes, and no tea.
Portuguese can be found sitting
and sipping the beverage
while engaged in lively
discussion, eating a pastry,
or after a big meal.