Bacalhau

Featured Ingredient - Portugal

Bacalhau

Information about Bacalhau plus lots of Bacalhau Recipes

Go to:-   Portugal  Speciality Dish   |  Portugal Main Page  |  Cooking by Country Main Page

Bacalhau is the Portuguese name for cod. It is a very popular fish in Portugal, so much so that they say they have a different bacalhau recipe for each day of the year ! For the sake of interest, here we will be talking about a certain type of cod which is widely used in Portuguese cuisine i.e. dry, salt-cured cod, also called Saltfish in other parts of the world.

Although this type of Saltfish is considered to be one of the national ingredients of Portugal, the cod used in the process has never been fished in Portuguese waters and even today, it is imported by the tonne to satiate their love and use of it. The abundance of cod made it a relatively cheap source of protein.

Traditionally, the cod was salted aboard the fishing boats then laid out in the sun to dry, however there is proof of the existence of factories designed just to process bacalhau in Iceland and Norway dating back to the 9th century. Many believed, and still believe, the best cod is caught in Norwegian waters.

Saltfish became even more important at the time when the Portuguese began venturing out to explore other parts of the world in the 15th Century, and salted cod was high amongst the preserved foods taken to feed the sailors on the long trips at sea.

You will find  recipes using this ingredient on both the  Portugal Cooking by Country main page and in other sections of this web site. Use the search facility to find them all although when searching us the term "Saltfish".

Happy cooking!

Cooking by Country - Portugal

Find UK Holiday Cottages