Portuguese Cuisine and Recipes
Information about Portuguese Food, Cooking and
Recipes
Cooking
by Country - October 2004
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Portugal Featured Ingredient |
Portugal Speciality Dish |
Cooking by Country Main Page
Situated
in South Western Europe, Portugal has borders with Spain plus a 1,793 coastline
on the North Atlantic Ocean. Its temperate climate ranges from cooler and rainy
in north to warmer and drier in south.
Although it has a mountainous
region north of the Tagus River, the rolling plains to south are ideal for
grazing livestock and the areas of woodlands and forests are the ideal habitat
for wild game.
Portuguese cuisine is often confused with
neighbouring Spanish cuisine however it is actually quite distinct due to
its cultural isolation and historical background.
Ancient
Times, History and Influences on Portuguese Cooking
With such a large coastline, it should not
come as any surprise that the sea has always been one of the main source of food
in Portuguese cuisine. Although not much is known about early culinary habits,
archaeological evidence does show that by the end of the Palaeolithic period,
about 7000BC the valley of the Tagus River was populated by
hunter/gatherer/fishing tribes. The remains of shellfish and crustaceans, as
well as the bones of oxen, deer, sheep, horses and pigs have been excavated from
this period.
By 3000 BC Neolithic peoples had begun to
practice agriculture and were practised in the use of polished stone tools and
ceramics however it was the arrival and settlement of Celtic peoples by
600 BC which was to have a more profound culinary influence - more so even than
it's Spanish neighbour. The peoples occupying Portugal took advantage of the
fine pasture-land, both for raising livestock and farming although wild game,
shellfish and honey formed the basis of their diet. They also gathered nuts, in
particular chestnuts, which they roasted and made into bread.
The arrival of the Romans had an effect on the
dietary habits in this area. By the 2nd Century AD their building of new
roads meant that food could be transported more easily, thus introducing new
ingredients such as wheat to the different parts of the country. It is
thought they also introduced olives (therefore olive oil), onions and garlic -
three ingredients which are indispensable in Portuguese cuisine.
The Arabs who
occupied the southern parts of Portugal from the early 8th Century AD also
had a huge effect on Portuguese cooking, not only in the types of foods grown
and eaten, but also on the preparation of foods. They introduced new
irrigation methods which turned otherwise barren areas into agricultural
land enabling fresh and new produce (such as almond trees, figs and citrus)
to be grown. They also introduced new ingredients such as rice and spices and at
least one cooking technique which still features in Southern Portuguese cuisine
today, namely the Cataplana. You can read all about it in the Speciality
Dish section.
By the early 15th century, Portugal's
sea-faring explorers were to add another dimension to the cuisine. The expansion
of their empire lead to them introducing spices such as coriander, saffron and
ginger to Europe, as well as tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and many other
ingredients from The New World. Further driven by the desire to find exotic
spices, it was a Portuguese, Vaco da Gama who discovered the sea route to India
and the far east. It was also around this time that what many think of as being
the national ingredient of Portugal, came into popularity. Salted Bacalhau (cod) was used as a supplement to the usual cured pork to
feed the sailors on the long voyages to the far east. You can read more about it
in the Portuguese "featured ingredient".
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