bacalhau

{{lang|pt|Bacalhau}} dishes are common in Portugal, and also in former Portuguese colonies such as Cape Verde, Angola, Macau, Brazil, Timor-Leste and Goa. There are said to be over 1000 recipes for salt cod in Portugal alone and it can be considered the iconic ingredient of Portuguese cuisine (it is one of the few species of fish not consumed fresh in this fish-loving country, which boasts the highest per capita fish consumption within the European Union).http://www.eumofa.eu/documents/20178/84590/EU+consumer+habits_final+report+.pdf/5c61348d-a69c-449e-a606-f5615a3a7e4c page 9 It is often cooked on social occasions and is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in some parts of Portugal.

There are numerous {{lang|pt|bacalhau}} recipe variations, depending on region and tradition. In Portugal, it is said there are more than 365 ways to cook {{lang|pt|bacalhau}}, one for every day of the year;{{cite web |url = https://lindoportugal.eu/bacalhau/ |publisher = Lindo Portugal | website = lindoportugal.eu | title = Bacalhau: "The most popular fish in Portugal" |date = 24 November 2023 | access-date = 2024-07-03 }}{{cite web |last=Cave|first=James| url = https://www.portugalist.com/bacalhau-guide/ |date=2024-06-14 |publisher = Portugalist | website = portugalist.com | title = Bacalhau: A Guide to Portugal's Favourite Fish | access-date = 2024-07-03 }} others say there are 1,001 ways. Whatever the exact number, {{lang|pt|bacalhau}} is a ubiquitous ingredient in Portuguese cuisine.

{{lang|pt|Bacalhau}} is often served with potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams and fresh bread. More traditional flavourings include but are not limited to garlic, onion, olive oil, black pepper, white pepper, piripiri, bay leaves, parsley, coriander and allspice. Green wine (vinho verde) or mature wines (Alentejo wine, Dão wine, or Douro wine) are served alongside.

Image:Bacalhoada.jpg

Some {{lang|pt|bacalhau}} dishes:

• Arroz de Bacalhau
• Açorda de Bacalhau
• Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá (some varieties: original, Porto)
• Bacalhau à Brás
• Bacalhau Assado
• Bacalhau à Zé do Pipo
• Bacalhau à Lagareiro
• Bacalhau com Broa
• Bacalhau com Castanhas
• Bacalhau com natas ({{lang|pt|bacalhau}} with cream)
• Bacalhau com todos
• Bacalhau Confitado em azeite
• Bacalhau Espiritual
• Bacalhau no Forno com Cebolada
• Bacalhau Suado à Lisboa
• Pasteis de Bacalhau/Bolinhos de Bacalhau
• Pataniscas de Bacalhau

The traditional production method for Bacalhau is protected in the EU and UK as a traditional speciality guaranteed under the name Bacalhau de Cura Tradicional Portuguesa.{{cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/food-safety-and-quality/certification/quality-labels/geographical-indications-register/details/EUGI00000014285|title=Bacalhau de Cura Tradicional Portuguesa|access-date=24 October 2021|work=eAmbrosia — Traditional Specialities Guaranteed}}

Salt cod has been produced for at least 500 years, since the time of the European discoveries of the New World. Before refrigeration, there was a need to preserve the cod; drying and salting are ancient techniques to preserve nutrients and the process makes the cod tastier. More importantly, fish low in oils and fats are more suitable for the drying and preservation process, as oils and fats prevent the salt from preserving the fish. Cod have very low levels of oils and fats in their muscle tissue, and most is located in the liver.{{cite journal |last1=Oliveira |first1=H |last2=Pedro |first2=S |date=2012 |title=Processing of Salted Cod (Gadus spp.): A Review |journal=Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety |volume=11 |issue=6 |pages=546–564 |doi=10.1111/j.1541-4337.2012.00202.x |doi-access= }}

Portuguese, Norman, Breton, and English fisherman were the first to adopt the salt-based curing technique from Basque fishermen in Newfoundland near the cod-rich Grand Banks by the late 1500s.{{sfn|Silva|2015|p=132}} By the 1700s, salted cod had become a staple food for ordinary Portuguese people and by upper levels of Portuguese society.{{sfn|Silva|2015|p=133}} With the advancements in freezing and transportation in the 1900s, salted cod from North America declined and Iceland and Norway became the major supplier of the salted fish to Portuguese markets.{{sfn|Silva|2015|p=134}} During this time {{Lang|pt|bacalhau}} was a cheap source of protein and frequently consumed.{{sfn|Moutinho|1985|p=181}} Thus, {{lang|pt|bacalhau}} became a staple of the Portuguese cuisine, nicknamed {{lang|pt|fiel amigo}} ('loyal friend').{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fHI3AAAAIAAJ|title=History of Portugal: Pamphlet Collection].|date=1937-01-01|publisher=CUP Archive|pages=480|language=en}} In fact, in Portugal, cod always refers to salted, dried codfish and it is very rare to find fresh cod ({{lang|pt|bacalhau fresco}}) for sale.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=czRsuc9K18wC|title=Cod: A Biography Of The Fish That Changed The World|last=Kurlansky|first=Mark|date=2011-03-04|publisher=Knopf Canada|isbn=9780307369802|pages=37|language=en}}

This dish is also popular in Portugal and other Roman Catholic countries because of historical fasting rules, which forbade the eating of meat on many days (Fridays, Lent, and other festivals), and so {{lang|pt|bacalhau}} dishes were eaten instead.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bacalhau.com.br/historia.htm|title=Um Alimento Milenar: O início do Bacalhau com os Espanhóis e os Vikings|trans-title=A Millennial Food : The beginning of the cod with the Spanish and the Vikings|access-date=8 June 2015|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530230757/http://www.bacalhau.com.br/historia.htm|archive-date=30 May 2015}} {{Lang|pt|Bacalhau}} is also popular in Sfax where this dish is eaten with chermoula on the first day of Eid ul-Fitr .

In Portugal, {{lang|pt|bacalhau}} is often sold as a generic product with no brand information. Customers are free to touch, smell, and otherwise personally inspect the fish, which is very different from how fresh seafood is often sold.{{Cite journal|last1=Ostli|first1=Jens|last2=Heide|first2=Morten|last3=Carlehog|first3=Mats|last4=Eilertsen|first4=Guro|date=2006|title=The importance of bacalhau consumption in Portugal and a preliminary product consumer test in Lisboa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OeeTZD13yA4C&q=fish+Bacalhau&pg=PA243|journal=Seafood Research from Fish to Dish: Quality, Safety and Processing of Wild and Farmed Fish|pages=241–249|doi=10.3920/9789086865819_024 |isbn=978-90-8686-005-0}} Stores can carry a large variety of {{lang|pt|bacalhau}} differing in color, size, smell, taste, and dryness. Such variation has led Portugal to define requirements as to what products can carry the label {{lang|pt|Bacalhau de Cura Tradicional Portuguesa}}.{{CELEX|52013XC1008(02)|text=Publication of an application pursuant to Article 50(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs}} They are however, graded by weight which often defines what price category the {{lang|pt|bacalhau}} is sold under. The largest is {{lang|pt|Especial}}, which are large pieces of whole fish weighing more than 4 kg. Following this are {{lang|pt|Graúdo}} (4–2 kg), {{lang|pt|Crescido}} (2–1 kg), {{lang|pt|Corrente}} (1–0.5 kg) and {{lang|pt|Miúdo}} (below 500g).[https://wetravelportugal.com/bacalhau-portuguese-cod/ Bacalhau: Portuguese Cod]. https://www.wetravelportugal.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.

{{Portal|Portugal|Food}}

• Dried and salted cod
• Fishing in Portugal
• List of dried foods
• Portuguese cuisine

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{Citation

| last = Moutinho

| first = Mário C

| year = 1985

| title = História da pesca do bacalhau: por uma antropologia do "fiel amigo"

| publisher=Editorial Estampa

}}

• {{Citation

| last = Silva

| first = António José Marques da

| contribution = The fable of the cod and the promised sea: About Portuguese traditions of bacalhau

| year = 2015

| title = Heritages and Memories from the Sea

| publisher = 1st International Conference of the UNESCO Chair in Intangible Heritage and Traditional Know-How: Linking Heritage

| contribution-url = https://www.academia.edu/15680102/The_fable_of_the_cod_and_the_promised_sea._About_portuguese_traditions_of_bacalhau

| place= Évora, Portugal

| editor-last=Barata

| editor-first=Filipe Themudo

| editor2-last=Rocha

| editor2-first=João Magalhães

}}

{{refend}}

{{Portuguese cuisine}}

{{Macanese cuisine}}

{{Dried fish}}

{{Cod topics}}

Category:Portuguese cuisine

Category:Dried fish

Category:Macanese cuisine

Category:National dishes