Sunday, October 4, 2009
Portuguese Convent Sweets
The Portuguese love egg-rich desserts, from flan-like pumpkin pudding pictured in the first photo to Pasteis de Nata, the famous egg custard tarts in puff pastry (see photo 2). They serve endless combinations of eggs and sugar, like the ovos moles (in photos 4 & 5) made by beating egg yolks with sugar water. The historic reason for this is that nuns in convents would use egg whites to starch their habits, and winemakers needed large quantities of whites to "clear" their wines. In order to utilize the yolks that were leftover, monks and nuns developed the pastries and dessert dishes for which they are now well known. For more photographs of Portugal and its classic desserts, including specifics on where to find them, see here.
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3 comments:
Strangely enough, Thailand has a number of egg yolk-based desserts that were introduced to them by the Portuguese, who stopped by in the 16th century to convert some folks to Catholicism. Their desserts proved more enduring than their religion.
The same is true for China, where Macau egg tarts are said to have come from the Portuguese--specifically from the Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon.
I love this stuff, especially with espresso (hold the sugar!). I’ve only been to Sao Miguel, but I actually found the bakeries there underwhelming compared to the Portuguese bakeries right here in New Bedford MA. I love the egg yolk tarts with the scorched surface – it gives them an unusual gamey flavor that is perhaps only for Lusitanic tastes.
Tempura and bean-based sweets are of likely Portuguese origin as well. The Portuguese also brought hot peppers from the New World to China, India, Africa, etc.
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