1 breakfast
Breakfast in Portuguese families is usually at 7 o'clock or 8 o'clock, and the content of breakfast is also very rich, including fresh bread and butter, ham for energy supplement and nutritious cheese. Or jam with coffee, milk, tea, or a cup of hot chocolate with rich flavor, or cereal with milk, yogurt or fruit.
There is also a breakfast ham and cheese toast in Portugal, which is wrapped in a layer of beef, a layer of chicken, a layer of pork, a layer of ham and even more other meat, then covered tightly with thick cheese slices, baked in the oven, and finally put a fresh fried egg. Portuguese also like dessert as breakfast, and most breakfast staple foods will choose pastry sweets, such as croissants, cupcakes, egg tarts, doughnuts and so on.
Most Portuguese families also like ham for breakfast. The most common bread is crispy bread, with some garlic on it, and then sprinkled with freshly broken tomatoes, olive oil and a little salty salt, plus two pieces of Portuguese black pig ham, which tastes good.
The famous European hams are all made of free-range black pork, and Portuguese hams are no exception. First of all, smoked ham is given a strong smoky flavor, which makes Portuguese ham completely different from pure air-dried ham in Spain and Italy. Cut a ripe ham, the meat on the inside of the leg is bright red and firm, the middle is tender and moist, and the outside is full of fat. The fiery red lean meat is sliced, smoked, dry and salty.
2. Lunch
In Portugal, lunch time is 1-2, and lunch consists of rice, potatoes, bread, meat, seafood and fish. Portugal is close to the ocean and rich in seafood. The most eaten are all kinds of seafood, and there are hundreds of kinds of cod. In the inland areas of Portugal, meat is the main food, pigs are the main characters, and there are all kinds of pork sausages, the most famous of which is black pork air-dried sausage. A major feature of Portuguese food is to make your own appetizers and main courses with top fresh cod, swimming shrimp, crabs and various shellfish.
Portuguese sailors and fishermen who sailed at sea for a long time in the early days were more accustomed to preserving food by pickling, and pickled cod was the leader of "salty and fresh" dishes. Smoked wax products are also a favorite taste of Portuguese people, and Portuguese cigarette legs are a typical example. Portuguese cuisine also uses natural ingredients, such as olive oil, wine, garlic, tomatoes, sea salt and so on. And try to present the most natural and true taste of ingredients with simple and restrained cooking skills, which is vividly reflected in "seafood" dishes.
Many Portuguese families like paella for lunch. Seafood soup made by slow cooking lobster heads for 24 hours is made of vegetables, meat and shrimp shells and other healthy seafood ingredients. It tastes delicious, delicious. Traditional Spanish rice is rich in grains and easy to taste. Then add the saffron with nourishing blood and calming nerves and beauty beauty, which is full of fragrance and attractive in color.
Portuguese people like to drink at lunch, and their drinking methods are very particular. According to Portuguese tradition, they should drink a bottle of wine before meals, drink digestive wine after meals, and match wine with Lai cuisine when eating. Drink red wine when eating meat, white wine when eating fish, rose wine when eating cold dishes, and sparkling wine when eating snacks. This traditional and strict wine preparation method has been passed down to this day, and has become a etiquette and habit of people all over the country in business banquets, social occasions and family banquets.
There is a famous saying in Portugal: wine is the son of the earth and the sun, inspiring the spirit and enlightening the wisdom. Portugal is rich in high-quality wines and is famous for its mellow taste. Portuguese national wine is a perfect match with Portuguese food. When you arrive in Portugal, you must drink at dinner. If you don't drink for a reason, they will think you look down on them. In Portugal, people say that wine is cheaper than water and its alcohol content is not high. Therefore, drinking some wine while eating will never lead to drunkenness. Of course, in Portugal, which is famous for its wine production in the world, it is a good wine with a good reputation and worth tasting.
3. main meal
Dinner in Portuguese families is usually after 7 o'clock, mainly fish and pork. They often eat grilled cod with potatoes and fried vegetables. Portugal is the country that loves cod most in the world. In Portugal, there are 365 cooking methods for pickled cod alone. This time, the chef used fresh and simple cooking techniques to present the original flavor of pickled cod as much as possible. Cod is soaked in clear water for 48 hours to remove excess salt, then baked with charcoal fire, and the taste balance is adjusted with small potatoes and vegetables. Finally, pour in hot olive oil to hook up the flavor of the meat, which makes the meat smooth and salty.
There are many kinds of fish for dinner. Fat sardines are roasted to be fragrant and complement crispy corn bread, and then colored peppers are used to supplement the necessary moisture in the taste and the fiber texture of vegetables. Pouring hot olive oil will make the fish wetter. Fresh squid larvae enter the kitchen with the smell of seawater. Delicate white kidney beans and crisp and juicy tomatoes are seasoned with a little red wine vinegar. Several kinds of ingredients with different tastes have formed a subtle contrast in taste, and the refreshing and aromatic tastes are simply matched together, revealing a natural taste.
Roast suckling pig is a big meal in Portugal, which is different from Chinese roast suckling pig. First of all, marinate with sauce made of olive oil, wine, black pepper, thyme, garlic and other ingredients, and apply olive oil to the skin when baking, so that the meat is fresh and tender, and the skin is fragrant and tender. When serving, it is boldly cut into large pieces, served with crisp potato chips and juicy tangerines, which makes the taste more layered and layered. The fragrant fresh pepper sauce pushes the taste enjoyment to the peak.
According to Portuguese eating habits, you should try to drink wine when eating. Portuguese people have an indissoluble bond with wine, which is an essential drink for every family. Men, women and children love to drink before and after meals, and they also like to entertain guests with wine. A man is considered a man only when he drinks. It is said that there are 360,000 hotels in this small country, only half the size of Henan Province. The most famous wine is Bordeaux.
Portuguese Dundun likes to eat meat and drink. Why do few people get cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases?
Diet is more than just eating and drinking. Especially when we talk about the specific eating habits of a country, it is always inseparable from talking about the relationship between diet and its culture. Many anthropologists agree that Portugal's contemporary food culture should be incorporated into the Mediterranean diet. Mediterranean diet is a kind of diet advocated by modern nutritionists, which originated from the traditional diet mode of Mediterranean coastal countries.
In fact, Portugal is not a Mediterranean country, and Portugal with a long Atlantic coastline is not a Mediterranean climate. So why does Portugal belong to the Mediterranean diet? Facts have proved that the Mediterranean diet is characterized by cultural belonging. For thousands of years, Portugal has had close cultural and economic exchanges with Spain, Italy, Greece and other countries, so Portugal gradually adapted to the habit of Mediterranean diet.
Characteristics of Mediterranean diet
1, love to eat tomatoes
The dietary ingredients in different regions of Portugal are slightly different, but there is no shortage of one vegetable in the menu, that is, tomatoes. Tomatoes can inhibit the oxidation of cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. There are tomatoes in many dishes in Portugal. For example, Portuguese salad is made of lettuce, tomatoes, onions and other ingredients, and many tomatoes are also used in the famous Portuguese paella.
2, love to eat coarse grains
In a typical Portuguese diet, bread is usually just an appetizer and the first course, not a staple food, so in fact, spaghetti is not terrible in the Portuguese diet. People can eat spaghetti according to the traditional Portuguese diet, which can not only ensure that their bodies get enough fuel, but also not get fat. In addition, the Portuguese are used to eating milk mixed with cereal for breakfast.
Use olive oil
Olive oil is the core of Portuguese and Mediterranean diets. Portuguese people have the habit of soaking olives and using olive oil as cooking oil to cook, bake food and mix salads and vegetables. Raw olive oil is slightly spicy and rich in unsaturated fatty acids. This is a very healthy oil, which helps to lower cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is easily deposited in arterial blood vessels, causing arteriosclerosis and occlusion. Another advantage of olive oil is that it can dilute blood and help prevent the formation of tiny blood clots, thus preventing the occurrence of heart diseases such as myocardial infarction.
4. Love to eat fish
Tuna, herring, sardines, salmon and cod are rich in linoleic acid (ω-3 fatty acids) which is beneficial to the heart. Helps to reduce blood viscosity and blood pressure, maintain normal heart rhythm, and improve the level of beneficial high-density lipoprotein. Scientific research has found that if the human body ingests more omega-3 fatty acids, the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases can be greatly reduced.
5. Like to drink wine
The medical profession recognizes that red wine is good for the heart. Scientific research has found that red wine can prolong people's life. This is entirely because red wine contains a compound called resveratrol. It can be used as an antioxidant, has anticancer and anti-aging effects, and can prevent cardiovascular diseases. But drink red wine in moderation.