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In Portugal, cod is the essential Christmas dish. The simplicity of “ bacalhau com todos ” continues to be a highly appreciated delicacy. Story of a passion and a tradition never denied.
From our correspondent in Lisbon,
" It smells strong, very strong ". For nostrils of tourists, the scent from a stall of dried cod in a Portuguese supermarket has enough to lift the stomach. The smell is considered acrid, musky and aggressive. The aspect is hardly more encouraging: it looks like a heap of old badly tanned skins. The Portuguese nostrils also quiver, but with contentment. Because instead of bothering, the odor so particular is the promise of beautiful feasts and festivities for the holiday season.
Cod, a Christmas tradition
Indeed, cod is the quintessential Christmas dish. She reigns on the table of the Consoada, the vigil, or on December 25. Curiously, the Portuguese who know how to accommodate bacalhau in many ways taste it for the holidays in its simplest device: the cod " with everything " (" com todos "). The fish is served boiled, accompanied by Portuguese cabbage and also boiled potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, onion and garlic. All simply washed down with a drizzle of olive oil. Such a stripped and so humble way of preparing the fish-fetish that one can be astonished.
The reason is historical, social and religious. Formerly the Church imposed fasting of fat and meat for its many religious days - in total almost six months of the year! Bacalhau, abundant in Portugal from the 15th century, fell perfectly to fulfill the double role of food retention and the supply of essential proteins. Lean, the ugly salted and dried fish, corresponded well to the idea of the consoada , literally "consolation". The Christians were indeed waiting for the Messiah, the one who would come to comfort them from the misery of the world. Humility was to reign. Christmas, which is still just as important in Portugal, continues to be associated with this “ bacalhau com todos ” so modest, but so succulent that the ear lobe is pinched between two fingers to signify its pleasure. .
Cod, a love story
Historians agree: the Vikings were the first to catch cod (fresh fish), which in the absence of salt, was simply dried on the boats. If the techniques of salting are attributed equally to the British as to the Spanish, it is the Portuguese who deserve the credit for cod fishing in cold water.
It began in Newfoundland, off Canada, then in Greenland, at the end of the 15th century. Cod was caught by line. An exhausting and dangerous job: aboard tiny canoes, the dories, the Portuguese fishermen launched their line relentlessly. Mist and icebergs often prevented them from finding the codfish, the lugre. A cruel and cold end awaited them. Their courage was exemplary. During the period of the new state of Oliveira de Salazar (1933-1974), the cod fishery was responsible for exalting the notion of economic self-sufficiency that the dictator wanted to establish. A veritable saga was born, from which the terrible living conditions of cod fishermen floated. The last fishing campaign took place in 1974, the year of the democratic revolution, on April 25!
Cod with cod
Formerly salted on boats and then dried outdoors in Portuguese factories, cod is today mostly caught by others, and it is frozen on ships. Part of the transformation is carried out by the Nordic countries, Norway at the head, the other is carried out by the Portuguese factories (half a dozen). They thaw, then salt and dry in giant blowers, which allows the fish to no longer be cod, but bacalhau. The “cure” time depends on the quality of the cod.
Factories like those of the Riberalves group, market leader, then soak so that the cod regains its moisture. The factories also develop ultra-freezing techniques to meet the expectations of contemporary customers. No one has the time necessary to soak two days of dried fish, with regular water changes. Modern techniques chew the job.
But for the end-of-year celebrations - also for Easter - we will proceed as tradition dictates: a beautiful piece of cod in the "roast", the meatiest part, with a slightly yellow flesh, proof of a " cure ”of at least three months, and coming off in very clear plates. To the cook, to the hostess to show her talent: the cod should not be salted while keeping a point of salt on the taste buds, an almost “smoky” feeling. An art that has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries.
A divorce nobody wants
Of the 54 kg of fish ingested annually by a Portuguese, 22 kg are cod. This shows the importance of Gadus Morhua, the Atlantic bacalhau, in the diet of Lusitanians. Annual imports reach 600 million euros.
But cod is scarce. Fishing quotas in the North Atlantic have again been reduced by 51%. Industrialists say that prices will not soar because they have stocks. But the popular fish is becoming more and more a king's delicacy. The price can approach 40 euros for the “jumbo” category, the ultimate, angled. While a bacalhau museum will soon open on the banks of the Tagus in Lisbon, the "faithful friend", his nickname since the 19th century, could become the mirage of Christmas tables.
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