Gastronomy

What to Eat in Madeira?

As fresh fish is naturally in great abundance, fish is an every day dish on Madeira. If you are a fish lover, good news: There are a lot of delicious dishes! They are simple: Grilled over fire and mixed with herbs.

Espada is Madeiran specialty and a must to try. It is a black scabbard fish sold everywhere in Maderian fish markets and served with grilled banana or mango.

The other regional specialties you should try are; espetada (beef on a spit), varieties of bacalhau (salted cod fish), milho frito (fried maize), carne de vinho e alho (pickled pork served in wine and garlic), prego no prato (a sandwich made from bread and grilled steak) and arroz de marisco (seafood rice).

Just like Portugal, soups make an important part of Madeirense cuisine.Soups are not served as a starter but as main course. You should try caldo verde (made of finely shredded cabbage and potatoes and served with sausages), acorda (bread based soup topped with an egg) and sopa de tomate e cebola (tomato and onion soup).

Most of the recipes for Madeiran desserts connected to Santa Clara convent where a great variety of recipes had been added in 17th century. They are very delicious- especially when they are served with Madeira wine. You should try bolo de mel (dark honey cake), pudim (cream caramel) and queijadas da Madeira (Madeiran cheesecake).

What to drink?

Starting from 16th century Madeira started exporting wine to other countries. Madeira wine especially became very popular in England in the same century. This fame led Shakespeare mention famous Madeira wine (Malmsey) in his works; Love's Labour's Lost (5.2.240) and 2 Henry IV (2.1.36).

Other drinks you shouldn't miss include: Poncha, a cocktail of sugar-cane spirit, fresh lemon juice and honey; Nikita, a cocktail of white wine, beer and Coral beer.