RICE production in
PORTUGAL
Rice production in Portugal began to be documented in the early years of the eighteenth century. Although cultivated much earlier in the southern regions and as a legacy of the Moors, it is only from this time that there were records of this grain’s presence in areas bordering the Tejo estuary.
Centuries later because of the risk of malaria, its sowing was forbidden but little by little, the initial reticence was overcome. In the nineteenth century, systematic cultivation is already referred to and also a definite and evident interest of Portuguese agriculture in rice production. Until then rice farming was considered illegal but it was tolerated. In this way, although initially covertly, rice fields began to spread into the river basins and the government began to consider the viability of rice production, gradually establishing the conditions to administer its cultivation.
At the start of the twentieth century the centres for rice production in Portugal were established. In the 1930s, rice fields increased significantly and the growing areas spread to other regions of the country.
Currently, rice is cultivated in the Beira Baixa basins, and the basins of the River Mondego (Figueira da Foz, Coimbra), the River Sado (Alcácer do Sal), in the tributaries of the River Tejo, in reservoirs in the South and in other regions on a smaller scale.
A large percentage of rice produced in Portugal belongs to the rounded grain type, is called ‘Carolino’ and its main varieties are ‘Aríete’ and ‘Euro’ but ‘Agulha’ (needle) rice, a characteristically long grain, is also produced.
In a Mediterranean climate with Atlantic influences, rice is mainly grown under irrigation. The farms are usually medium to large sized and are being heavily mechanized, although there are still small producers who continue to employ the traditional cultivation methods. The most popular method is direct sowing and the use of fertilizers and other pesticides in crop protection is widespread.
The successful production of rice in Portugal depends on three critical factors: the temperature which, when extremely low can affect the plant; the water available, which determines the surface area that can be sown and influences the possible emergence of diseases; and the amount of sunshine that the rice fields receive.
Overall in Portuguese agriculture, the present situation of rice cultivation is favourable, with production close to the EU average. Despite areas of cultivation shrinking, and the sector’s technology causing some limitations, productivity is at a satisfactory level.
Rice is one of the plants eaten since very long ago and it has been very difficult to determine precisely when its cultivation commenced.
Rice is a plant of the family of grasses Ouryza sativa L. The types of rice most produced are the Japonica (short, round grain) and Indian (long, narrow grain) strains.
The dry field rice was introduced into Japan and Korea at around 1,000 BC. The intensively flooded cultivation method arrived in Korea in 850-500 BC and in Japan about 300 BC.
In Europe, rice only became known after Alexander the Great’s expedition to India (Vianna e Silva, 1969). The Arabs brought it to the Iberian Peninsula at the time of its conquest in 711. In the mid-fifteenth century it arrived in Italy and then France, spreading this agriculture throughout the rest of the world by means of European conquests. It arrived in South Carolina in 1694 and in South America in the early eighteenth century.
It was during the reign of Dom Dinis that the first written references to the cultivation of rice appeared and this was intended only for tables of the rich. Later in the eighteenth century incentives were made to produce this cereal mainly in the estuaries of the major rivers of Portugal.
In 1900, rice agriculture in Portugal was limited to “the wetlands in the valleys of the rivers Vouga, Mondego, Sado, Mira and Guadiana. Half a century later, with an increase established, its cultivation was carried out in many counties.
The expansion of rice agriculture took place around 1909, after having established a set of guidelines for the preparation of land and the management of water, thus providing for the cultivation of different varieties of rice.
Portugal produces about 150 million kilograms per year coming mainly from the Vale do Tejo, Sado and Mondego zones. There are currently about 25,000 hectares planted mostly with Carolino type rice, of which 70% is the Aríete variety.
The History
of
ARROZ
in
PORTUGAL
RICE,
the inseparable friend
A daily staple, popular and almost omnipresent, rice is the usual complement of Portuguese dishes. The endless possibilities that it offers in the kitchen has always been made the most of on Lusitanian tables, becoming part of the country’s culinary culture.
The versatile nature of rice, its amenability and capacity to absorb and soak up flavours and textures, means that the grain can appear on the ingredient list of a multitude of dishes as part of recipes from the north to the south of Portugal. From the humble ovens to the vanguard of gastronomy, Portuguese cuisine finds in rice the perfect match to enhance the role of the food that accompanies it, whether meat, fish, shellfish or vegetables.
Chickens, hens and roosters, widely used in rice stews, have their most characteristic example in ‘arroz de cabidela’ (rice made with chicken blood and giblets). Although very common throughout the country, these dishes are made mainly in the interior regions.
The famous and delicious arroz de pato (duck rice), originating from Braga, is at its best if made with wild duck. It usually accompanies other meats and is in turn accompanied by a variety of vegetables and pulses, seasoned with various herbs and spices.
With the characteristic Portuguese enchidos (various pork sausages), a large number of rice dishes can also be made and worthy of mention is the celebrated ‘Sarrabulho’ rice, a typical, chunky dish that honours many tables in the Minho region. Also interesting is the use of turmeric, the natural colouring of some chouriços (spicy, smoked sausages) in northern Portugal, which gives the rice a very distinctive strong yellow colour, and brings to mind the flavours of the Portuguese colonies in the Far East, which have influenced Portuguese cuisine so much.
Some rice recipes appear, associated with cod, the huge star of Portuguese cuisine, without forgetting the numerous and abundant examples of fish and shellfish that in one way or another, are part of traditional dishes such as, octopus rice, or rice with shrimp, whiting, squid, lobster, percebes (goose barnacles), ‘navalheira’ (rock/bay) crab or clams.
The thousand and one ways to cook rice in Portugal make the country one of the biggest consumers of rice in the European Union. The annual per capita consumption is around 15 kilos, totalling about 140,000 tons of rice per year.
Rice is, in Portugal, the inseparable friend of the kitchen and its delicacies.
RICE
with the flavour
of the sea
Because of its ability to absorb other flavours, rice makes itself the best candidate to accompany seafood.
In a country with more than 1,000 kilometres of coastline, and extensively bathed by the Atlantic, fish and shellfish are the champions.
An example that illustrates these statements is the fact that the cod and rice, among others, have always been considered basic staples of Portuguese cuisine. However, it should be added that they are just a small note in the entire pages that could be written about Portuguese rice recipes with a taste of the sea.
Each and every one of the specimens that can be found on the Portuguese coast have a place alongside rice, from the big fish of the sea, represented here by corvinawhiting), robalo (sea bass) and raiaskate) to the appetizing shellfish such as santola (common crab), camarão (shrimp) or lavagante (lobster).
Any cookbook on the European continent that describes the typical gastronomy of its member countries will get from Portugal the recipe for arroz de tamboril (monkfish rice), an authentic dish that is usually flavoured with the popular piripiri (chilli) brought from Africa and widely used in the country.
Octopus is highly esteemed in the northern regions of Portugal, where the famous arroz de polvo (octopus rice) is made; a dish full of stock from traditional sailors’ cooking. This recipe is widespread throughout the country and also eminent in the southern areas, for example in the Alentejo, where it is called arroz de polvo bravo (wild octopus rice).
In the regions located between the Douro and Minho, guisados de arroz com lampreia (eel and rice stews) are typical, a chunky dish starring this marine species that spawn upstream in the rivers during the coldest months of the year. Arroz de lulas (squid rice) recipe is another simple and daily staple in this region.
A special mention for arroz de marisco (shellfish rice), a prized dish that contains the most delicious specimens from the Atlantic, especially on the coasts of the ancient province of Douro Litoral.
The south also likes the alliance of rice and the sea, distinguished by cuisine of a simple basis, which transforms into plates of arroz de amêijoas (clams), arroz de berbigão (cockles) and in the guisados de arroz de pargo, atum, ou garoupa (stews of rice and red snapper, tuna, or grouper). Alongside these homemade recipes the delicious and popular rice and shellfish dishes surged once again in the Algarve, made with the abundant and diverse inhabitants of the rocks and sands of these beaches, for example, percebes (gooseneck barnacles), amêijoas (clams), or chocos (cuttlefish).
We could present an endless list of recipes to describe the multitude of dishes with these ingredients because to taste of the sea, they just have to be made with fish, seafood … or rice
Podemos comer arroz doce nos quatro cantos do mundo, mas não há recanto em Portugal onde não se faça este doce, tão típico quanto diferente, dependendo de quem o prepara.
Desde o século VI a.C. que há registos de arroz cozido em leite com açúcar. A chegada da cana-de-açúcar da Índia ao Médio Oriente, onde já se cultivava o arroz, marca a origem desta especialidade que perdurou até aos nossos dias.
É possível imaginar que, muito antes, estes alimentos coexistiam na Índia e que, inclusivamente na Ásia, substituído o leite de origem animal pelo leite de coco, este doce era saboreado desde os tempos mais remotos.
Posteriormente, a fama do arroz doce espalhou-se rapidamente por toda a Europa e a cor dourada que o melaço lhe conferia passou ao branco característico, já no século XIII, quando se começou a utilizar açúcar refinado. O século XVIII marca o momento do baptismo desta sobremesa, que revela todo o seu encanto em todos os livros de receitas europeus.
Durante os últimos vinte e seis séculos, o arroz cozido em leite com açúcar conservou praticamente intacta a sua essência original.
A sobremesa de arroz doce em Portugal reflecte esse desejo de manter vivas as doces tradições ancestrais. Servi-lo no final do almoço de domingo, ou em qualquer acontecimento digno de celebração, significa venerar um costume antigo e honrar os dias festivos.
As inúmeras referências revelam esta aliança do arroz doce e determinadas datas do calendário.
Sirva de exemplo o Natal que, nas aldeias e cidades portuguesas, é muito acarinhado nas suas tradições, convertendo a gastronomia no eixo central sobre o qual gira a celebração. Deste modo, e antes de se ir à popular Missa do Galo, não falta o prato de arroz doce e os doces conventuais que são com frequência servidos após um vistoso bacalhau cozido.
Outro momento em que o arroz doce aparece é em muitas bodas portuguesas. Trata-se não só da sobremesa principal da ocasião, como é típico a família dos noivos oferecer arroz doce aos seus convidados uns dias antes da cerimónia. Actualmente, subsiste o mito de que a quantidade de arroz doce com que se recebe os convidados é proporcional ao grau de parentesco.
Desde o aroma que lhe é oferecido pela canela, passando pelo toque subtil que a casca de limão lhe dá, e terminando na porosidade que o ovo lhe confere, o arroz doce português admite, na sua preparação, pequenas variantes que permitem personalizá-lo e torná-lo único em cada mesa.
