Portuguese Rice Custard Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What kind of rice is used in Portugal? ›

Portuguese rice production is mainly based on varieties of Italian and Spanish origin, such as Ariete, Guadiagran, Teti, Opale, Lusitano, Presto and Ronaldo.

Though we may never really know exactly where rice pudding first originated, from what we do know, it has its roots in India and China many thousands of years ago. It's thought to have come to Europe around the 14th century.

Preheat the oven to 150'C. Put the rice and golden raisins in an oven proof dish. Stir together the evaporated milk, sugar and normal milk and pour over the rice. Put in the middle tray of the oven and stir after half an hour, put back in the oven for another hour and then remove.

In Portugal, rice production started to be documented in the early 18th century. The Romans had imported rice but had never grown it on a large scale. The Muslims started to grow it on irrigated fields in Sicily and Spain and in the 18th century there are records of rice fields in Portugal around the Tagus estuary.

Bacalhau

The national dish of Portugal, bacalhau is dried and salted codfish, which is usually soaked in milk or water before cooking. The Portuguese have been eating bacalhau since the 16th century when their fishing boats brought it back from Newfoundland.

Bacalhau, which translates to cod in English, is Portugal's national dish, a symbol of the country's identity, and one of the most popular foods in restaurants across the country. Bacalhau is such a go-to staple in Portuguese cuisine that it even has an endearing nickname: fiel amigo, or faithful friend.

Custard is a creamy dessert made from a mixture of milk or cream, eggs, sugar, and flavorings, typically thickened with heat. Pudding, on the other hand, is a sweet, creamy dessert that can be thickened with a variety of ingredients such as cornstarch, gelatin, tapioca, or rice.

Although this dish is most commonly made using long grain White Rice (some would even use Thai Jasmine Rice, many would argue that, to achieve a balance between consistency and flavor, aromatic Basmati Rice should be used as it contains starch.

Method. Put the rice, milk, 200ml of water, half the maple syrup or honey and the vanilla into a large pan. Give it a good stir, then place the pan on a very low heat. Cook gently for around 45 minutes, or until thick and creamy, stirring regularly.

In Portugal, as of 2022/2023, milled rice was consumed in a total amount of 14 kilograms per capita. Almost all of this was long grain, as only 0.1 kilograms were medium and short grain semi-milled or wholly milled rice.

Who was the first country to eat rice? ›

Oryza sativa rice was first domesticated in the Yangtze River basin in China 13,500 to 8,200 years ago. The functional allele for nonshattering, the critical indicator of domestication in grains, as well as five other single-nucleotide polymorphisms, is identical in both indica and japonica.

Starting with food, it is true that the Portuguese eat a lot of rice, so much so that the country ranks #1 in Europe for rice consumption! (In terms of rice production, Italy is #1 in Europe, and clearly they export what they don't use for their own risotto.)

Portugal is the fourth largest rice producer in the EU, after Italy, Spain and Greece.

The most prominent European rice is Japonica, which accounts for about 10% of world production. This rice, grown mainly in Mediterranean climates, has a grain that can be short, medium or long, and is typically marked and marketed with the names of the particular varieties.