Madeira is your mild-climate variation of the ‘paradise in the middle of the ocean’ island. You can explore beautiful cliffs and laurel forests here or enjoy the best delights of the local cuisine in the evening. What to eat in Madeira? What should you try here? Here’s our list of top 10 foods you can’t miss in Madeira.
Lapas Grelhadas (grilled limpets)
Madeira’s seafood
To start the feast off, we suggest Lapas. Limpets are served in their shells, baked with garlic butter. Just squeeze a bit of lemon juice on top and you’re good to go. This Portuguese seafood goes perfectly with the Madeira bread mentioned later.
Bacalhau
Dried cod
Dried salted Atlantic cod is the most popular fish in Madeira and mainland Portugal. Legend has it that there are 365 ways to prepare Bacalhau here. It’s usually soaked in water with milk to remove excess salt before actually being prepared.
The most popular Bacalhau variations are ‘bacalhau à brás’, which is scrambled eggs with cod, onion and parsley, and ‘bacalhau natas’, which is baked cod with potatoes in a béchamel sauce.
Espada
Black scabbardfish
Black scabbardfish is a deep-sea fish which certainly tastes better than its goofy looks may suggest. Espada is long, devoid of scales with sharp teeth and big bulging eyes. On the other hand, its meat is tender and has no bones. It’s served as a fillet with fried bananas. Yeah, the combination threw us off too at the start. And if you feel like the goofiness of the fish is enough for you, you can always eat the fish and the bananas separately. But, believe us, it surprisingly works.
Cataplana
Madeira stew
Madeira cuisine is also no stranger to fish soups. The Cataplana contains pieces of various fish and other seafood served with rice in a special cauldron. The dish is very filling and one portion may often be enough for two people.
Espetada
Madeira skewers
Espetada is a shashlik-like skewer of pork rubbed with salt, garlic and bay leaf. Traditionally, the meat was stuffed on bay springs, but nowadays we just use metal skewers. In addition to meat, you can also buy fish and various seafood versions. We certainly recommend milho frito alongside Espetada, which are little fried corn cubes.
Bolo de caco
Madeira’s bread
This is a traditional wheat bread baked in Madeira and Porto Santo. It resembles large rolls in appearance and is used in a similar way. You’ll find plenty of delicious sandwiches with tuna, octopi, steaks or ham based on bolo de caco. The bread used to be, and still is, baked on special basalt stones (called ‘caco’) over coal. It’s commonly served with garlic butter and lapas.
Bolo de mel
Honey cake!
Madeiran cuisine is also not without sweetness. In the past, honey cakes were baked for Christmas only, but it’s available all year round in every corner of the island. The sugar cane molasses gives it its dark colour and moisture, as molasses was used as a substitute for honey.
Fresh fruit
Madeira is a fruit heaven. Delicious bananas, passion fruits, cherimoyas, caramboles and much more grow here. The best place to shop is the Mercado dos Lavradores, the main market in the island’s capital, Funchal. It’s not only a great place to shop for fresh fruits, but you can also sample a whole array of them there too. We’d recommend the small bananas especially, as they taste completely different there than the ones we might find in our markets. Additionally, there’s also the ceriman, meaning the fruit of Monstera Deliciosa. It looks like a banana but tastes like a pineapple.
Poncha
Drinks
With so much food, we’ll need some drink to accompany all this. We’d say that a local drink called poncha is a must-try, especially in the evening, after your last meal. The traditional composition of a poncha is aguardiente rum, lemon juice and bee honey (sometimes sugar cane molasses is used instead of honey). Each bar has its own recipe, and it is worth trying different versions with oranges or passion fruits.
Vinho de Madeira
Madeira wine
A visit to the island without trying Madeira’s famous wines will invariably be incomplete. Madeira is a wine fortified with sugar cane distillate – aguardiente. It’s near impossible for us to describe the taste of Madeira wine, so we’re afraid you’ll just have to try it yourself.
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