In this case we’re talking about more than just food: we’re talking about food sovereignty. I don’t want to get political in any way, but it is a fact that the things we eat are, to a great extent, dictated by corporations. We all know them, we may or may not buy from them.
When I was a kid going with my mom to the market was a pain. Getting up early on a Saturday morning to zigzag through the stalls? *eye roll*
Fast foward to my early adult years and I started to actually find it fascinating. Particularly all the things that the supermarkets did not have and which I could find on markets. Everything seemed more real, more alive: vibrant colours, smells, sounds. It was around that time that I started paying attention to how some produce only showed up at very specific time frames and was coveted like you were buying small treasures. One such case was the bravo-de-esmolfe apples, which I already talked about.
A few years ago I heard about another fruit, pêra parda.
This type of pear, typical of the Sintra region, can be found around harvest time. Virtually impossible to be eaten raw it is delicious when cooked. To many older people in the region eating cooked pêra parda is a fond childhood memory and it’s difficult enough to find them for sell these days. Although apparently they were never a very widespread type of fruit, they’re mentioned in a Portuguese cookbook from the 16th century!
This morning I went to the market to find pêra parda and actually found these two gems! Some time go I looked up the original recipe for the cooked pêra parda and it actually has many elements that you can find in the typical Portuguese cuisine, so I tought it would be interesting to share it with you. Would you like that? Please let me know in the comment section bellow!
Enjoy!
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Great stuff, another fruit to try. All countries must start protecting their cultivars… otherwise we will be eating all the same, mass produced, non-biological, even harmful. Thank you for sharing, I look forward to trying it and sharing with others.
Remember to look for them around this time of the year!
I, for one, don’t much like pears raw, but love them cooked, so I’d definitely be interested! 😊
Aha! You’ll love the recipe, I’m sure!
Always learning! 🙂
That’s how I roll! 😉