gastronomic heritage of santa maria da feira
The gastronomic heritage - strongly linked to the ancient identity of Santa Maria da Feira, greatly influenced by its Celtic, medieval and convent roots - led to the creation of the sweet bread Fogaça da Feira, which in 1500 gave rise to the secular Fogaceiras Festival and the fulfilment of the vow to S. Sebastião, recreated annually on January 20th.
The Fogaça da Feira is an inspiring and driving force of the gastronomic affirmation of Santa Maria da Feira, by mixing sweet and savory taste, and giving rise to new gastronomic offers in Santa Maria da Feira.
As delicacies of great prominence and strong tradition stand out the Regueifa Doce associated to Easter, the Trouxas of Santa Maria (Sanguedo), the tea sweets, the soup contest and all the gastronomic heritage associated with agriculture, crafts and folklore, as for example the corn ‘desfolhadas’ (village peasants gather do take the leaves from the corn among with dances, popular songs and food) and wine harvest (rituals of harvest, songs and food) which due to their specificities, integrate our customs, history and culture.
In terms of organic agricultural production, the microclimate of the region between the River Douro and the River Vouga (mild climate with plenty of sun) favours the cultivation of kiwi fruit, blueberries, strawberries, purple passion fruit and vegetables.
The proximity to the sea and the different rivers offer a great diversity of fish, while meat and dairy products emerge from the interior and the mountains. The dairy processing industry combines almost century-old tradition with innovation, guaranteeing the highest quality of its products.
In the area of beverages, the Municipality presents craft beer with Feirense hops, which led to the creation of the Festival of Craft Beer with Feirense Hops, and Châmoa (liquor and wine) which was developed anchored in the event Medieval Journey in the Land of Santa Maria.
In this regard, the gastronomic heritage goes beyond the production, transformation, preservation, consumption, presentation or even communication of food, it is above all an integral part of the history, uses and customs of the Feirense community.
Thinking about the future, nutrition, quality and progress, we have established a partnership with the Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences of the University of Porto (FCNAUP), to carry out a scientific mapping of the material and immaterial gastronomic heritage of Santa Maria da Feira.
