Rainha Santa Portuguese Foods

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	Artisanal Cheeses Serra da Estrela is a cheese from the region of Serra da Estrela, in Portugal . Its production has very rigorous rules and its delimited region is in the northern region of Portugal . It is made of sheep milk, mostly during the months of November to March. Its maturation period has specific norms and must last thirty days at least. According to its maturation it becomes creamy pouring out or thicker. It is a cured cheese from artisan work with half-soft paste, creamy, white or slightly yellow, uniform (without holes or just a few) obtained from slow draining of curdled-milk, after raw sheep milk coagulation, with Cardoon thistle. The shape is a low cylinder with side camber and a little in the upper face, not having precise tacks. It shows a soft well formed rind, smooth and thin, with a uniform straw-yellow colour.

	Elvas Fruits Just where and when Sugar Plums were confected for the first time is difficult to ascertain. The very idea of such a fanciful confection delighted the poet Clement C. Moore. Throughout the 1800´s, the Sugar Plum gained in reputation. The German tale, "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King", told of a fairyland with marvels of sweets. Its French version, "Histoire d`un Casse Noisette", inspired the musical genius of Tchaikovsky. Like magic, the Sugar Plum Fairy came into being, dancing in the Nutcracker ballet. In Portugal, long famous for its national sweet tooth and wonderously varied confection, plums, apricots, figs and peaches have been preserved in this way since the days of Henry the Navigator. First introduced to England by Port wine shippers who "discovered " these wonderful fruits, the Sugar Plum was soon established as a Christmas favourite. However, in recent years, production of these sweetmeats has declined and we were in danger of losing part of our traditional Christmas feast. The Elvas plum, in fact a greengage, is grown in the special microclimatic conditions of the Elvas region of the Alentejo, close to Portugal`s border with Spain. Continuing a tradition many centuries old, the plums are specially selected and harvested in July, cooked and soaked in sugar syrup for six weeks, then washed and sun-dried, when each plum is individually prepared and packaged.

	Extra Virgin Olive oils Famous for the quality of our regional products, we are proud to present this single estate extra virgin olive oil from the Alentejo in the East of Portugal. The Monks of the Monastery of Santa Maria D’Alcobaca, famous for their expertise in farming established themselves in this region 1226. The estate of Alcobaca was chosen for the quality of the soil and the excellent climate for growing olives and continues to produce olive oil today. Made from olives harvested at the ideal time for their flavour and taste, this olive oil is produced using the most modern technology maintaining the natural goodness of the olive in the oil.

	Honey Our honeys are produced by Manuel Frias, an expert in his field, passionate about honey. The hives are moved around from orchard to orchard or on the heather heaths depending on where Frias sees as the best place at any particular time. The honeys are unpasteurised and bottled by Manuel Frias. The Alentejo region of Portugal is famous for the quality of its produce and the citrus orchards give the honey a wonderful flavour.

	Marinated Olives The Olive groves of the Alentejo produce some of the finest olives and olive oils in Portugal. Our producers do not use pesticides. October to November is the harvest time and they are hand picked and then cured using traditional techniques. They are then marinaded with wild oregano, bay and chilli and then bottled in extra virgin olive oil. The black olives are fruity and sweet with a firm texture while the Estremoz olives are big juicy olives that soak up the flavours of the herbs particularly well. The Elvas green olive is a fresh bitter olive, an aquired taste for those of you that appreciate a strong ripe cheese or a gutsy wine. Serve all these olives with good bread, wine some nice semi-cured sheep or goats cheese and some Portuguese chouricos and presunto hams.

	Marmalades The Alentejo region of Portugal is famous for the quality of its fruit. The combination of the right amounts of sunshine and rain with traditional growing techniques guarantees fruit that is full of flavour. January to March is orange and lemon season. June is the month for Apricots and July Greengages. In Estremoz, almost every house with a garden has an ancient orange or lemon tree and small citrus groves & fruit orchards dot the landscape for miles around. There is always an abundance of fresh fruit, grown naturally, without the use of pesticides or fertilizers. We started making marmalades & preserves eight years ago, using the local fruit combined with tried and tested home-made recipes. We use only freshly picked fruit and sugar, no additives or preservatives, just a few lemons added to each batch to help with the set. The small production of our marmalades means that you won’t find them on supermarket shelves. They are currently sold through the best speciality delicatessens .

	Preserves The Alentejo region of Portugal is famous for the quality of its fruit. The combination of the right amounts of sunshine and rain with traditional growing techniques guarantees fruit that is full of flavour. anuary to March is orange and lemon season. June is the month for Apricots and July Greengages. In Estremoz, almost every house with a garden has an ancient orange or lemon tree and small citrus groves & fruit orchards dot the landscape for miles around. There is always an abundance of fresh fruit, grown naturally, without the use of pesticides or fertilizers. We started making marmalades & preserves eight years ago, using the local fruit combined with tried and tested home-made recipes. We use only freshly picked fruit and sugar, no additives or preservatives, just a few lemons added to each batch to help with the set. The small production of our marmalades means that you won’t find them on supermarket shelves. They are currently sold through the best speciality delicatessens .

	Vinegar Rainha Santa vinegars are made from the wines from the North of Portugal. They are lovely with salads and make wonderful vinagrettes.