Stories of Cabeceiras

In Gondiães, the party begins to be prepared days before reaching the table. In the visit of 2012, the Land Museum of Basto found the bread already ready when, at dawn, the popes were made. First the stump was cooked; then, in the water of this cooking, the white corn flour would enter. The great iron pots gave way to glazed clay malgae, ready to wait for blessing and sharing. It is the report of a collective preparation that year, not a recipe with quantities or sahrabulho popes.

The report also distinguishes two moments of eating: on the morning of the feast there were hot popes for those who arrived with malga and spoon; in the collective distribution they were served cold, firm enough to cut to the cut. The next day, the meeting was intended for the residents and the popes were again served hot. They are moments of the documented visit, not times of a future edition.

Maria Helena da Mota Lopes da Silva Almeida, resident in Refojos since childhood, told that she had learned these popes in the early 21st century. The master was a cook from Porto who came to Cabeceiras to work in baptisms and marriages. The parties were also places where techniques and recipes were learned.

The version collected in June 2011 combines different meats, cornmeal, cooked pig blood, red wine and cumin. The report situates the preparation in winter until the end of March. The publication, July of that year, documents the transmission of a knowledge and its usual time; it does not indicate a menu available today.

These specialties are part of the municipal description of local gastronomy, accompanied by the reference to green wines. The goat of the Highlands of Minho and the meats Barrosã and Maronena are also part of this regional repertoire. It is worth asking for the specialty of the house and the availability of the day.

The Museum describes the millers as crushed corn in the mill until it is in small grains. In daily feeding, beans, sprouts of cabbage or codbones could be added for flavor. Pigmeat appeared on holiday or in the most resourceful houses. Hence the distinction between rich and poor millions. The publication of 2019 places this tradition in Cabeceiras and neighboring municipalities.

In the recipe of rich millers presented by the Museum, intercost, bat, sausage and sausage accompany the cereal. The difference between versions also helps to read the living conditions and occasions of consumption. The same ingredient could sustain a simple meal or integrate a more abundant table.

In the visit to Gondiães January 2012, a stick marked the intervals between the sets of bread, ribs and popes at the tables. Each group then distributed these foods among the participants. Preparation brought together return residents and emigrants.

The piece of bread was called carolo. The account presents the protection of São Sebastião as a legend of origin, without documentation that fixes the beginning of the party.

In the account of the visit of 2012, the House of Martyr São Sebastião accompanied the slope of the land on two floors. Below were oven, bonfire, pots and kneading equipment.

On top, there were ready food and service materials: the house connected preparation and distribution. This organization belongs to the registration of that visit, without confirming the current disposition.

The top floor also kept the presentation of the table: bread on shelves decorated with colored and cut paper, malgae porridges and crotch on glazed clay dishes. Long linen pans covered the benches used as tables. The materials show that preparing the party included cooking, storing, transporting and making food available.