- Feb 5, 2002
- 166,342
- 56,056
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Catholic
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Others
The owner of Alcôa has devoted decades to recovering lost pastries.
At first glance, Pastelaria Alcôa, a bakery in the charming little town of Alcobaça, Portugal, looks thoroughly modern. Behind a gleaming glass counter are colorful, award-winning pastries that have made the pâtisserie one of the most celebrated in the country. On warm days, customers sit outside at tables shadowed by large umbrellas and enjoy the view: a sumptuous Gothic monastery.
Alcôa’s specialities are made inside the bakery, but their roots are in buildings like the nearly 1,000-year-old religious institution across the street. In fact, the pastries are prepared precisely in the same way that nuns have produced them for centuries behind their cloistered walls. This is due to the determination of Paula Alves, the owner of Alcôa, who has devoted her life to recovering their lost recipes and techniques. “Reconstructing this gastronomic tradition feels to me like rebuilding a giant puzzle,” she says. “So much has been lost, but if you are truly committed, you will find the information you need in the most unusual places.”
It’s impossible to understand Portuguese bakery tradition without knowing about the history of the country’s convents. In the eighth century, the Arabs invaded the Iberian Peninsula, bringing with them almonds, nuts, and their prodigious culture of sweets. After crusaders retook the territory, Roman Catholic nuns built on this foundation, and when sugar was introduced to Portugal in the 1400s, the sisters started mixing it with egg yolk (often left over from using the whites when ironing noblemen’s elegant clothes), flour, and almonds, establishing the basic ingredients of convent sweets.
Continued below.
At This Portuguese Bakery, the Recipes Were Written by Nuns Centuries Ago
At first glance, Pastelaria Alcôa, a bakery in the charming little town of Alcobaça, Portugal, looks thoroughly modern. Behind a gleaming glass counter are colorful, award-winning pastries that have made the pâtisserie one of the most celebrated in the country. On warm days, customers sit outside at tables shadowed by large umbrellas and enjoy the view: a sumptuous Gothic monastery.
Alcôa’s specialities are made inside the bakery, but their roots are in buildings like the nearly 1,000-year-old religious institution across the street. In fact, the pastries are prepared precisely in the same way that nuns have produced them for centuries behind their cloistered walls. This is due to the determination of Paula Alves, the owner of Alcôa, who has devoted her life to recovering their lost recipes and techniques. “Reconstructing this gastronomic tradition feels to me like rebuilding a giant puzzle,” she says. “So much has been lost, but if you are truly committed, you will find the information you need in the most unusual places.”
It’s impossible to understand Portuguese bakery tradition without knowing about the history of the country’s convents. In the eighth century, the Arabs invaded the Iberian Peninsula, bringing with them almonds, nuts, and their prodigious culture of sweets. After crusaders retook the territory, Roman Catholic nuns built on this foundation, and when sugar was introduced to Portugal in the 1400s, the sisters started mixing it with egg yolk (often left over from using the whites when ironing noblemen’s elegant clothes), flour, and almonds, establishing the basic ingredients of convent sweets.
Continued below.
At This Portuguese Bakery, the Recipes Were Written by Nuns Centuries Ago
