The traditional cuisine of Nazaré is characterized by fish and shellfish dishes of several species and preparation manners.
The “Caldeirada” (fish stew), the grilled fresh fish (sardines, horse mackerels, golden-breams and rock basses, etc.), the “Massa de Peixe” (sort of fish soup with small noodles) with rock bass or seabream, are the most emblematic specialities.
The gastronomic offer also includes dishes like “Arroz de Marisco” (shellfish rice), “Açorda de Marisco” (shellfish bread panada), “Arroz de Tamboril” (monkfish rice) and Cataplanas (with fish or/and shellfish), among others; shellfish like cockles, clams, shrimps and spider crabs are part of the specialities. All of these delicacies can and should be enjoyed in one of the many restaurants in the village.
Difficult to find in restaurants, but much appreciated and known to everyone is sun-dried fish: horse-mackerel and sardines, octopus and dogfish, among others – half-dried (enjoados) or dried; it can be purchased for consumption at home, on the Marginal, in front of the Cultural Centre, in the "Drying Ground"(Estendal), part of the Sun-dried Fish Museum – Living Museum.
Támares, Sardines (sweets) and Nazarenos are the most important sweet pastries that can be tasted in the many confectioners and pastry-shops of Nazaré.
Not very well known is the origin of this traditional way of sun-drying the fish as the best method to preserve and conserve the fish in excess to keep it to days of shortage. This technique also allowed the fishwives to maintain their families and have fish to sell in the region’s markets.
The most used species were, and still are, horse-mackerel (of different sizes), mackerel, sardines (big and small), dogfish, due to their abundance, but also octopus and ray. Although, nowadays you can find the most varied species of fish.
In Nazaré we can find two different types of sun-dried fish: the dried and the half-dried, with diverse forms of preparation and of eating.
First the fish is gutted (emptied of its guts), and then it’s washed and passed by salted water (before was used sea water). Finally, it is opened and it’s placed onto the “Paneiros” for sun drying. This process takes about 2 to 3 days, according to the atmosphere conditions and to the sun. This kind of sun-dried fish can be eaten raw (shredded), but usually it is boiled with potatoes and served with olive oil, lemon or vinegar or some minced garlic. The species most used to be sun-dry are the horse-mackerel, the mackerel and the dogfish.
The half-dried fish is prepared the same way, but it spends just one day at the sun, so it stays just half-dried or withered. The most used specie for this preparation is the medium size horse-mackerel. It is habitually grilled, served with boiled potatoes, olive oil, lemon or vinegar, or even with a sauce made of onions.
The octopus is most appreciated boiled, in rice or salad, but it also eaten uncooked. Sardines are a fat fish, so are usually eaten grilled, accompanied with boiled potatoes and a green salad.
Each type of fish has a different way of being sun-dried: horse-mackerel, mackerel and dogfish are usually opened; sardines are dried as a whole (without head, scales and guts) as well as the octopus and the ray.
The “paneiros” are big wood rectangles frames where fishing net is laid on, and where the fish is exposed to dry, in a way that the air circles around it.
It’s at the south part of Nazaré’s beach, near the Cultural Centre (where was the fish auction between 1961 and 1986), that we find the “Estendal” (drying ground). Here we can see the fishwives drying and selling the fish directly to local people and visitors. This is the ideal meeting point for consumers and fish sellers, for this gastronomic speciality is hardly found in the village’s restaurants.
Enjoy and visit the Sun-dried Fish Museum – Living Museum.
Taste it! Good appetite!
The local handicrafts express the relation between the town and the ocean, being the typical dolls and the miniature boats the most relevant pieces of manual work.
Small boats, in wood or ceramic, reproduce, sometimes to the scale, the boats that once were this town’s life. Little dolls traditionally dressed with the working or festive costume and mini fishermen with stocking-cap and tartan trousers are a delight to everyone.
Fishing nets of several sizes, shapes and uses – ornamental and/or utilitarian – are part of the crafts of the fishermen.
Being a town of artists and skilful artisans, here is possible to find oil canvas painting and watercolours depicting coastal life and seascapes, as well as sailor’s arts (mariner’s knots).
In the municipality, in the village of Valado dos Frades, the decorative arts linked to ceramics, porcelain and faience (with decorative and utilitarian pieces - some hand-painted) stand out. In Famalicão, it is wickerwork, made from wicker and common club-rush, which we can admire.
Cultural reference of a people and of its behaviour and personality, in Nazaré the costume reflects the sea and the fishing life experiences. Functional and practical or harmonious and elaborate, the costume reveals their personality. Adapted throughout the years, not only to the needs of life and to the sea labour, but also to the fashion tendencies (skirts’ length, fabrics and patterns, especially the feminine costume) it is still used on daily life, mainly by the elder women, and it is far from being a piece of museum.
The fishermen costume was adapted to the conditions of the sea, offering freedom of movements, being simultaneously light and warm. The men wore tartan shirts and tartan trousers with a black band wrapped around the waist and a black wool stocking-cap. Neither the trousers nor the shirts had pockets and the personal objects were kept inside the stocking-cap. Usually the fishermen walked barefooted. In the maelstrom of time, men's clothing is no longer used, and it is only in the Carnival period that the typical fisherman tartan shirts can be seen again.
Either for working or for festivity days, the traditional costume reflects the woman’s personality, but it is also adapted to her daily work - preparation, selling and drying of the fish. Thus, being practical, functional and protector against the cold and the sea breeze, allowing, at the same time, free movements but keeping the women always covered and “decent”. Working women wore several petticoats: first a white one, above this 2 or 3 colourful flannel petticoats, a pocket, one cashmere or terylene petticoat, above all a dark-colour apron with pockets, a simple blouse, headscarf, shawl and mules.
However, it was during the feast days that the Nazarene woman showed all her elegance as well as the richness of her family; wearing white under petticoat, above this, several colourful petticoats (the famous 7 full petticoats), covered by a satin apron artistically embroidered, a flowery blouse with lace sleeves, headscarf, black cape, varnish mules, and a gold chain and earrings.
As sete saias fazem parte da tradição, do mito e das lendas desta terra tão intimamente ligada ao mar. Diz o povo que representam as sete virtudes; os sete dias da semana; as sete cores do arco-íris; as sete ondas do mar, entre outras atribuições bíblicas, míticas e mágicas que envolvem o número sete.
A sua origem não é de simples explicação e a opinião dos estudiosos e conhecedores da matéria sobre o uso de sete saias não é coincidente nem conclusiva. No entanto, num ponto todos parecem estar de acordo: as várias saias (sete ou não) da mulher da Nazaré estão sempre relacionadas com a vida do mar. As nazarenas tinham o hábito de esperar os maridos e filhos, da volta da pesca, na praia, sentadas no areal, passando aí muitas horas de vigília. Usavam as várias saias para se cobrirem, as de cima para protegerem a cabeça e ombros do frio e da maresia e as restantes a taparem as pernas, estando desse modo sempre “compostas”.
A introdução do uso das sete saias foi feito, segundo uns, pelo Rancho Folclórico Tá-Mar nos anos 30/40, segundo outros pelo comércio local no anos 50/60 e ainda de acordo com outras opiniões as mulheres usariam sete saias para as ajudar a contar as ondas do mar (isto porque “ o barco só encalhava quando viesse raso, ora as mulheres sabiam que de sete em sete ondas alterosas o mar acalmava; para não se enganarem nas contas elas desfiavam as saias e quando chegavam à última, vinha o raso e o barco encalhava”).
O uso de várias saias pelas mulheres da Nazaré também está ligado a razões estéticas e de beleza e harmonia das linhas femininas – cintura fina e ancas arredondadas, (esta poderá ser também uma reminiscência do traje feminino de setecentos que as damas da corte usavam - anquinhas e mangas de renda - e que pavoneavam aquando das visitas ao Santuário da Senhora da Nazaré), podendo as mulheres usarem 7, 8, 9 ou mais saias de acordo com a sua própria silhueta.
Certo é que a mulher foi adoptando o uso das sete saias nos dias de festa e a tradição começou e continua até ao presente. No entanto, no traje de trabalho são usadas, normalmente, um menor número de saias (3 a 5).
A originalidade do folclore da Nazaré advém, sobretudo, do forte e bem marcado carácter dos nazarenos. Dançam o vira – que sendo de origem nortenha ganhou aqui movimentos e características rítmicas únicas – bem como o corridinho (vindo do Algarve e transformado ao ritmo dos nazarenos), com tanta energia que deixa bailadores e assistência sem fôlego. Dançam e cantam ao mesmo tempo, sem coro ou música gravada, com alegria e graciosidade.
Um “bailado” de ritmo e cor. Dançam descalços, como dançavam, na praia, pescadores e peixeiras, ao som dos rudimentares instrumentos usados nas festas da classe piscatória – que à falta de melhor, tocavam com duas pinhas, uma garrafa com garfos e um cântaro de barro batido com um abanador – aos quais, posteriormente, foram juntando o harmónio, a concertina (e depois o acordeão) e o clarinete, que a tocata utiliza.
As letras e músicas do folclore nazareno reflectem a forte ligação desta gente ao mar e à faina da pesca, gente esta que vivendo quase sempre na incerteza do futuro, têm a capacidade de viver com um sorriso nos lábios, desafiando as reviravoltas da vida.