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Malassada

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Malassada
Malassadas being made in Rhode Island by the United Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit
Alternative namesFilhós, malasada
TypeFried dough
Place of originPortugal
Region or stateSão Miguel, Azores
Main ingredientsWheat flour, sugar, eggs, milk, yeast
Ingredients generally usedCinnamon, molasses
Similar dishesBola de Berlim, farturas, filhós, sonho, fried dough, cascoréis da Guarda

Malassada is a Portuguese fried pastry from the Azores. It is a type of doughnut, made of flattened rounds of yeasted dough, coated with sugar and cinnamon or accompanied with molasses.[1]

The name malassada is often used interchangeably with filhós.[2] However, according to the Direção-Geral de Agricultura e Desenvolvimento Rural (DGARD),[a] these two regional pastries are distinct―the Azorean malassada is made during Carnaval,[1] while the filhós of Penedono is made with brandy and olive oil instead of milk and is enjoyed year-round.[3] Another similar pastry from the Central Region is Cascoréis da Guarda.[4]

History

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The malassada is believed to be derived from the filhós from mainland Portugal and Madeira, a product of the growing sugar industry during the sixteenth century.[5] It was exported throughout Macaronesia, where it was introduced to the Azores and Canary Islands, reaching as far as Brazil during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.[6]

Malassadas were first described in the Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguesa in 1609, and recorded in the ledgers of the Convento da Encarnação in Lisbon between 1688 and 1762.[7] The Gastronomia Tradicional da Madeira e do Porto Santo describes the mal-assada (lit. 'badly-baked') referring to the "undercooked" dough inside.[8] However, another version asserts it was previously made using mel (Portuguese: molasses), having been named melassadas or melaçadas.[1]

Historically, malassadas were conventual sweets prepared for Terça-feira Gorda (lit. 'Fat Tuesday') with the intention of using all the lard and sugar in one's home before Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten Season which limits the use of fats and sugars as a form of fasting and penance, similar to other traditions like Pancake Day.[9] It is a traditional confection eaten in the Azores and Madeira during Carnaval.[7]

By region

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Hawaii

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Hawaiian malasadas with various fillings

In 1878, Portuguese laborers from Madeira and the Azores immigrated to Hawaii to work in the plantations.[7] They brought with them their traditional foods, including malassadas―where it is now commonly spelled as malasadas.[10] In the past, Catholic Portuguese immigrants shared it with friends of other ethnicities in the plantation camps.[11]

Today, there are numerous bakeries in the Hawaiian Islands specializing in malassadas where it is made around the year.[12] While traditional Portuguese malassadas do not have any type of filling, in Hawaii they are smaller but proportionally thicker, are sometimes filled with custard or creams flavored with coconut, chocolate, lilikoi (passion fruit), guava, mango, ube, or pineapple.[13] In Hawaii, Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) is known as "Malasada Day".[11]

North America

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In the United States, malassadas are cooked in many Portuguese homes on Fat Tuesday. It is a tradition where the older children take the warm doughnuts and roll them in sugar while the eldest woman – mother or grandmother – cooks them.

On the East Coast, in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, there is a high population of Portuguese-Americans. Festivals in cities such as New Bedford and Fall River will often serve Portuguese cuisine, including malassadas.[14]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ an official Portuguese governmental office that inventories and defines the many traditional foods of Portugal
  1. ^ a b c Fernandes, Daniel. "Malassadas". Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses (in Portuguese). Direção-Geral de Agricultura e Desenvolvimento Rural. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  2. ^ Ortins, Ana Patuleia (20 October 2015). Authentic Portuguese Cooking: More Than 185 Classic Mediterranean-Style Recipes of the Azores, Madeira and Continental Portugal. Salem, MA: Page Street Publishing Co. p. 286. ISBN 978-1-62414-194-2. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  3. ^ Fernandes, Daniel. "Filhoses". Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses. Direção-Geral de Agricultura e Desenvolvimento Rural. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  4. ^ Fernandes, Daniel. "Cascoréis da Guarda". Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses. Direção-Geral de Agricultura e Desenvolvimento Rural. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  5. ^ Tiago, Flávio; Fonseca, Josélia; Chaves, Duarte; Borges-Tiago, Teresa (May 2021). "4. A look into the trilogy: food, tourism, and cultural entrepreneurship". In Medeiros, Teresa; Moniz, Ana Isabel; Tomás, Licínio; Silva, Osvaldo; Vieira, Virgílio; Ferreira, Joaquim Armando (eds.). Turismo sénior: Abordagens, sustentabilidade e boas práticas. TU-Sénior55+, Projeto de investigação. pp. 90–91. ISBN 978-989-53123-2-0. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  6. ^ Gil, Ana Cristina Correia; Fialho, Adolfo Fernando da Fonte; Chaves, Duarte Nuno (March 2022). "As malassadas : itinerários insulares, das ilhas para o Mundo". AGORA (in Portuguese) (49). Universidade dos Açores: 1–4. hdl:10400.3/6224. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Pinheiro, Joaquim; Soares, Carmen (30 August 2016). Patrimónios Alimentares de Aquém e Além-Mar (in Portuguese). Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra / Coimbra University Press. pp. 251–252. ISBN 978-989-26-1190-7.
  8. ^ Gastronomia Tradicional da Madeira e do Porto Santo. Funchal: Servico de Publicacoes da DRAC (Coord.), SRCC e DRAC. 2013.
  9. ^ Vieira, Michael J. (February 17, 2022). "Malassadas and more at Somerset's Saint John of God Parish". Fall River Herald News. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  10. ^ Robert Carpenter; Cindy Carpenter (30 January 2008). Kauai Restaurants and Dining with Princeville and Poipu Beach. Holiday Publishing Inc. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-931752-37-4.
  11. ^ a b Jennifer McLagan (2008). Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, With Recipes. Ten Speed Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-58008-935-7.
  12. ^ Rachel Laudan (January 1996). The Food of Paradise: Exploring Hawaii's Culinary Heritage. University of Hawaii Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-8248-1778-7.
  13. ^ "Malasadas | Leonard's Bakery". www.leonardshawaii.com. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  14. ^ Mimi Sheraton; Kelly Alexander (13 January 2015). 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List. Workman Publishing Company, Incorporated. p. 274. ISBN 978-0-7611-4168-6.

(2010) Patrick Andrews - "Pioneering the Malasada" Queensland, Australia. 2010

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