TOP THINGS TO EAT AND DRINK IN MADEIRA ISLANDS

So you’re traveling to Madeira. You’ve picked out what adventure activities you’re going to try, what places you’ll check out, and where you’re going to stay. But have you thought about what you’re going to eat in Madeira?

Madeira Island´s gastronomy is extremely rich with a vast variety of traditional dishes and beverages to try. Discover the rich and tasty traditional Madeira Island cuisine.

Various high quality regional products, enables a diversified menu of gastronomic specialities. Madeira Islands cuisine is a mix of Mediterranean and European influences. If you go to any of the many restaurants in Funchal, you can also expect to find a heavy international influence, as the city becomes more cosmopolitan. So there are no bounds when it comes to a variety of foods to try. However, there are some patently “Madeira” foods and drinks that you should make sure to taste.

Here are the top things you should eat and drink in Madeira Islands:

Regional Beverages

Madeira has several well known traditional drinks but the most popular among that extensive list are:

• Poncha - A tasty, yet potent beverage made with sugar cane rum, lemon juice and bee honey (other versions of poncha are made with orange, tangerine or passion fruit juices).
• Ginja – Also known as Ginjinha, is a liqueur made by infusing cherries. Ginjinha is a typical drink from Curral das Freiras.
• Nikita – A delicious and refreshing pineapple and vanilla flavoured beverage that can either be served with or without alcohol. Nikita was invented in Câmara de Lobos, a fisherman's village in the south of Madeira.

Madeira Wine

Madeira Island is known for her fine wine -The famous Madeira Wine, made from more than 30 grape varieties, the best of which are Sercial, Boal, Verdelho and Malvasia, is drunk as an aperitif or a digestive, and is perfect to accompany the traditional (sugar cane) honey cake. It is also from sugar cane that the famous poncha brandy is made, prepared with honey and lemon, to be tasted when you climb to the Areeiro Peak. 

Regional Dishes

Fertile soil provides fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, grains, and meat, nearly year-round. The soil is also suitable for growing grapes, which are used for making some of the finest wine in the world. Vineyards are all over the island.

Fish & Seafood

Surrounded by the rich sea waters of the Atlantic, fresh fish and seafood are always in abundance in Madeira Island. Traditional dishes include tuna, limpets, Ballan Wrasse, Peixe-espada (Trichiuruslepturus) and more…

Espada (black scabbard fish)

Espada fish is catched in the very deep water that surrounds Madeira.

This fish is used in many traditional dishes. A very tasteful dish is Espada (black scabbard fish fillets) with Banana, a combination of tender fish and a tropical taste.

Bife de Atum a Madeirense (Tuna steak Madeiran style)

There is plenty of Tuna fish in the sea that surrounds Madeira. Tuna steak, is tasty, and is prepared in the traditional way, accompanied by crunchy fried corn.

Bacalhau (Codfish)

Bacalhau is a tradicional fish and can be prepared in many ways. On Madeira we say there is a recipe for every day. Olive oil and garlic are common ingredients.

My favourit dish is Bacalhau com Natas, an oven dish with potatoes, codfish and creamy milk.

The octopus and seafood, including limpets, periwinkles and many others, are also delicious.

Meat dishes

Madeira also has traditional meat dishes that are very delicious. Dishes such as Espetada (chunks of beef smeared in garlic and salt pierced through a bay leaf stick) and grilled chicken are just some examples of tasty dishes that you will find. Milho Frito (Fried Cornmeal), wheat soup and wine and garlic marinated beef are also highly sought after.

Espetada em Pau de Louro

The most traditional meat dish is no doubt the famous beef kebab on a bay stick, which gives it an unmistakable flavour. Succulent and tender, espetada is a Madeira favourite.

Espetada is meat on a skewer. Usually the meat being used is beef but there are some variants such as "espetada de frango" (chicken on a skewer).The meat is put on a laurel stick and prepared with garlic and salt over a wood fire. In restaurants espetada is served with French fries, milho frito, green salad and bolo do caco. Best enjoyed with a glass of wine. Beer and sangria (wine mixed with fruit and soda water) are also in great demand.

Bolo de Caco is a very traditional and signature bread in Madeiran cuisine. Bolo do caco is a round bread that is traditionally cooked on a caco, a basalt stone slab. The bread is usually served simply with garlic butter and is usually eaten with typical Madeiran foods like octopus, meat skewers (espetada), milho frito, and also used as the bread for a typical Portuguese Prego steak sandwich. 

Milho Frito (Fried Cornmeal) is one of the most traditional dishes in Madeiran cuisine. They are deep fried cornmeal based treats filled with kale and other typical seasonings. They have unbelievable flavor and taste and are perfect when being served on their own or typically as an accompaniment to meat skewers.

Sweet Treats

In Madeira, a land of exceptional climate, there is a wide variety of crops, including sugar cane and tropical fruits (from the much appreciated bananas to pineapple, avocado pear, custard apple, mango and passion fruit), which are also used in drinks and delicate desserts.

Madeira's best-known dessert is Pudim de Maracujá, a delicious passion fruit pudding. Queijadas (cheese cakes) and the fennel boiled sweets are also in great demand.

In most restaurants or cafes you can taste wafers and cakes. Satisfy your sweet tooth by tasting the regional Bolo de Mel (honey cake) made with sugar cane honey.