What must cooks do before cooking it?

Soak it in water for a day or more

What is bacalhau a Bras?

Shredded cod with straw potatoes and eggs

What is bacalhau com natas?

Cod baked with cream and potatoes

Bacalhau Quiz: Portugal's Salt Cod Traditions and Recipes

Portugal sits beside the Atlantic yet imports most of its favorite fish from far northern waters, and this bacalhau quiz explains the tradition. Play 10 interactive questions on salting and drying, soaking to remove salt, the White Fleet on the Grand Banks, Norway's role, bacalhau a Bras, codfish cakes, bacalhau com natas, Christmas Eve suppers and the nickname faithful friend.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Fish
What is bacalhau?
Nickname
What nickname do Portuguese give bacalhau?
Recipes
How many recipes is bacalhau traditionally said to have?
Soak
What must cooks do before cooking it?
Fleet
Where did Portugal's White Fleet fish for cod?
Supplier
Which country supplies much of Portugal's cod today?
Bras
What is bacalhau a Bras?
Cakes
What are pasteis de bacalhau?
Cream
What is bacalhau com natas?
Christmas
When do many families eat boiled bacalhau with potatoes and cabbage?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What is bacalhau?
Answer: Dried salted cod
It is central to Portuguese cooking.
Q2: What nickname do Portuguese give bacalhau?
Answer: Fiel amigo, faithful friend
It kept well on long voyages.
Q3: How many recipes is bacalhau traditionally said to have?
Answer: 365, or even 1,001
There is a dish for every day.
Q4: What must cooks do before cooking it?
Answer: Soak it in water for a day or more
Changing the water removes salt.
Q5: Where did Portugal's White Fleet fish for cod?
Answer: The Grand Banks off Newfoundland
Fishermen used small dories.
Q6: Which country supplies much of Portugal's cod today?
Answer: Norway
Cod lives in cold northern waters.
Q7: What is bacalhau a Bras?
Answer: Shredded cod with straw potatoes and eggs
It is linked to Lisbon's Bairro Alto.
Q8: What are pasteis de bacalhau?
Answer: Fried codfish cakes
They are a popular snack.
Q9: What is bacalhau com natas?
Answer: Cod baked with cream and potatoes
It is rich and comforting.
Q10: When do many families eat boiled bacalhau with potatoes and cabbage?
Answer: Christmas Eve
The meal is called consoada.

Bacalhau Quiz – Portugal's Salt Cod Traditions

Bacalhau is dried salted cod, Portugal's most beloved ingredient. Salting and drying let fishermen preserve cod for long voyages, earning it the nickname fiel amigo, faithful friend. Cooks say there are 365 or even 1,001 ways to prepare it.

Portugal's White Fleet once sailed to the Grand Banks off Newfoundland to fish cod with small dories. Today much of the cod comes from Norway. Before cooking, bacalhau is soaked in water for a day or more, with the water changed to remove salt.

Popular dishes include bacalhau a Bras with straw potatoes and eggs, fried pasteis de bacalhau and bacalhau com natas baked with cream. Many families eat boiled bacalhau with potatoes and cabbage on Christmas Eve.

What This Quiz Teaches

Food lovers and travelers will enjoy these questions.

What bacalhau is
Where the cod comes from
How it is prepared
Which dishes are famous
When it is eaten

Did You Know?

Shops display stacks of stiff dried cod.
Olive oil is a common partner.
Bacalhau is also popular in Brazil.
Cod tongues and cheeks are delicacies.
Ilhavo has a museum about cod fishing.