Pastel de Tentúgal

When the pale shell is broken, a yellow egg filling appears. What defines this sweet from Tentúgal in central Portugal is its ultra-thin skin, about 0.06–0.15 millimeters thick, made by stretching a dough of wheat flour and water by hand. There are two ways of wrapping it, as a stick or as a half-moon, and a hand-stretching technique distinct from that of laminated pastry creates the light shell.

Stretching the dough on cloth until it is thin enough to see through

Flour and water are kneaded evenly, rested, and placed on a white cloth covering a wooden platform on the floor. As the water combines with the wheat proteins and forms a network of gluten, the dough becomes a membrane that does not tear immediately when pulled. While it rests, the flour hydrates and the dough reaches a state in which it can be stretched over a wide area. The edges are pulled little by little until it becomes a broad membrane. Its condition changes with the flour, temperature and humidity, and to avoid tearing the dough, the makers judge where to pull and how much force to use by the feel of their hands.

The dough is dried to a suitable degree, cut into rounds, picked up by hand and stacked. It is covered with a dry cloth with a damp cloth laid over it, which keeps it from becoming too dry to handle. The mild temperatures and humidity near the Atlantic and the Mondego River also suit the work of stretching and wrapping the dough without letting it dry out too much.

The stick shape with raised ends and the half-moon shape with almonds

For the filling, beaten egg yolks and whole eggs are added to a syrup of sugar and water and cooked while stirring so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pan. It is brought to a consistency that does not run out of the wrapping yet spreads smoothly in the mouth.

For the stick-shaped palito, the skin is brushed with fat, the filling is wrapped inside, and both ends are raised like small cockscombs. For the half-moon meia-lua, crushed dried dough is placed on a fat-brushed skin, another sheet is laid on top, and the filling is wrapped. The half-moon also contains peeled, toasted almonds, which add aroma together with cinnamon.

The skin is kneaded from flour and water, but fat is used when wrapping. Under the current IGP specification, the fat is a blend of 90% vegetable margarine and 10% butter. The way the layers form differs from that of pastry in which fat is enclosed in a thick dough that is folded many times.

After baking, the pastries are cooled gradually on the baking tray to keep the shells from breaking. Both the stick and the half-moon also come in small versions, and for celebrations and events, large sticks weighing from 500 grams to 2 kilograms are made as well. Some are dusted with powdered sugar or similar toppings, and some are not.

From convent confectionery to sales in the town

Its history is tied to the Convent of Nossa Senhora da Natividade, also known as the Carmo Convent, founded in 1565. Carmelite nuns lived there until 1898, and its account books record purchases of ingredients, gifts and payments. The nuns made sweets to support their way of life.

It is unclear when the current method of wrapping filling in thin skin was perfected, but the technique is said to have developed from the late 16th century onward, and the sweet appears as a specialty of the town at an 1884 exhibition in Coimbra and in an 1891 newspaper. When religious institutions lost their property in the 19th century, sales became income that supported the convent, and the method was also handed down to women of the town who were involved in making the sweets.

In the 20th century, a custom also grew of eating them in Tentúgal on the way back from the seaside town of Figueira da Foz. The handwork of stretching thin skins, wrapping the filling and raising the folds developed into a confectionery trade for the town.

From sisters who sold the sweets at an inn to a teacher and her pupils

One of the women said to have passed the method on to the town is Maria dos Prazeres, who helped with production at the convent. She taught the sisters Ana and Branca Faria Delgado, who sold the sweets at their family’s inn. It is also said that Conceição, an elementary school teacher who learned the method through a male member of the family, taught it to her pupils as a skill that could also provide a livelihood.

The researcher Carolina Gheller Miguens summarizes this tradition, according to which the method spread through selling the sweets and teaching how to make them. As it passed from the sisters’ inn to the family and from the teacher to her pupils, more people learned the method to earn a living, and the convent’s work led to the town’s confectionery trade.

Stick and half-moon shapes still made today

There is also an account that the main product sold shifted from the half-moon to the stick. Even though the stick shape became more prominent as a sweet carried around and sold, the certification specification covers both the stick and the half-moon shapes and stipulates that almonds are used in the half-moon. The almond-filled half-moon has also been handed down to the present day.

Protection rules for production within the area and frozen distribution

The EU IGP registered in 2013 applies to products whose skin, filling and shaping are made within the designated area of Tentúgal. Emphasis is placed not only on the ingredients but also on the skill of handling the thin skins without breaking them and on the link with the area where that skill is handed down.

Distribution as quick-frozen products, either shaped and unbaked or after baking, is also permitted, and the freezing must also take place within the designated area. To preserve the quality of the fragile skin and egg filling, conditions are also set for freezing immediately after production.

Glossary