Common Herbs & Spices in Portuguese Cuisine

Before we go any further, it’s best to explain the difference between ervasherbs and especiariasspices . Simply put, herbs are leaves while spices are seeds, bark, roots, and flowers. If you love food like we do, or want to understand the menu at a Portuguese restaurant, we think you’ll enjoy this guide to vocabulary for herbs and spices in Portuguese cooking. Thanks to Relish Portugal magazine for suggesting this great idea!
Depending on the type of herb, you can buy them in many different forms:

• frescasfresh (in a pot or small package)
• secasdried
• congeladasfrozen
• moídasground
• inteiraswhole

Fresh herbs often have better flavour, but dried alternatives are more practical for people who don’t cook often. They’re also easier to find at the grocery store, whereas certain fresh herbs can only be found at a farmers’ market. Many Portuguese people like to use their little backyards or gardens to grow fresh herbs.
Spices are always dry and come either whole or ground into a powder. You can buy them in little frascosjars , saquetaspackets , or sometimes a granelin bulk – which is the cheaper option.

Typical herbs

They may not be in every kitchen, but these herbs are among the most common in Portuguese food.

Louro (Bay leaf)

Probably the most used herb in all of Portuguese cuisine, lourobay(leaf) comes from a tree called the loureirobay laurel . Louro is typically used whole and dry, and you can find it in all types of meat marinades andrefogadossautées . Adding bay leaf is a good way of cutting the amount of salt in a recipe while giving it a distinct flavour.

Coentros (Cilantro) & Salsa (Parsley)

CoentrosCilantro, coriander and salsaparsley Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine are two similar looking herbs with a different taste and smell. Both have a citric, bitter flavour, with cilantro being much stronger, which may be why some people don’t like it. Salsa mainly appears in northern Portuguese recipes, while coentros is a staple of many southern dishes. Dried or frozen options exist, but they taste better fresh.
Salsa is usually one of the last things to add to a Portuguese dish, since cooking it diminishes the flavour. It’s so popular that, when paying for vegetables or fruits at merceariasgrocery stores Slow audio Play audio Noun, Plural, Feminine and mini-mercadosmini-markets , it’s not unusual for people to ask for complimentary branches of parsley. Usually, the only fish it is combined with is bacalhaucodfish Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine , in several recipes.
Coentros is often a main ingredient in soups and sauces and it pairs nicely with fish and clams. Coentros are also one of the ingredients in the popular dish Açorda à Alentejana Slow audio Play audio . This dish consists mainly of bread and originates in the Alentejo region, but is now present in restaurants and homes all over the country.

Alecrim (Rosemary)

When seasoning meat and/or making roasts, a great replacement for louro is alecrimrosemary as it also goes well with potatoes.
One common mistake people make is calling rosemary “rosmaninho” – which is in fact another name for alfazemalavender , and not alecrim.

Hortelã (Mint)

In the center and north of Portugal, hortelãmint is used instead of coentros as one of the ingredients of Açorda Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine . It’s also a popular garnish forcanjachicken soup Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine .

Carqueja (Genista tridentata)

Carqueja Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Feminine is plant native to the center and north of Portugal. Its dry flowers are used to make Arroz de Carqueja and season game meat, mainly o coelhorabbit Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine .

Other herbs

• o tomilhothyme – Cultivated in Portugal and known for its medicinal properties, goes well with meat and fish dishes
• oregãosoregano – An herb strongly associated with Mediterranean cuisine, especially Italian, Portuguese folks like to use it as seasoning in tomato and cucumber salads
• manjericãobasil – One of the most popular herbs worldwide, goes well with tomatoes, pastas and many other foods
• cebolinhochives – Not very present in Portuguese recipes but is a great addition to sauces, cheeses, and omelets
• estragãotarragon – Not a popular herb, but one that’s good for making sauces and seasoning white meats

Spices

When talking about the Descobrimentos PortuguesesPortuguese discoveries, Age of Exploration , one is always bound to mention the spice routes and how valuable they were. While their worth was once on par with gold, today they are relatively cheap and always present in our cupboards.

Pimenta (Pepper)

The most basic pair of seasonings one can use when cooking is salsalt Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine andpimentapepper . There are various types of pepper but the two most used in Portugal are pimenta pretablack pepper and pimenta brancawhite pepper . White pepper is a bit spicier than the black variant, which has a more rich and complex taste.

Piri-piri

Piri-piri Slow audio Play audio Noun, Singular, Masculine is a very hot variant of the chili pepper that’s very common throughout Portuguese-speaking countries, and was originally cultivated in Mozambique. It is a very small pepper that can be cut to add to marinades or used as a condiment. Supermarkets often carry piri-piri infused olive oil or you can make your own, as restaurants and ‘snack-bars’ usually do.

Colorau (Paprika)

ColorauPaprika , also known as pimentão-docepaprika, literally: sweet-pepper , is a very popular spice in Portugal. It’s a popular addition to meat marinades and roasts, and is traditionally used when making Portuguese chouriçaschorizos . It’s also present in the production of certain cheese varieties, giving them a distinct flavour and colour.

Canela (Cinnamon)

CanelaCinnamon is mainly found in Portuguese desserts and other sweet dishes, usually as a topping. Although not necessary, when eating the famous pastéis de nata, many recommend sprinkling cinnamon powder on top first.

Erva-doce (Anise seed)

Erva-doceanise is often confused with funchofennel as they have a very similar appearance and a sweet, licorice-like taste and aroma. “Sweet-grass” is the literal translation of erva-doce, but the seeds are actually the part of the plant we use. Whole or ground, they’re used in many desserts and Portuguese pastries as well as seasoning for castanhas cozidasboiled chestnuts .

Cominhos (Cumin)

Another popular spice in Portuguese cooking, cominhoscumin is used in morcelasblood sausage and other traditional sausages.

Other spices

• noz-moscadaNutmeg
  
• açafrão-da-terraTurmeric – Commonly referred to as just açafrão (which is also the Portuguese translation for ‘saffron’ – a different spice)
  
• carilCurry
• gengibreGinger
• cravinhoClove