Portugal consumed nearly 55,000 tonnes of salt cod last year, an average of around six kilos (13 pounds) per inhabitant, according to the Cod Industry Association (AIB).
Roughly one-third of cod sales happen around Christmas, according to the group.
As the holiday season approaches, supermarkets across the country of around 10 million people prominently display hundreds of salt-encrusted cod piled high.
‘Meat of the poor’
The central role of cod in the country’s cuisine is surprising since the fish, which thrives in deep icy waters such as those around the North Atlantic, has never existed in Portuguese seas.
Introduced to the country in the 16th century, salt cod represented a nutritious and non-perishable food source for Portuguese sailors on their long sea expeditions to the Americas and Asia.
At first this fish was a food exclusive to the aristocracy but it gradually became popular as well among lower classes as supply increased, bringing down prices.
Salt cod started being regarded as “the meat of the poor”. It is also referred to as “o fiel amigo” or “the faithful friend”.
