Login
login / signup
These candy-cane striped homes serve a purpose beyond standing as a whimsical treat for the eyes. First constructed by Portuguese fishermen in the 19th Century as storage shacks, the colors were meant to make the buildings easily visible amidst the foggy Aveiro lagoon. Now, many of these iconic abodes house restaurants like Praia do Tubarão, offering not just fresh fish but also a surprising menu item: edible shells.
Unlike real crustaceans, the soft casings of these treats reveal an egg and sugar-filled delight (and won’t hurt your teeth after a bite). Pressed into forms to look like nautical creatures, the delicate “ovos moles de Aveiro” are omnipresent in the lagoon-straddling city. These salty and sweet desserts can trace their origins to where many wonderful things have originated—nuns! Legend has it that multiple convents in the old city used to use egg whites to wash their habits, and then created ovos moles as a way to use the entire egg. While the nunneries were closed by the government in the early 20th Century, the recipe was passed on to common folk, and the tradition has been carried on by the people of Aveiro ever since.
Today, walking through the “Venice of Portugal” and its beachside homes wouldn’t be complete without grabbing a couple of “shells” for the road. Just be sure to know which ones are consumable.
