Rebuçados de Funcho

Description: Cylindrical sweets of variable size (1 to 2 cm), yellow-orange in colour, translucent and with a fennel flavour. They are sold in small plastic bags, not individually wrapped.

Region: Autonomous Region of Madeira.

Particularity: Candies with an artisanal look, cylindrical and made with fennel.

History: This is the use of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). This plant vegetated in large quantities on the slopes of the bay of Funchal, when it was discovered. Gaspar Frutuoso says: «... Funchal, which is named after it, because it is founded in a fermoso valley of singular groves full of fennel to the sea». This aromatic plant still exists spontaneously and in small quantities today. He gave his name to the peak of Funcho, on the outskirts of Funchal.

Use: Treat that can be eaten at any time of the day. Because they have fennel, they are used as cough tranquilizers. Fennel Candies have become a typical product and are coveted by nationals and foreign-ers alike.

Know-how: With the sugar, water and fennel essence, the hardball point is obtained by heating. After the dough has cooled, small cigars are shaped and cut with a sharp knife into small cylinders. They are sold, packed in small plastic bags, by houses that sell traditional products and also by some street vendors.

Fonte: Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses, Lisboa, DGDR, 2001