Rebuçados de Ovos

Description: Made with sugar, almonds and soft eggs, they have the shape of a sphere with about 3 to 4 cm in diameter and have a bright yellow color on the inside and a whitish color on the outside.

Region: Alentejo.

Other denominations: Beijinhos.

Particularity: Balls of egg jam wrapped in sugar and wrapped in white or coloured paper, twisted at the ends and with the ends sometimes fringed.

History: This sweet is attributed both to the Convent of S. Bernardo de Portalegre and to the village of Nisa. In a publication dedicated to the study of the Alentejo, it is quoted: « ... and specifically among the so-called egg sweets, without neglecting the famous "lampreys", there is also the "rebuçados", perhaps the best and tastiest made in Portugal, according to the nostalgic statement of an old friend, tasty who traveled the world and tasted them a lot...».

Use: Consumed as a treat at any time of the day. Indispensable in wedding parties, baptisms, etc.

Know-how: Take the sugar (1 kg) to the point of candy. To assess the point, pour a little syrup in cold water. At the bottom, a hard, brittle mound should be formed that can be shaped with your fingers. When the desired point is obtained, it is allowed to cool down a little and, with fingers dipped in water, small hollow balls are shaped. At the same time, 300 g of sugar is brought to the hair's point to which, after cooling, 10 egg yolks are added, returning to the heat to cook the eggs. With this jam, the candy balls are filled and closed and allowed to solidify. The candies are passed in sugar and wrapped in rectangles of white or colored paper whose ends, sometimes cut into fringes, are twisted.

Source: Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses, Lisboa, DGDR, 2001