The history of Traditional Portuguese Desserts can be likened to a poem composed of words as simple as the ingredients used in the major- ity of recipes included in this rst philatelic issue devoted to this sweet theme. Water, eggs, sugar, milk and wheat our are a starting point for many creations, transforming, in the experienced hands of our pastry chefs, into sumptuous desserts, prodigious in shape, delicate in texture and surprising in avour. Like the best poems of simple words, through the alchemy of cooking, be it a simple chemical interaction or beautiful divine inspiration, the bringing together of these ingredients results in exceptional desserts that do not allow us to forget the places they were created and the people who made them or with whom we savour them. They penetrate our beings and we are never again able to escape from the memory of how they tasted. Just like the most beautiful poems that cause us to over ow with emotion, traditional Portuguese desserts ll our hearts with sweetness transformed into happy feelings.
Pastéis de Tentúgal, Pastéis de Belém, Ovos-Moles de Aveiro, Queijadas de Vila Franca: these are the names of the desserts looked at in this rst adhesive issue from Correios de Portugal, paying tribute to the genius, creativity, expertise and soul of our pastry chefs and the authenticity of our desserts. They celebrate what sets us apart in an area in which Por- tugal has distinguished itself. An authentic journey through the country, these desserts form part of a legacy of recipes that allows us to discover our villages, towns and cities as something more than small black dots on the map of Portugal. A journey into the history of the dessert with humble beginnings, sweetened by honey and by the beauty of wanting to honour break-times in a frugal way of living, happy occasions within the family, within the community, but becoming the protagonist of a rich history of both modest and great circumstances where eggs and sugar are lord and master of many stages.
