Description
The Ovos Moles de Aveiro PGI is a product obtained from the addition of raw egg yolk to sugar syrup.
Production Area
The production area of the Ovos Moles de Aveiro PGI is limited to the municipalities bordering on the Ria de Aveiro and neighbouring lagoon areas and the municipalities in the Médio Vouga, in the Aveiro and Viseu districts.
Production Method
According to authentic and unvarying local custom, the eggs are carefully cracked open and the yolk separated either by filtering through the fingers or by using an appropriate egg separator. At the same time, the sugar syrup is separately prepared; it must be heated to a point midway between thickening and forming threads. The yolks are added to the syrup once it has cooled down. The mixture is cooked at a temperature of 110 °C until obtaining a homogenous mixture. Next, the mixture is allowed to cool and rest for 24 hours either in ovens or appropriate locations. The reason for this is that, at this stage, the Ovos Moles de Aveiro PGI mixture is quite sensitive to sharp changes in temperature and can all too easily adsorb extraneous aromas. The cooled mixture may be used to fill the traditional containers. The shapes are set out on trays and dried in ovens (if necessary) and may be covered in syrup, which affords additional protection against changes.
Appearance and Flavour
The Ovos Moles de Aveiro PGI are uniform in colour, ranging from yellow to orange, shiny all over and its complex aroma is of egg yolk developing towards a characteristic odour contributed to by aromas as varied as caramel, cinnamon and nuts, as a result of the chemical reactions during cooking between the sugar and the components of the egg yolk. It is sweet, with the flavour of egg yolk and sugar softened by the cooking process and its consistency is creamy and somewhat thick. The communion wafer occasionally used in the commercial presentation is even colour ranging from white to cream, opaque, matt and odourless or with a slight odour of flour.
History
The history of the Ovos Moles de Aveiro PGI is linked to the Aveiro typical sweets production with century old origin. The manufacture of this product originated in convents, was maintained by ladies who had been educated in convents and who passed the secret of its manufacture from generation to generation. There are documents showing that, in 1502, King Manuel I granted 10 arrobas of Madeira sugar per year to the Convent of Jesus in Aveiro for the manufacture of confectionery products in the convent, which at the time was used to help patients during their convalescence. Moreover, as early as 1856 there existed a register of reputable manufacturers of Ovos Moles de Aveiro PGI. In 1888 the great Portuguese writer Eça de Queiroz mentions these sweets in Os Maias and A Capital and by the great Brazilian author Erico Veríssimo who mentions the product in Solo de Clarineta-Memórias, in 1973. Ovos Moles de Aveiro are referred in 1908 as a dessert dish for royalty.
Gastronomy
The Ovos Moles de Aveiro PGI are best kept at a temperature of 8-25°C which gives them a normal shelf life of 15 days.
Marketing
The product is sold as Ovos Moles de Aveiro PGI. It is sold packaged in the production area, in barrel containers, in bulk, with or without wafer always with documentation certifying its origin, lot number and date of manufacture.
Distinctive Features
The temperature and the lagoon humidity of the Aviero region are propitious to the manufacture of Ovos Moles de Aveiro PGI giving it the appropriate and long-lasting plasticity which is impossible to reproduce outside the region.
