Cork
Cork is one of Portugal's most distinctive natural products. And with good reason: the country is the world's leading producer, responsible for over 60% of global exports. In addition to traditional wine and champagne corks, this resistant, recyclable and hypoallergenic material is skilfully transformed into a vast range of eco-friendly fashion accessories and everyday objects, from umbrellas and handbags to smartphone cases, and even clothing and footwear. The company's own brands and specialist boutiques have multiplied in recent years. As an anecdote, the singer Lady Gaga, known for her extravagant outfits, was given an all-cork dress by a famous Portuguese designer. In the Algarve, São Brás de Alportel, the center of the Cork Route, is home to many of the companies developed around this industry. And as one young entrepreneur in the town puts it: "Buying a cork product is like buying a piece of natural history, with each piece at least 25 years old, given cork's growth cycle".
Canned food and delicatessen
Portuguese gastronomy also offers a range of delicatessen products that can be a source of inspiration for gift-giving or indulgence: wines, olive oils, preserves, regional sweets made from almonds, dried figs, jams, honeys and dried fruits, all handcrafted. These must-haves of regional gastronomy delight gourmets, whether tourists or locals.
The Algarve is dotted with carob trees, cultivated since ancient times. Carob, a dark-colored pod, is well known in the veggie world, where it plays a key role in many culinary preparations. In Portugal, it is often found in powder form, used like cocoa, or in chocolate bars, which it delicately replaces with its caramelized taste(A Farrobinha in Querença).
The sardine can: if there's one fish that has become the symbol of an entire nation, it's the sardinha. The queen sardine has even dethroned the Barcelos cockerel, which has become too rustic. Omnipresent and represented on everything, stylized and colorful, the fetish fish can be found on azulejos, crockery and table linen, notebooks, pencil cases and other stationery, and even on socks. Over the past few years, vintage has been making a comeback in Portugal, with older brands appearing in retro-looking packaging. Some of them even look like collector's items. You can buy these pretty, punchy tins in souvenir stores, supermarkets and specialized lojas de conservas, with a choice to suit all tastes: lemon, piri-piri, olive oil, garlic, pâté, gourmet, etc. Clichés die hard, but the quality is there.
Fleur de sel, flor de sal de Castro Marim, has earned its place in the world's finest restaurants and gourmet stores. Its high quality is due to excellent climatic conditions, and it's also very affordable. These fine, delicate crystals are sold plain or flavored with lemon, oregano, chili or capers. Just the thing to add a little fleur de sel to your life!(Mar d'Estorias in Lagos).
Portugal's once-underrated wines are gaining recognition around the world, winning award after award. If you're looking for "regional" and "DOC" appellations, you'll get excellent value for money. Red wines have retained their strong, raw taste, having not yet yielded to the preachers of globalization.
To share Portuguese flavors with friends, Ginjinha is another option. Ginjinha is particularly appreciated by Algarvians. Obtained from the maceration of Morello cherries in brandy, this liqueur is taken very seriously, and its production is regulated by an appellation d'origine contrôlée. Its competitor is amarguinha, an almond liqueur to be enjoyed with a squeeze of lemon and ice cubes.
Port: quality bottles, extremely affordable in Portugal, are to be preferred: Ruby Reserve, Tawny aged 10 years or more, and LBV (Late Bottle Vintage).
Charcuterie: the Portuguese's guilty pleasure. As with cheeses, many regions produce them, and it's easy to find products from all over the country. Portuguese charcuterie is generally made from pork. How do you find your way around all the varieties? Salpicão is Portugal's finest sausage, the noblest and most traditional made from smoked pork. Paio is similar to Salpicão, but bigger and with more fat. The various chouriços are smoked sausages made with red or white wine. They can be cooked or braised.
Olive oil 100% made in Portugal. There's not a single dish, petisco or even dessert where you won't find it. Local olive oil has a lot of character: it's more colorful and fragrant than conventional oils. Throughout the country, production has been booming again since the early 2000s, with a spectacular increase in production volumes. In 2016, the country even reached 100,000 tonnes produced, making it the world's 8th largestproducer and 9th largest consumer per capita, quite an achievement given Portugal's size. Quality is also on the up, and today it's common to see Portuguese olive oils winning awards in international competitions. To play the connoisseur, opt for an extra virgin oil from one of the 6 DOPs (Protected Designations of Origin): Moura, Trás-os-Montes, Alentejo Interior, Norte Alentejano, Beira Interior (Beira Alta, Beira Baixa), Ribatejo.
The cataplana
If you've enjoyed a shellfish cataplana , why not take home this beautiful utensil, probably derived from the tajine, to reproduce this fragrant dish and relive the experience? In stainless steel, hammered copper or aluminum, and in different sizes, this object will look great in your kitchen. It comes at a price, but it's built to last..
Still among the utensils, the original assador de barro is a typical clay dish used to barbecue Portuguese chorizo right at the table. A typical Algarve spirit, such as arbutus, is poured into the dish. Then place the sausage on top and light the spirit, and after a few minutes, you're ready to feast. A demonstration that's sure to impress your guests!
The azulejos
The Portuguese are masters of the art of earthenware. There's no escaping azulejos, for they're everywhere: building facades, interior walls of shops, churches, home interiors and even your hotel room. This ancestral ceramic technique is a legacy of the Moorish occupation, who introduced al-zulayd (small polished stone) into the country to embellish their palaces. From the 16th century onwards, the Portuguese fashioned their own style in the form of blue and white earthenware tiles used to depict panels of religious scenes. Production peaked in the 19th century, to meet the demands of the nouveau riche returning from Brazil to satisfy their taste for eccentric exoticism. Today, this art form is still very much alive, and both traditional and modern azulejos can be purchased as original decorative elements. Some stores even sell traditional azulejos.
Beauty products
When visiting the Algarve, don't miss this prestigious company, founded in 1887, which offers handmade soaps, perfumes and candles with a refined fragrance and century-old expertise. Easily recognized by its refined, elegant packaging with unique motifs, the company has recently experienced spectacular growth, exporting to luxury markets around the world, and has even opened a boutique on the other side of the Atlantic!
Craftsmanship
It has always been part of everyday life in the Algarve. The main traditional arts that characterized its craft production in the last century were pottery (thanks to its clay soils), metal arts, weaving and basketry. Wicker, for example, a product much in vogue in fashion and decoration magazines, is regaining strength and is woven here using theempreita technique. The market for palm-leaf basketry has also boomed in recent years in the Algarve. It's good to know that collective initiatives have emerged with the mission of promoting craftsmanship as a trade of the future, all convinced that traditional arts, often linked to rural life, represent current solutions. The bet is made on design, and a cluster of young Portuguese designers associated with craftsmen, work together on natural materials such as olive wood, felt, cork and clay or linen to produce unique pieces in limited quantities. It's an idea worth keeping in mind as a way of elevating the region's traditional arts and crafts, while preserving their rich diversity and authenticity. Indeed, it has to be said that, generally speaking, ancestral techniques are endangered by mass production... All that remains is to adhere to the values of sustainability and make the right choice.
Useful souvenirs made in the Algarve, inspired by the region's architectural and traditional heritage and produced locally, will remind you of Portugal's sunny south for a long time to come.
