Amoreiras-Gare alcohols, Queijada de Queijao, Compote de Escorcioneira, Bread, Portalegre Egg Candy, Pies from Azeitão or Pinhoadas. These are just some of the 84 sweets from Alentejo, from 21 municipalities, which make up the list of 420 nominees for the 7 Wonders of Portugal® Sweets.
In the district of Beja, the list includes nine sweets from the capital of Baixo Alentejo, six from Alvito, four from Vidigueira, one from Odemira and the other from Serpa.
In the Évora district, the champion of candidates is Viana do Alentejo, with seven. The list also includes five sweets from Évora, four from Estremoz, three from Redondo, two from Montemor-o-Novo and one from Vila Viçosa.
In the district of Portalegre, there are eleven sweets from the capital, three from Arronches and as many from Nisa, two from Elvas, one from Marvão and one from Sousel.
Finally, in the district of Setúbal, there are seven sweets from the capital, five from Alcácer do Sal, as many from Palmela and four from Barreiro.
The Expert Panel voted and identified the 420 sweets that advance in the election of the 7 Wonders of Portugal®. Now this list will be reduced to 7 sweets per district or autonomous region, reaching the final list of 140 sweets that advance to public voting. This Expert Panel is made up of 140 personalities, 7 from each district and autonomous regions. The organization received 907 applications, "in an unprecedented involvement from across the country".
Reacting to this nomination, the Chamber of Odemira explains that the candidacy of Alcôncoras de Amoreiras-Gare in the 7 Wonders of Portugal, in the category of Biscuits and Dry Cakes, is the result of a partnership between the Municipality, the ADA – Local Development Association of Amoreiras-Gare and the Parish Council of S. Martinho das Amoreiras.
“The three entities have been cooperating in a sustainable development strategy that aims to safeguard, dynamize and promote local culture”, adds the municipality.
Participation in the 7 Maravilhas Doces de Portugal aims to «promote this regional sweet and the territory where it is made, as well as contribute to a process leading to the registration of this ancient recipe».
The Chamber of Odemira adds that "some historical and literary references associate Alcôncora to the simplicity of rural life in Alentejo and to a time when it was not common to have sweets on the table."
«Amoreiras-Gare assumed its Alconcora, distinct and designed to last, which can preserve its properties for more than three months. There were cakes that were not lacking in the Promise Masts. They rose to thank a sick family member for the betterment or the return of a soldier to his home, after which they were lowered and the Alconcoras distributed to those present. Being still prepared in an artisanal and community way, the intention is to intervene and restructure its production and commercialization model, with the purpose of guaranteeing its sustainability also in the economic plan».
Luis Segadães, president of the 7 Maravilhas, emphasizes that “the Portuguese are greedy for this project and we see this as the voting process progresses. For us, the organization, who have followed the process from the very beginning, it is fascinating to see how the election grows, takes shape and becomes an opportunity for projection and dissemination of sweets and their regions».
"There are hundreds of sweets that have already communicated themselves as candidates for the 7 Wonders and that only see the application as an opportunity to be placed on the map", he adds.
“Our confectionery is very rich and this choice proves it, with the two pillars of the project well represented, both in tradition and in innovation. The role of the specialists is to guarantee the suitability of the process, making a pre-selection of what the Portuguese will vote on. The list of 140 sweets that we unveil on May 7th will be the icing on the cake in this process», said Luis Segadães.
These 140 sweets will be revealed on May 7th, in a live program on RTP, and are voted by the public in 20 daytime programs, also broadcast live by that TV channel, in July and August. From each program on RTP, there is a pre-finalist who goes on to the semi-finals.
A novelty in this edition is the existence of a Grand Jury, a deliberative body made up of 7 figures from the media space, which will be responsible for the recap of 8 candidates who will join the 20 pre-finalists selected by the public, resulting in a list of 28 pre-finalists -finalists.
The 28 pre-finalists are divided by lottery into the two semi-finals, on 24 and 31 August, two programs live on RTP1, broadcast in prime time. In each semifinal, the 7 sweets are selected, those with the most votes counted. At this stage, the 7 elements of the Grand Jury assume great preponderance, commenting and tasting the Sweets.
The Final Gala takes place on September 7th and will be broadcast on the public television channel, in prime time. Of the 14 finalists selected, 7 sweets will be elected by the Portuguese as 7 Wonders of Portugal®.
Click here to see the list of all nominees in the 4 districts of Alentejo (in PDF).
Click here to know the Algarve nominees.
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