Cozido…Eating a Meal Cooked in a Hot Spring

Sao Miguel, Azores is one of the most beautiful, friendliest islands we’ve ever been to.  It is located 950 miles from mainland Portugal but it is a completely different world.  The island has a gorgeous coastline, stunning flowers, and perhaps the best seafood I’ve ever tasted. It is the largest island of the Azores but can be viewed in a day or two. It was here we got to experience the best cozido we’ve ever had! 

One of the coolest meals we’ve ever experienced was in Sao Miguel. The island has lots of hot springs so they have created an interesting way to cook your meals.  They take a pot and fill it with delicious, local ingredients, cover it, and place it directly in the ground.  There the food slowly cooks by volcanic steam and after 5-6 hours you get a perfectly cooked meal created by Mother Nature.  It is like an underground crock pot!

This neat experience takes place in the gorgeous town of Furnas, which is about a 45-minute drive from Ponta Delgada, which is both the capital as well as where the main airport is.  As you approach, the first thing you’ll smell is the potent aroma of sulfur.  My girls said it smelled like rotten eggs but you quickly get used to it. 

The location is beautiful…right next to the calm waters of Furnas Lake. All around you people are lowering pots into holes in the ground.  You can get a great view and it’s safe because they rope off areas that are dangerous so you can’t get too close to the holes.  They place stakes with tags on the ground to show who the pot belongs to.  The best thing about this is it is free for people to use.  

Restaurants all over the island come here to cook the famous cozido.  If you time it right you can watch them put the pot in and then meet them later at their restaurant to taste the meal they’ve cooked.  Many restaurants have cozido available but some need to be preordered before that day. 

The ingredients in cozido can be different but many use the same authentic ingredients.  For example, at Tony’s Restaurant, in Furnas, they use potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, kale, carrots, chicken, pork, beef, blood sausage, and spicy sausage.  Other places also include chorizo, pig knuckles, and pig ears.  My daring daughters can now say they’ve eaten pig ears!

It’s an amazing, once in a lifetime treat that I think everyone would enjoy!

 Click here for suggestions on where to eat a great Cozido das Furnas

What memorable food experience do you have from your travels?