Eating Furnas Stew

Have you ever wanted to eat stew that was cooked in a volcano hole? Ya, me neither until planning a family vacation to São Miguel Island, my ancestral homeland,  I came across a Youtube video of some guys pulling pots of stew out of the ground at Furnas. I just had to see this for myself and get a photo, and I did.

On the island of São Miguel, 50 km from Ponta Delgada you will find the town of Furnas. Furnas is a civil parish in the municipality of Povoação, with a population of about 1,500. Here you will find steam bubbling out from the ground in various places. To me, it looked like we were on the surface of the moon. Areas where there is raw steam escaping from beneath the surface of the earth are marked for your safety, although there have been tourists who ventured beyond the markings and have been scalded. Common sense should prevail here. Walking around in the town you could see and feel the steam coming out of grates in the road. There were grain bags of corn cooking in the volcanic steam that you could buy to eat for a snack.

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Reg Smith is a Lifestyle & Portrait Photographer in Prince Edward County, Ontario.

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Steam escaping from the earth in Furnas

But what I came to see was the Furnas Stew, or Cozido das Furnas, which has been made here for hundreds of years. ​The word "cozido" simply means cooked or baked. The Stew is cooked underground with geothermal energy. Everyone has their own recipe. Different restaurants cook their stew in different holes in the ground, with a sign on the hole to know which stew goes to which restaurant. The restaurant workers are up around 4 AM to get the stew ready and place it in the ground. There are 2 pots, one for the meat, one for the vegetables. The lid of the pot is not completely sealed but held with a cloth. This is because there is no water added to the pot, the volcanic steam is what gives moisture to the dish. It also adds a slightly smokey flavour to it.

The Cozido das Furnas is pulled out of the ground around noon, so if you want some you have to get to the restaurant by noon. Our tour guide got us to the place the stew is pulled out of the ground in time to see it come out, and then to the restaurant in time to try some. We went to the Miroma Restaurant in Furnas to try it. I'm not a food critic, so when I tell my friends it tasted a little like volcano, they say sorry, I really don't know how volcano tastes, but that's how I describe it. The meat just kind of melts in your mouth and has a bit of a smokey flavour. There was beef, pork, chicken, and blood sausage in the stew we had, although like I say, everyone has their own recipe.

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Short clip of corn cooking

Clip of steam coming up through mud

Clip of workers taking the stew out

Nearby to where the Cozido das Furnas is cooked in the ground is the hot baths. I only found out after I got home that these are considered to be the fountain of youth. I never did find out the legend of the mermaid at Furnas Lake. I'm sure there must be one. If I find out I will update this blog.