aria's Portuguese Table" season two has been provided by Rhode Island PBS Foundation.

Rhode Island PBS, engaging viewers of all ages since 1967.

"Maria's Portuguese Table" is made possible by the generous sponsorship of BayCoast Bank, providing services and financial solutions for the people and businesses of Southern New England since 1851.

(happy upbeat music) Underwriting for "Maria's Portuguese Table" season two has been provided by.

(happy upbeat music) - [Maria] Today on "Maria's Portuguese Table", we visit the island of Sao Jorge, where we visit their world famous cheese factory.

We meet a Dutch couple who have brought their artistic gifts to this island they now call home.

(singing in foreign language) Later, we'll bake the Sao Jorge dessert known as especies.

And visit the only coffee plantation in all of Europe.

- Everything here made by handmade.

- That is incredible.

And maybe, just maybe, learn how to make the very special Holy Ghost soup.

So join us for another adventure on "Maria's Portuguese Table".

(fast upbeat music) (fast upbeat music continues) (fast upbeat music ends) (relaxed upbeat music) Sao Jorge Island is a distinctively long and slender island with tall cliffs and less than 10,000 inhabitants.

Along with Faial and Pico, Sao Jorge is often referred to as being part of the triangle in the central islands.

The pace of life on Sao Jorge feels very different, slow, but in a good way.

It is far from the hustle and bustle of even Ponta Delgada, where the only traffic jams are when you get caught behind a herd of cows moving from one pasture to another.

(cows mooing) For centuries, wine and grapes where big exports from the island.

But for the last 100 years or so, the island of Sao Jorge has been known for one thing and one thing only, and that's thanks to all those cows.

It's their cheese.

(lighthearted music) I arrive at the cheese cooperative just in time to see the last of the local farmers delivering their milk to the factory.

Each batch must first pass a quality check.

(playful upbeat music) Then it begins its journey towards becoming cheese.

My host Lena, has been very kind enough to give me a tour of the inside.

And we must wear protective outfits so our germs don't mess up the process.

Oh, the curds.

It's a grand scale of making this amazing cheese.

I'm just like the vats.

It's beautiful.

Some salt and rennet are added to the milk and slowly churned for about six hours.

Followed by two days of being pressed into the molds.

After the first day it is taken out and smoothed before being put back for the second day.

They do this so quickly.

- Yeah.

- I mean, they, it's like a dance.

And so we go from, it goes into the press- - And come here.

- And then it comes here.

And here it is.

The most beautiful site for anyone who loves cheese is this enormous room filled with wheels of cheese.

Okay, so it's here for one month.

- One month.

- And every day the cheese gets flipped because in here is where it is drying out.

And what is that like?

(Lena speaking in foreign language) So you do this paraffin-like, it's not paraffin.

- No.

- But it's a process to protect the cheese so that nothing else gets in it.

- Exactly.

- It's very labor intensive.

- [Lena] Yes.

- So this is the way that it's been done for how many years?

(Lena speaking in foreign language) More than 500 years.

I love it.

(light upbeat music) - [Maria] What Lena was about to show me next, I loved even more.

- Now you're going to see a lot of cheese.

- A lot of cheese.

- A lot of cheese.

- Wow!

There should be music, when you open it, that will go ah!

- Ta-da!

(both laughing) (angelic music) - Wow!

(Lena speaking in foreign language) - [Maria] You have 25,000 wheels of cheese?

- In this room.

They gonna stay here until we have orders to sell.

- [Maria] So we have here three months.

- 3, 7.

- 7.

- 12.

24.

- 12.

24, 36.

- [Lena] Yes.

Cheese turned 15 in 15 days, with a machine, yes.

- [Maria] So it never stays all that time- - [Lena] In this position.

- [Maria] One side needs to breathe, then flip.

- Yes.

- And then breathe again.

- Yes.

- It's breathing.

- Yeah.

- In the final steps of the process to get the cheese ready to ship the protective white coating is removed by hand.

They make it look so easy.

- But it's not easy.

- It's not easy.

- It's very hard.

- [Maria] And that is all they do all day.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

Then a machine is used to cut the wheels into slices which are then checked for quality control and weighed before being repackaged for delivery.

On average, the equivalent of 100,000 wheels of cheese will come out of this one facility per year, and distributed across the world for all to enjoy.

That evening at a local restaurant I was able to taste the luxurious cheese that results from all that hard work.

(people chattering) Incredible.

Just incredible.

It's just the right texture.

It's smooth, it's creamy, buttery.

Have to try it.

(peaceful music) The next morning on the island of Sao Jorge, my journey took a wonderful turn as so often happens here.

I met a Dutch couple, Pieter and Rini, who illustrate just how easy it is to fall in love with this place, even if you arrive here by accident.

Pieter is an artist, but also a sailor who 20 years ago had his boat break during a journey in the Atlantic Ocean.

- [Pieter] Was, I couldn't go against the wind, and the predominant winds are from the American continent.

So I had to turn back and it took me five days to get close to Horta, and there I landed.

But I never had the intention to, so it's like an act of faith.

- And I flew in with SATA.

- Oh.

- [Rini] And the minute we landed, I got out it was the beginning of June, I thought, this is paradise.

(lighthearted music) - [Maria] At first they bought a home with the intention of using it just for a vacation or a few weeks a year.

But as time passed, Pieter and Rini realized that home was right here in Sao Jorge.

- [Pieter] We certainly didn't have the plan to be here permanently, but over the years, here I got as an artist more and more inspired, the more, the longer we stayed here.

- This special magical islands, aren't they?

- Yep.

- I mean, that's how I feel.

- Yep.

You can feel the power.

- You can!

- So inspiring.

- It really is.

Speaking of inspiring, I'm not sure I've met another couple with such a combined array of talents.

- And this is my Ratillou and children- (Maria laughs) Children, when they see this one, they go, "Oh wow."

- So do you entertain the children?

- Yes.

Yes.

- You go to schools?

- Yeah, I go to schools, Pico and here.

- [Maria] Not only does Rini perform puppet shows at local schools she is an artist who uses silk as her canvas.

- I buy white silk scarf, and I put them on a, I stretch them, and then I paint them.

- [Maria] And then there is Pieter.

He is a sailor, author, scientist, professor, musician, business owner, and an artist.

The cafe they own here is essentially an art gallery for Pieter's work.

And I was in awe of the passion, sadness, and pride it evokes.

But today, Pieter faces his toughest creative challenge, doing a portrait of me.

- Give me your girlish.

- My girlish, my girlish look.

(Pieter laughing) - Okay, okay so.

And you have your hands here.

- You know, I forget how old I am sometimes.

- Yeah, luckily you do.

You know, in every old person there's a young person wondering what the hell happened?

- What the hell happened?

(laughs) (lighthearted music) - You've made me young.

- Yeah.

- No wrinkles.

- No wrinkle, no I always say to the ladies wrinkles are more expensive.

(Maria laughs) They're details, and if you want them, I can do them.

- No, no, no.

- You have to pay for it.

- No, no, no, no.

- That's all you're gonna get from me.

- [Maria] Oh my goodness.

Oh my goodness.

(Pieter laughs) Is that me?

It looks like a young me.

- Yeah, it's a young you.

- A very young me.

I love you.

(both laughing) - I told that thing- - Yeah you absolutely flattered me because this, I have not looked like this in a very long time.

- Okay, but it's still there.

- It's still there!

(Pieter laughs) Gosh darnit, it's still in there.

Oh, I love it.

Besides being an accomplished artist did I mention he's a musician?

And before I was allowed to leave the Cafe Manezinho, turns into a concert for one.

(guitar playing) (Pieter singing in foreign language) (fast guitar music) (fast guitar music continues) (Pieter singing in foreign language) (Pieter singing in foreign language continues) (Pieter singing in foreign language continues) (fast guitar music ends) - Love it!

That's awesome!

(Pieter laughs) Oh my God.

That's awesome.

- I love this.

- This has been so special.

It really beyond special.

- Okay, okay.

We'll be seeing each other.

- Oh, we'll be seeing each other again.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

- Cheers, cheers.

- Cheers, cheers, cheers.

What I love about traveling through the Azores is that there are delicacies that are unique to each island.

For Sao Jorge, of course, it's the cheese.

But Sao Jorge is also known for a tasty dessert known as especies.

And I travel to the other side of the island to Topo, to learn how to make them.

- Hello?

- Hello!

(both speaking in foreign language) Are you Maria Fatima?

- Yes, I am.

- I'm Maria Lawton, I'm so happy that I'm here to meet with you.

(Maria kissing) Yes, who taught you how to make this?

- Well, I started about when I was 12 years old, and my mom already knew a little of this, she taught me too.

And I remember my mom went to work and sometimes I wanted to surprise her, and I made it by myself.

And my mom got home and she said, "Wow, how sweet!"

And I was, I didn't make it too good.

(both laughing) - But you tried.

- Yeah I tried.

(light upbeat music) - Fast forward 24 years, and Maria Fatima's skills have improved so much that she has one of the most famous bakeries in all of Sao Jorge.

So where do we start?

- With the filling.

- The filling.

- Filling.

- The key to making especies all starts with a spiced filling, which is made from sugar, butter, cinnamon, anise, and finally ground breadcrumbs.

- [Maria Fatima] You, like this.

You have to work that, like this.

(Maria laughs) - Okay, can I press on that?

- Yeah.

- Open it?

- A little bit.

(Maria laughs) - Have to stop, have to- (Maria Fatima laughs) - I screwed it up!

I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

All right.

- That's okay.

- I failed, my first thing I failed already.

- It's okay.

- All right.

Okay, that's Maria's screw up, right over here.

(both laughing) Moving on, dough for the especies is made with butter, lard, water, flour, and salt.

A simple dough lets the flavor of the spiced filling shine through.

How thin do I need to make this?

All right, let's do this.

- Let's do it.

- Let's go to the machine.

In grandma's kitchen, this dough would've been rolled thin with a rolling pin, very labor intensive and very repetitive.

But here at the bakery we have the benefit of modern machinery.

Look at that stretch!

Oh my goodness, it's almost like a pasta machine.

- [Maria Fatima] Yeah.

- [Maria] When you stretch out the dough for pasta.

- [Maria Fatima] Uh-huh.

- Look how beautiful!

- [Maria Fatima] Usually, we usually cut it over here.

- [Maria] Okay.

Once the dough has been pressed paper thin, it is laid out on the table and cut into strips with a special tool.

- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

- [Maria] With the dough cut into appropriate strips, the rolls of spiced filling are placed on the dough and wrapped.

Oh, so you line it up on top of where you cut.

- Yeah.

- Okay.

- [Maria Fatima] We go.

- Oh!

Look at that.

(light upbeat music) Maria Fatima does this with ease from years of experience and makes each one look just as beautiful.

And then a nice wreath.

- Yeah.

- [Maria] It's like little pieces of art, isn't it?

- [Maria Fatima] Our favorite art.

- I am not too sure if mine will look the same.

Okay, so I'll make seven.

- You're gonna do seven.

Yeah.

- So.

1, 2, 3- - Wait!

- Oh, too many!

Too much?

- No, it's too, you have to- - Oh, closer.

- Make one more here.

- One more here.

So 1, 2, 3- - 2, 3.

- 4, 5, 6, and then 7.

Oh that's so, all messed up.

- It's gonna be okay.

- Over here?

- Yeah.

- And then go down?

- [Maria Fatima] Mm-hmm.

- Even with all the years I've been baking every time you learn a new recipe there is a learning curve.

I can do that, right?

- Yeah, put, a little bit, yeah.

- A little bit more at the end.

So like that, correct?

- Yeah.

- [Maria] Okay.

With a bit of practice, I'm able to help Maria Fatima fill a tray full and ready for baking.

The especies will spend about 20 minutes in the oven, and what comes out is a treat uniquely Sao Jorge.

Here it is.

- Here it is.

- 20 minutes later.

- Yeah.

- Oh, these look beautiful, don't they?

Okay, I'm gonna go for it.

- Yes, you have to see if it's good or not.

(lighthearted music) - It's crunchy.

- Anise?

- Yes, but not over.

Not over powerful.

- No, no.

- I've tried some that it was too strong.

- Too strong?

- But this is perfect.

- I'm very happy that you guys came.

- I think this is the best especies I've ever had.

- Of Sao Jorge.

(laughs) - This is the best one I've ever had.

- The best one?

- Honest to goodness.

- I'm glad.

- It is the best one.

- After enjoying my time with Maria Fatima, I was back on the road.

(light upbeat music) And I realized that Sao Jorge boasts some of the most stunning vistas in all of the Azores.

Another feature are the Fajas.

They are deltas of land down near their ocean with the beating waves on one side and looming cliffs on the other.

I visited Faja dos Vimes home to the one and only commercial coffee plantation in all of Europe.

Cafe Nunes is a family run farm that slopes gently up the cliff side.

Dina Nunes takes me out into the field to get up close and personal with the coffee plants.

This is not just coffee, because of course I see all the coffee beans.

I see coffee beans everywhere.

- Yeah, exactly, so we have banana trees we have orange, loquats, figs, passion fruits.

- Nice.

- So it's a little bit everything what we can.

- [Maria] When it comes to the coffee itself, the beans are very unique - Type of plants what we have, it's exclusive Arabica species.

- So there's only one kind of coffee bean that's grown here.

- Yes exactly.

We don't have any other one.

The quantity what we have is so small here.

We don't export.

We don't serve any other places.

- So if you want to try the only coffee in all of Europe, you need to come to not only the island of Sao Jorge, but you need to come to- - Faja dos Vimes, Cafe Nunes.

- There you go.

- You would like to see how to roast the coffee?

- I would love to see how coffee is roasted.

- [Dina] So we go to the kitchen to see how it is made.

- [Maria] Perfect.

(lighthearted music) - There you go my mom's there.

- Hola.

Hola.

Good to meet you.

- Alzira.

- Good to meet, so we're roasting coffee.

It smells delicious.

- You see, you have this green coffee here, it's how we start.

- So this is how when you harvest- - Exactly, clean.

- This is what you get.

- Yeah, exactly.

- And you take out the shell.

- Exactly.

- This is what you get the inside of it.

- Exactly.

- Perfect.

- So what we do next?

This is... - [Maria] Oh, how beautiful.

- This is how it's gonna be- - And this is how you make everything.

- Exactly.

- It's not one big machine.

It is your mom, or you, or your dad, or brother.

- My brother.

- [Maria] Roasting it by hand.

Oh my goodness.

- Exactly.

Everything here being made by handmade.

- [Maria] That is incredible.

Okay, I was ready to taste this unique coffee and then we head into the cafe.

(machine grinding) Nice.

(happy lighthearted music) (coffee machine whirs) - Oh yeah.

(cups clinking) (happy lighthearted music) - That's so good!

- Did you like it?

- Oh my God, that's so good.

Okay.

This is so smooth.

- Yeah.

Did you know this coffee, it's more fruity and flower taste.

- Interesting.

- Because with the quantity of plants, what we have around makes a lot of influence in the taste of the coffee.

- Because you have, like you said, you have papayas, you have loquats, you have- - Figs.

- Figs!

You have all of that, oranges.

- Orange.

- So that just like when you make wine, depending on what is planted around the grapes, it goes into the earth and the grape produces this amazing stuff, it's the same with coffee.

- Exactly.

It's exactly the same thing.

- So now how am I gonna have more of this coffee when I go back to the United States?

- Well, you need to come here.

- I need to come back to Sao Jorge.

- Exactly.

- Ah.

(Dina laughs) Then I guess I need to do that more often, don't I?

(both laughing) This is great.

Thank you.

- You're welcome.

- [Maria] If you saw the last episode, you know that when I knew I would be visiting the central islands, I made it my goal to find a place to try the traditional Holy Ghost soup.

This is the crown meal associated with the Holy Ghost feast that is celebrated throughout the Azorian Islands and in North America as well.

Little did I know that finally right in the same town as Cafe Nunes in the Faja dos Vimes, I would find a group of locals making this traditional soup.

And I was invited to join them.

Jose?

Hello.

How are you?

So good to see you.

- Nice to see you.

(Maria kissing) - I am on a mission.

- Yes.

- I have been on a mission to find someone to make a Holy Ghost soup!

- So let me tell you something, you came to the right place.

- I came to the right place!

- (laughs) Yeah.

(lighthearted music) - Hi.

- Hi!

- Hi, Leslie.

- Hi.

- Hi, how are you?

Let me introduce you to Maria.

- Good.

- Hi Maria.

- Hello Leslie.

Leslie is kind enough to reveal the secrets that lay within this beautiful pot of soup.

So Leslie I get so many people that send me messages all the time and going, "I remember going to a Faja, I remember having the sopas, do you know how to make the sopas?"

Because it's made a little different everywhere.

- Yeah, even in our island.

It's always different.

- All right.

So what we're showing here is a specialty of here.

- Yes, our (speaking in foreign language).

- Love it.

- Okay, so right here, we have the big panela.

- Okay.

Beautiful.

(both laughing) - What we do is we put the meat cooking by itself first.

For like almost an hour without any salt, anything.

- Meat with water.

- Yes.

- Okay.

- And then when it starts boiling, we put chopped onions, garlic.

We put a pinch of salt.

One of the secrets I can tell you just to you.

- Shh.

- We put allspice grained.

- Oh, ground all spice.

- All spice, yeah.

And we put sticks of cinnamon.

- Ooh, I love- - So that makes, the Portuguese style we always have a little bit of cinnamon.

- Yes we do.

The distinctive feature and the presentation of the soup comes from the use of hard and hearty bread.

No, I can't.

- It's a hard bread.

- It's a hard bread.

- So we can soak the sopas.

- Yes!

- So we can soak them.

- I could see that.

I could definitely see that.

It is cut into pieces, which are placed into a serving bowl.

The soup stock is then poured into this and allowed to sit so that the bread can soak up the liquid.

In their version of the soup, vegetables are cooked in a separate pot using the soup stock and then served in a separate plate.

So is the meat.

Then once the bread has soaked up the stock it's ready for the final steps.

- [Leslie] We always grab like just three pieces of mint.

- Just three leafs.

- Just three or four.

- Oh, see I would do this.

- On top.

Yeah, I would do it too.

- Yeah.

- Because I like mint.

- Yes.

- We grab it, and there's another secret.

- Oh boy.

- 'Cause we use liver.

- Chopped up in small pieces here.

- [Leslie] And just sprinkle it on top.

- Sprinkle liver on top.

I've never seen that with liver before.

Incredible.

- Yes.

- Okay, and just- - And it looks pretty too.

(Leslie laughs) - It does, I mean.

Yeah, I could add a little more.

(light upbeat music) Now with the bowls of the Holy Ghost soup ready, I get to sit down with Leslie's friends, family, and members of the local hall.

Front and center is the Holy Ghost crown on the altar and surrounded by candles.

(people chattering) Okay.

(laughs) All right.

Yes, I am.

Oh, and I want some of the- - Liver.

- The liver there.

Yes, I do.

Oh my God, that looks already delicious.

Just that.

And I know I haven't even put the meat yet in there or anything.

I'm gonna go in with the stock.

(lighthearted music) That is amazing.

- And it's salty.

- It's salty.

I can taste the cinnamon.

I can taste the peppercorn, the garlic, the onion.

(Leslie laughs) It's all there.

- It's explosion.

- It really is!

- And how the bread was so hard.

- And it's like- - And it melts.

- Melts.

- Yeah.

- It just melts.

Okay, so the thing is Leslie, I have looked for the sopas do espirito santo soup, going from island to island looking for it.

And I am so happy that I got to make it here with you.

- Yes, and it was our pleasure to have you with us.

- On the island of Sao Jorge.

- I know.

Thank you so much.

- Thank you.

(Leslie laughs) - I didn't mean to cry, but I meant, I'm sorry.

The island of Sao Jorge is so magical and we couldn't fit it all into one episode.

So guess what?

I'll see you next time still right here in this very special place in the Azores, on "Maria's Portuguese Table".

(water falling) (lighthearted music) (lighthearted music continues) (lighthearted music continues) - [Announcer] Underwriting for "Maria's Portuguese Table" season two has been provided by Rhode Island PBS Foundation.

Rhode Island PBS, engaging viewers of all ages, since 1967.

"Maria's Portuguese Table" is made possible by the generous sponsorship of BayCoast Bank, providing services and financial solutions for the people and businesses of Southern New England since 1851.

(upbeat music) Underwriting for "Maria's Portuguese Table" season two has been provided by.

(upbeat music) (lighthearted music)