The story of Alheira de Mirandela's origin

The term "alien sausage" originated in the 16th century when Jews in Spain used it to trick the Spanish Inquisition during the reign of Isabella of Castile. Isabella, a devout Catholic, believed that Jews living in the Iberian Peninsula after the conquest of Granada could lead Christians to convert to Judaism. To avoid persecution, these Jews formed communities and pretended to be Christian by imitating their customs, including eating pork, which is forbidden in Judaism but common in Christianity. The Spanish Inquisition used pork as a way to detect Jews, so they created an alternative sausage made from chicken and bread that resembled pork but was not actually pork.

Alheira from Mirandela comes from a Jewish community that lived in the northeastern part of Portugal. They had a strong tradition of making sausages, which became popular due to the arrival of railroads in the 19th century. Mirandela became an important transport hub, and sausages were transported to other parts of Portugal with the phrase "Vieira de Mirandela" on the packaging.

The popularity of Mirandela sausages grew exponentially, leading to the establishment of a trademark and the creation of a protected geographical area in 2016 for products produced in that region. Only products from this region can now be labeled "Alheira de Mirandela".

The food industry in this sector currently employs approximately 700 people and has an annual turnover exceeding 30 million euros. We encourage you to visit our blog for more information on this topic. You can like, comment, and subscribe for regular updates.

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