Jesuits are the members of a scholarly religious congregation of the Catholic Church, which originated in sixteenth-century Spain. But jesuit is also the name of a great pastry that you must try while in Porto!
Jesuits are delicious pastry made with puff-pastry and sugar, filled with egg cream (as most Portuguese pastry is!). Its origins are still a mystery, but it does sound obvious that they are connected to the religious congregation of the Jesuits. Some people say that the pastry was named because of its resemblance with the Jesuit’s clothes. Others say that it was created in the Jesuits monasteries – like most Portuguese pastry, which is deeply connected to religious institutions.
Legend or not, there is information that the jesuit recipe was created by a Spanish pastry cook, who used to work with the Jesuit priests in Bilbao. He moved to Santo Tirso and work for the famous Confeitaria Moura, a company that became very famous for its delicious jesuits! Santo Tirso is located 33 km north of Porto but, luckily for us, Confeitaria Moura just opened a store in Porto downtown!
If you are a foodie and want to learn all about the Portuguese gastronomy, including our wines and pastry, book a Porto Food Tour with us! You will taste and learn all about our delicious food :)
