Amendouro

Upon entering Amendouro's premises, no one will guess how Carlos Araújo's grandfather started the business. “This was always a land of almond trees: he collected almonds here in the region and took them by donkey to Porto”, says the grandson. Yes, on a donkey - at the time, there were no cars or roads that covered the approximately 200 kilometers that separate Alfândega da Fé from Invicta. It was Carlos's father who started to modernize the company: he bought the first almond-breaking machine and, from there, he set up the factory that continues to grow today by the third generation of the family. "The focus, at this moment, is on exports", explains. Amendouro works with national and international raw materials, and among the “more than 200 varieties of traditional almond”, counted by Carlos, there are two that stand out: Refego and Parada. However, Amendouro does not stop at selling almonds. It also produces it, on an almond tree near the factory, processes and transforms it. Always with attention to detail: the peeling, for example, is made with water, a technique that allows preserving more flavor than the steam peeling. The grinding for almond flour is done in stone instead of stainless steel. The reason? Keep as much fat as possible from the fruit. “I saw this in Chile, and I realized that it made a lot of difference in the final product”, reveals Carlos. And to think that it all started with donkeys...