Editing Ovos moles

{{Short description|Portuguese confection made of egg yolks and sugar}}
{{Infobox food
| name             = Ovos moles de Aveiro
| image            = Ovos moles.jpg
| caption          = 
| alternate_name   = 
| country          = [[Portugal]]
| region           = [[Aveiro, Portugal|Aveiro]]
| creator          = 
| course           = 
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = [[Egg yolk]]s, [[sugar]]
| variations       = 
| calories         = 
| other            = Certification: [[Protected Geographical Indication|PGI]] (2006)
}}

'''Ovos moles de Aveiro''' (literally, "soft eggs from [[Aveiro, Portugal|Aveiro]]")—sometimes written as '''ovos-moles de Aveiro'''—are a local [[pastry]] [[delicacy]] from [[Aveiro District]], [[Portugal]], made of [[egg yolk]]s and [[sugar]], and sometimes [[chocolate]]. This mixture is then put inside small [[rice paper]] casings or [[wheat flour]] casings similar to [[communion wafer]]s<ref name="CR943" /> shaped into nautical shapes such as shells.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Goldstein|first1=Darra|last2=Mintz|first2=Sidney|title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets|date=April 1, 2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0199313624|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XPNgBwAAQBAJ&dq=Ovos+Moles+de+Aveiro&pg=PT997|accessdate=20 March 2018}}</ref>

In 2008, it was designated a product with [[Protected Geographical Indication]] by the European Union.<ref name="CR943">{{cite web|title=Commission Regulation (EC) N.º 510/2006|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2008:184:0042:0045:EN:PDF|author=European Commission|author-link=European Commission|accessdate=14 December 2012|date=22 July 2008|publisher=Official Journal of the European Union|location=Brussels, Belgium}}</ref>

==History==
Ovos moles are a traditional pastry of the Aveiro region. They trace their origin to the [[nun]]s who lived at various [[convent]]s of the [[Dominican Order|Dominican]], [[Franciscans|Franciscan]], and [[Carmelites|Carmelite]] orders present in the area until the early 20th century—particularly the {{interlanguage link|Mosteiro de Jesus|pt}} (Monastery of Jesus). According to popular legend, the nuns used [[egg white]]s to clean their [[religious habit|habits]], while they used the yolks to make sweets so as not to waste them, and in order to raise money for their religious communities. When the [[First Portuguese Republic]] [[History of Portugal#Religion|suppressed the convents]] in 1910, the nuns transferred their artisanal knowledge to educated upper-class women. Ovos moles grew in popularity when women wearing traditional Aveiro [[costume]] started selling them at the Aveiro train station on the [[Lisbon]]–[[Porto]] line.

==Preparation==
In order to make the egg yolk and sugar mixture for ovos moles, the yolks are carefully separated from the egg whites and mixed with about half their weight in sugar. The mixture is very smooth and creamy. It is not beat in a circular motion, which would result in undesirable striations, but in a simple back-and-forth or side-to-side motion with a wooden spoon. The mixture is then heated in a [[copper]] pan until the pan's bottom is visible.

The mixture is wrapped in a thin casing made of rice paper or [[wheat flour]] similar to communion wafers. These casings are shaped into various nautical forms such as boats, [[clam]]shells, [[conch]]es, fish, and shells. Sometimes the casings are passed through [[simple syrup]] in order to give them more consistency or turn them opaque.

Shops selling ovos moles usually display them in ceramic bowls or wood barrels painted with {{interlanguage link|moliceiro|pt}} boats and other motifs related to the [[Aveiro Lagoon|Ria de Aveiro]].

===Chocolate ovos moles===
Ovos moles made with 63% cocoa and covered in chocolate are a traditional variation on the pastry. They essentially became extinct during [[World War II]] due to chocolate's scarcity at the time. In December 2015 the Associação de Produtores de Ovos-Moles de Aveiro (Association of Producers of Aveiro Ovos-Moles) decided to reintroduce chocolate ovos moles and create a standard recipe for them.<ref name="filipe">{{cite web |last1=Filipe |first1=Salomé |title=Ovos-moles de chocolate estão de volta |url=https://www.jn.pt/local/noticias/aveiro/aveiro/teaser2-4927045.html?id=4927045 |publisher=Jornal de Noticias |accessdate=28 October 2020 |language=pt |date=13 December 2015}}</ref> In [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], chocolate ovos moles are called '''''ovos moles de chocolate''''' or '''''ovos moles pretos''''' (literally, black soft eggs).<ref name="filipe"/>

==See also==
* [[List of Portugal food and drink products with protected status#Confectionery|List of Portugal confectionery products with protected status]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Portuguese cuisine}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ovos moles}}
[[Category:Aveiro District]]
[[Category:Portuguese desserts]]
[[Category:Portuguese egg dishes]]
[[Category:Portuguese products with protected designation of origin]]