Codfish was found by the Vikings, but the Portuguese were the ones that added value to this noble product. Portuguese were fishing Newfoundland's Grand Banks for cod and in 16^th century, the fishermen learned to salt cod at sea to last the long voyage home, and to sun-dry it so that it could last months, later to be soaked in cool water before cooking.

Portuguese have about 365 ways of cooking it, therefore Portugal nowadays needs to import bacalhau from Norway just keep up with the gastronomical tradition. It started of being considered the poor people’s food and today it is a delicacy and is also eaten on special occasions like Christmas Eve and Holy Week.