In the Portuguese rural world and urban outskirts, close to the houses there is usually a vegetable garden where families grow fresh vegetables for domestic use and also for raising poultry.
In the Algarve the “primores” are an important seasonal element in the relation between the proximity farming and the richness of the family cuisine.
The most frequent leguminous plants, pods grains in all the territory and especially in the south of the country are the bean, the lentil, the pea or ripe peas, the broad bean, the chickpea, among others.
The green leaf vegetables, most used at the table, very rich in nutrients and with low calories are the cabbage, lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli and spinach,…
The chickling vetch, a leguminous plant of the Algarve region, similar to lupin, very nutritious and with an excellent taste should be remembered and valued.
There are lots of fruit each time of the year, in the country, which enable a great nutritional variety and value. The citrus fruits, oranges and mandarins, grapes, prunes, apples and pears, figs, cherries are predominant.
These small scale productive activities are decisive for the human health, sustainability of the territories and the protection of biodiversity.