Póvoa de Lanhoso Wafer Cigars
Also known as: Póvoa de Lanhoso Wafer Cigars · Simães Charutos
White wafer tubes filled with a dark paste of bread, sugar, cinnamon and lemon.
- Origin
- Simães · Fontarcada · Póvoa de Lanhoso
- Region
- Simães · Póvoa de Lanhoso
- Season
- Year-round; especially festivals and pilgrimages
Charutos da Póvoa de Lanhoso are narrow tubes of white wafer, rolled in several paper-thin turns that leave faint parallel lines on the surface. Their ends remain open and reveal a compact smooth brown filling made with breadcrumbs, sugar, cinnamon and lemon.
Their austere appearance conceals a strong contrast: the wafer is dry, fragile and nearly neutral, while the paste inside is moist, sweet and aromatic. The long shape makes them easy to eat by hand at pilgrimages. They should not be confused with egg-thread-filled Charutos dos Arcos or Arouca's almond charutos.
- wafer sheets
- breadcrumbs
- sugar
- cinnamon
- lemon
- water
Sweet and cinnamon-scented, with lemon freshness, a dense moist filling and a very delicate wafer shell.
Proportions and details of the paste vary among makers. The documented traditional formula retains white wafer and a bread-sugar-cinnamon-lemon filling; almond or egg-thread versions belong to other places.
In Simães and Fontarcada, at the Saint Joseph festivities, the Nossa Senhora de Porto d’Ave pilgrimage and fairs promoted by Póvoa de Lanhoso.
White Vinho Verde, espresso or lemon tea.
Production is associated with Simães in the parish of Fontarcada, and the recipe passes between generations of sweet makers. The Municipality links charutos with local festivals and pilgrimages and began a process in 2025 to protect the name ‘Charutos da Póvoa de Lanhoso’. The speciality continues to appear in official territorial showcases alongside Rochas do Pilar and other pilgrimage sweets.
Sources: povoadelanhoso.pt · ovilaverdense.pt · diariodominho.pt · inpi.justica.gov.pt · cm-terrasdebouro.pt
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