Terceira Vinegar Sweet

Terceira's Doce de Vinagre is a thick, fine-grained spoon dessert made with whole milk, sugar, egg yolks and whites. The small amount of white-wine vinegar is not intended to make the sweet taste vinegary: it curdles the milk and creates the tiny tender grains that define its texture. Aniseed—sometimes joined by fennel seed—scents the cooking liquid, and cinnamon finishes the serving dish or bowls.

After the milk curdles, the mixture cooks slowly with sugar. The eggs are added off the heat, after which the sweet returns to the stove until a spoon drawn across the pan leaves a visible path. It is served cold in small portions because it is concentrated in both sugar and yolks.