Semide Nabada — Published Historical Formula with Gaps
The Coimbra Region confirms Semide Nabada as an eggless sweet of turnip, sugar and almonds. The formula below comes from a local publication preserving older aromatics, but it omits the syrup water and does not define the spoonful of musk. This is a critical transcription for study and specialist testing, not a modernised domestic adaptation.
- Yields
- Not stated
- Prep
- 4 days soaking after boiling; other times not stated
- Cook
- Not stated
Ingredients
- 1 kg / 2.2 lb Turnips
- Amount and concentration not stated Salted water for boiling
- Enough to cover; not quantified Cold water for soaking
- 550 g / 19.4 oz Sugar
- Omitted by the source Water for the syrup
- 300 g / 10.6 oz Crushed almonds
- 1 spoonful; capacity, nature and concentration undefined Musk
- 1 teaspoon Rosewater
Method
Peel the turnips, slice them and boil them in salted water. The source publishes no thickness, salt concentration, duration or doneness point.
Transfer the cooked slices to cold water and keep them submerged for four days, changing the water daily. The source states neither room temperature nor refrigeration; apply current food-safety controls in any test.
Cook 550 grams / 19.4 ounces of sugar to thread stage. The publication does not state how much water to add, so this instruction is not reproducible without an additional documented protocol.
Add the drained turnips and 300 grams / 10.6 ounces of crushed almonds to the syrup.
The publication directs the cook to add one spoonful of musk and one teaspoon of rosewater. Do not use musk without identifying a legal, food-safe preparation of known concentration; the historical wording does not define a modern ingredient.
Boil for a few minutes. The source defines neither duration, temperature, endpoint nor cooling method.
Transfer to bowls only after establishing a safe cooling and storage protocol. The historical source does not publish those conditions.
Sources for this recipe
The quantities and method were checked against the references below. Family recipes may vary; where no single official formula exists, we present a representative practical version and say so plainly.
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