Food prices in Madeira aren’t cheap, but neither are they expensive if you shop a little strategically and cook local. If you’re into fresh seafood, tropical fruit and pastries, then you’re getting incredible value-for-money. As it should be – these are what Madeira’s famous for.
Groceries shouldn’t be a race to the bottom on price at the expense of flavour and freshness. The cost of typical meals we have at home per person:
€1 breakfast – fruit, yoghurt and granola with a glass of juice.
€2 lunch – a platter of cheeses, meats, salad and bread with beer.
€4 dinner – seafood, greens and sautéed potatoes with wine.
These prices are rounded up to nice numbers because everyone needs wiggle room for snacks.
We’re not talking about cooking on a shoestring budget and nor is it fancy – the wine is way down in the €2–3 range but we don’t skimp too much on the seafood. And, with Alfie being a teenager, don’t think this budget includes a kid’s portion – he eats more than us two.
So a week of self-catering costs about €50 per person – about the same as 1 day of no-frills eating out.
Nothing is frozen, it’s all fresh. What we love to eat and how we like it cooked aligns perfectly with the local produce. And that’s no accident – it’s a big part of why we’re here. Seafood and salads, bread and wine, charcuterie and cheese … simple, easy to cook, delicious and filling. Also economical – this is local produce that Madeirans are eating, so the prices are good.
My top recommendations
There are many ingredients to unearth in Madeira. Here are some of my everyday affordable and easy-to-handle favourites for quick and delicious self-catering:
Polvo – Octopus in Madeira is affordable, plentiful and my personal favourite. For a simple meal, buy pre-cooked octopus, fry it up with sautéed potatoes and shredded kale, and serve it with plenty of olive oil, salt, lemon and red pepper you’ve been quick-pickling in vinegar.
Couve Portuguesa – Portuguese kale is nuttier and sweeter than the mustard pepperiness of curly kale. Get it finely shredded and add it to anything for a healthy kick of deliciousness! It’s a particularly tasty way to bulk out soups.
Anona – For me, custard apples are the jewel in Madeira’s already imperious fruit crown. The creamy custard texture of the flesh has a complex taste that delights by never staying still on a flavour spectrum somewhere between tangy pineapple and velvet vanilla.
Camarão – Whole prawns, raw, shell-on and unfrozen. Get size 30/50s – a size grading that indicates how many prawns per kilo. Smaller ones are absolutely fine but not ideal for tearing into and the shells aren’t enough to pack flavour into a bisque. Meanwhile, larger prawns are really for barbecuing/ grilling and carrying punchy flavours.
Porcu entremeada – this cut of pork belly is lean meat interspersed with fat that’s great in slow-cooked dishes to render and release that fat. You get gaminess from the caramelised lean layers and the buttery richness of the lard.
