Gastronomy of northern Portugal: Between heritage, identity, and reinvention

This article offers a critical theoretical review of Northern Portuguese cuisine, examining it as a field where memory, identity, and heritage intersect with processes of adaptation and reinvention. Beyond descriptive accounts of “traditional dishes,” the review engages international debates on intangible cultural heritage, authenticity, and food politics to situate Portugal within a broader analytical framework. The findings show that authenticity is not a fixed essence, but a relational performance negotiated between communities, institutions, and markets. Practices such as caldo verde , cozido à portuguesa , papas de sarrabulho , and alheira de Mirandela illustrate how tradition is continuously reinterpreted, while conventual sweets reveal that heritagization can reinforce asymmetries of recognition and economic benefits. The analysis further demonstrates that ‘gastronationalism’ and ‘gastronativism’ operate simultaneously, projecting some practices as representative while sidelining others, thereby reshaping perceptions of internal diversity. The article contributes theoretically by proposing heritagization as situated process legitimation, structured around three interrelated dimensions: (1) lived memory, rooted in everyday practices; (2) adaptive innovation, which ensures vitality; and (3) community participation, which guarantees cultural legitimacy. By articulating these dimensions, Portuguese gastronomy is positioned within global discussions on food heritage, where cases such as the Japanese washoku and the Swedish fika illustrate both the opportunities and risks of institutionalized heritage preservation. Ultimately, gastronomy emerges not only as food production or a tourist attraction, but as a social language that organizes experiences, conveys collective memories, and sustains cultural identities while also shaping possible futures. • Traditional food practices are living repertoires that are constantly being updated. • Tradition and innovation coexist in the contemporary reinvention of regional gastronomy. • Food acts as a mediator between the body, memory, territory and identity. • Cultural policies must recognize the plurality of culinary methods.