LISBON - Salt cod has long been a national staple in Portugal, where it is said there are as many recipes for this humble fish as there are days in the year.
And at Christmas the dried and salted fish is central to meals at family gatherings in Portugal, the world's biggest consumer of "bacalhau" as it is called here, just as turkey is at Thanksgiving in the United States.
The most traditional way to prepare salt cod is to bake it in the oven and serve it with boiled potatoes.
But it can also be grilled, turned into fritters or even used to replace meat in a lasagna.
Portugal consumed nearly 55,000 tonnes of salt cod last year, an average of around six kilos (13 pounds) per inhabitant, according to the Cod Industry Association (AIB).
Roughly one-third of cod sales happen around Christmas, according to the group.
Supermarkets across the country of around 10 million people prominently display hundreds of salt-encrusted cod piled high.
The central role of cod in the country's cuisine is surprising since the fish, which thrives in deep icy waters such as those around the North Atlantic, has never existed in Portuguese seas.
Introduced to the country in the 16th century, salt cod represented a nutritious and non-perishable food source for Portuguese sailors on their long sea expeditions to the Americas and Asia.
At first this fish was a food exclusive to the aristocracy but it gradually became popular as well among lower classes as supply increased, bringing down prices.
Salt cod started being regarded as "the meat of the poor". It is also referred to as "o fiel amigo" or "the faithful friend".