postas

Postas is a noun used in Portuguese (and in some related Iberian dialects) to denote a portion, slice, or thick piece of food, especially meat or fish. The singular posta refers to one such portion, while the plural postas indicates multiple portions. On menus and in home cooking, phrases like “postas de peixe” or “postas de carne” signal a cut of meat or fish prepared to be cooked by grilling, frying, or roasting. A well-known culinary usage is “posta de bacalhau,” a cod fillet, common in coastal cuisine.

In culinary contexts, postas typically describe fairly thick cuts rather than thin slices. The term is commonly heard in Portugal and Brazil and is frequently associated with traditional dishes where large portions are served as a main element of the plate. The exact thickness and shape of a posta can vary by regional preference and the particular recipe.

Outside of cooking, the word occasionally appears in older or regional texts with broader meanings such as a portion or share, but these usages are less common in contemporary everyday language and are not typical in standard modern Portuguese.

In Spanish, the form posta appears less commonly in modern speech and, when encountered, may appear in historical or regional contexts with meanings related to a portion or stopping place, rather than as a standard culinary term. Contemporary Spanish more often uses terms like trozo or tajada for a slice or cut of food.

See also: fillet, steak, cut of meat.