Charcoal

Charcoal for ordinary uses is obtained by the incomplete combustion of wood. Pits are dug in the ground and a few logs or pieces of wood are thrown in and set alight. As fresh logs are laid on top of the first so as to fill the pit, the combustion soon spreads, and a great quantity of smoke then pours from every part of the stack. When the charcoal burner judges the operation complete, he covers everything with branches, brushwood and earth; the charcoal is later taken from the pit and carried in sacks to the villages. Some charcoal burners pour a little water on the charcoal before covering the pit with earth. In certain parts of the island it is not the custom to dig pits, but the other stages of charcoal-making follow the process already described. The method with chimneys in the centre of the stack, used in Portugal, is unknown in Madeira.

Heathers produce the best charcoal, but it is also made from the wood of uveiras, laurels and other species.