We have a strong tradition of vegetable preserves, sweet, salted, in vinegar or natural: of broccoli and pepper candied in vinegar, mushrooms in brine, tomato sauces and candied whole tomatoes, sweets made with one or various fruits or vegetables.
The return to agri-food traditions continues to grow. Traditional home-made preserves are not only found on farmers’ stalls, but new enthusiasts and brand-new developers are appearing all over the place.
Some small industries are growing and becoming big, while maintaining their artisanal quality. Others are improving their technology to reduce product handling to a minimum and keep it as close as possible to its intrinsic nature.
In other cases, the preserves are not designed to be opened and eaten, but as the basic ingredients of the cuisine, to save the long process of frying the onions, garlic and tomatoes for a “sofregit” or making a broth for a rice or a stew or to have a seasoning to enhance the flavour or as a dip. Sometimes a new use is given to a traditional sauce. Some have already presented a traditional stew, a preview of the fifth range.
Preserves with the 2018-2019 Girona Excel·lent seal
Bitter orange marmalade
The raw material for this product is the bitter orange, but the marmalade itself is not bitter. The queen of preserves, made by slowly cooking this citrus fruit, is part of the Can Bech range, products that can be found in gourmet stores and chains in over twenty countries. The amount of sugar added is just what is necessary, as the fruit is harvested at the optimum point of ripeness.
Green plum jam
There are endless ways to preserve summer plums, whether green, yellow, red or purple: dried, in alcohol or in syrup. At Can Bech traditional green plum jam is made only with natural ingredients: green plums, sugar, lemon juice and pectin. Brownish-green, this jam is sharp, sweet and fresh.
Fig jam
Figs are the great specialty of a company that began operations in 1981 in the restaurant that the Bech family opened in Fontanilles, in the Baix Empordà. Fig jam is a traditional favourite in the cuisine of the Girona region. It is an indispensable ingredient in some well-known desserts in the Empordà area, such as recuit de drap with figs.
Rhubarb jam
Can Maia is a small farm in La Cot, Santa Pau, where preserves are made only with fruit and vegetables grown organically in the fields owned or leased by the farm. This jam is made with rhubarb stalks from a small plantation they have next to Can Maia.
Extra roasted pepper jam
Can Tuies, in El Far d’Empordà, became a small craft jam maker in 2011, when Carme Díaz started making jam under the El Rebost de l’Empordanet brand. Made from peppers that have been roasted very slowly, this jam contains the essence of Mediterranean flavours, herbes de Provence and vermouth.
Candied figs in syrup
Whole figs in syrup are as old as Can Bech and today they are still the company’s star product. The raw material comes from plantations in Murcia, cultivated exclusively for the Bech family. The figs are selected according to their size and are cooked in three stages to obtain delicious fleshy candied fruit.
Rose petal jelly
This fresh, aromatic jelly is designed to be paired with sweet or savoury dishes. It is made with water, lemon juice, raspberries and rose petals. It is a jellified infusion of natural rose petals with sugar, the brainchild of Gerard Bech, son of the founder of this family-owned company in Fontanilles, in the Baix Empordà.
Quim Matas onion sofrito
Onion sofrito is one of the foundations of traditional Catalan cuisine, especially in L’Empordà. Quim Matas, butcher and delicatessen owner in La Bisbal since 1977, makes it with Figueres onion and olive oil, a twelve-hour process that requires great patience. This product helps to reduce the time needed to prepare traditional dishes in the home.
Category: Vegetable preserves (not sweet)
Producer: Carnisseria i Xarcuteria Quim Matas
Anela Fruits – apple and pear
Anela’s apple and pear purée is made without additives, preservatives, artificial colouring or extra sugar. The Williams, Conference and Abate pears and the Golden Delicious and Gala apples come from their own plantations, in L’Empordà, El Gironès and La Selva. The business dates back more than 40 years and has now been taken over by the founders’ children.
Escalivada a la brasa
The second generation at Can Bech presents escalivada made with red pepper, white aubergine and fresh onion. Roasted just long enough to ensure they are tender, the vegetables are then peeled by hand. Vegan avant la lettre, escalivada is one of the great traditional dishes in Catalan cuisine, eaten cold, hot or warm, alone or as a garnish.
Calçot sauce
Can Moragues, in Riudarenes, a social project run by the Emys Foundation, dedicated to the conservation of nature, provides the ingredients and recipes, and the Astres Foundation, dedicated to the integration of people at risk of exclusion, work together to make preserves and sauces, one of the finest being their calçot sauce, made with tomato, nyora peppers, toasted almonds and garlic.
Gelatina d’allioli
The third generation at Carnisseria Pelai, which has been in Sant Climent Sescebes since 1933, has chosen to innovate and modernise the business. As part of a joint project with the Gremi de Carnissers i Xarcuters and the Aioli Fair in Creixell, they developed this sheet of aioli, which is about three millimetres thick and is made from gelatine. With its aroma of garlic, this product is ideal for accompanying meat, fish and vegetables.
Fumet de peix Pescadors de Roses
This fish stock, obtained from cooking vegetables and fish of little commercial value, is an illustration of how fish from the Costa Brava can be used sustainably to full advantage, adding value to the product. These objectives were the inspiration for Pescadors de Roses Planta d’Envasat, a company created by Confraria de Pescadors de Roses and Peixos Gotanegra SL.
Category: Unique specialities, preserves
Producer: Pescadors de Roses Planta Envasat, SL
Sofrito with Palamós prawn and crab
Toni Izquierdo is owner and chef of the Mas dels Arcs, in Palamós, which features rice-based dishes, so he is well aware of the importance of a good sofrito. He has devised a trio of sofritos from L’Empordà, the first of which features the marine flavours of prawn and crab, ideal in combination with prawns from Palamós, Pals rice and other local products.
Category: Unique specialities, preserves
Producer: Antoni Izquierdo Cruellas
Escata
A modern version of the Greek and Roman liquamen or garum, Escata is an anchovy derivative slightly thickened to give it the texture of sauce. It has been developed by Gastro Ventures, a company formed by a chef, a scientist and an economist, dedicated to the conceptualisation, design, production and marketing of gastronomic products.
Colatura Selecció de Primavera
The liquid produced during the ancestral process of making anchovies, once the impurities are removed, is the basis of this new product from Callol Serrats. Colatura Selecció de Primavera has absorbed the essence of the anchovy and has become a marine condiment and flavour enhancer which is ideal for cooking. It has much in common with the liquamen and garum of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Categoria: Unique specialities, preserves
Producer: Filll de J. Callol i Serrats, SL
Jo Pasturo – chicken thighs with yellow foot mushrooms
During the struggle to revive an old abandoned farmhouse, with local resources and applying sustainable management, the Jo Pasturo line of preserves was born. Using its own organically raised chickens, the farm has developed this traditional recipe of chicken with yellow foot mushrooms. The product can be stored for 18 months in the kitchen cabinet.
Category: Unique specialities, preserves
Producer: Faustina de Solà-Morales Capdevila, SL
The preserve
tasting jury.
Fina Puigdevall
Chef at restaurant Les Cols, Olot
Jaume Fàbrega
Writer and gastronomic historian
Salvador Jordà
Chef and owner of Empòrium restaurant, Castelló d’Empúries
Manel Romero
Teacher at the Girona School of Hotel Management and Tourism
Tati Quera
Owner of the boutique Petit Paradís, Girona
