What can we find in our kitchen and where can we find products to prepare Montseny cuisine.
Every product comes from a source... where is it made? and.. where is it grown?, raised or imported?, according to its cuisine and place there are stories that lead us to know part of a very extensive culinary culture, since part of the history, there are the rituals and part of they the fauna and the flora.
In Montseny we find artisan products: cheeses , honey, spirits, sausages, wine or beer. It is also worth noting the presence of forest products: aromatic plants, mushrooms, truffles or chestnuts, around which it was created, and we want to enhance , an economic activity of transformation and production of these products.
The gastronomic offer of Montseny is based on local and quality products, with a good range of possibilities based on traditional dishes, but with the innovations typical of a dynamic sector and rooted in the territory.
There is a wide variety of garden products that are used to prepare seasonal dishes. There are currently good producers, some of whom offer organically produced vegetables. A product to highlight is the crochet bean. This dry legume stands out for its culinary qualities and currently has the recognition of the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). Dishes such as sausage with beans highlight this product.
In autumn we can find a wide variety of dishes that have as a base or as a complement the mushrooms that are in the area: carlets, Rovellons, nightingales, cobblers, syurenys (springs), kingfisher eggs, lenegues, fredolics... are part of dishes in the autumn kitchen, and in some cases preserves are prepared that make it possible to extend the season of their use , basically in stews, rice and other prepared dishes.
The different herds that we still find today in the mountains and that feed on the traditional grazing areas guarantee the obtaining of quality products such as meat and processed products such as cheeses. Thus, at the table we can enjoy a handful of dishes made with lamb, goat or beef: grilled meat , goat chops or traditional dishes – which in some areas are called bandit cuisine – such as meat and green beans, and also the prized veal with mushrooms. Among the cheeses, we should highlight those made by hand with goat's milk.
Another set of products and dishes are all those that come from the slaughter of the pig. This traditional and fundamental activity in most of the Montseny farmhouses and houses, which served to fill the pantry with products that were used throughout the year, is the origin of some products with the importance of the sausages made by hand, such as sausages and whips, cooked sausages such as white, black and egg sausage, black and white bulls, and some of stuffed with mushrooms or pork nose. In this group of dishes we cannot forget pig's feet.
We must also talk about game dishes - which can be very varied -, among which stand out those made with boar meat, such as civet of boar.
If we talk about Montseny products, the reference to chestnuts cannot be missing. This fruit is very precious and is incorporated into gastronomy to give personality to many dishes that use it as a main element or as a condiment. As products used in the kitchen, we can also talk about other fruits of the forest, aromatic plants and honey.
Finally, we must also mention the production of wine and beer: small productions, of good quality and which can serve to accompany the different meals.
We finish this collection with a reference to ratafia, a highly prized liquor in this territory. It is not known whether it is legend or history (attributed to Monsignor Cinto Verdaguer), but it is said that at the Taula dels Tres Bisbes, located where the bishoprics of Barcelona, Vic and Girona meet, after a long meeting, the three bishops went send a monk to ask for a drink at the hostel. The monk brought them a brandy, which they found delicious, and when they asked him the name, he said he didn't have one. While they were looking for a name for such a delicious drink, the secretary - who continued to write the minutes of the meeting - said, speaking for himself, "rat fiat" -which in Latin means "it is ratified"-, and the bishops took the phrase to name this liqueur, ratafia, made with green walnuts and a handful of mountain herbs.
The artisan food products of Gesbisaura are the result of the work, tradition and love of the craft of many families dedicated to the cultivation of these land, livestock breeding and the production of products using traditional methods. With daily effort and constant dedication, artisanal food companies offer a tasty, fresh and quality gastronomic proposal, while generating an identity in the territory that makes it unique. We will highlight some products:
Raising cattle in the territory guarantees direct control of the origin of the meat, and the extensive breeding process in a natural environment ensures quality. The sausages are made following traditional processes with natural preservatives, salt and pepper. The variety of sausages is extensive: from the traditional whip and the classic llonganissa, to the bull and walnut sausage. Each producer has his specialty
With raw materials from farms in the territory, artisan cheeses are also made with raw cow's milk and goat's milk as was done in the past.
One of the most traditional products of the territory is generated by macerating herbs and green nuts with alcohol, from which a unique and highly appreciated liqueur emerges: ratafia< /strong>. The Bosch distillery has maintained the founding spirit and production secrets, passed down from father to son up to the fifth generation of the family.
The cultivation of the buffet potato is an agricultural activity that takes place throughout the municipality of OrÃs.
The fertile lands and climate of the area give the tuber particular qualities that make it exquisite. The buffet potato is a Catalan product, a brand that identifies quality agricultural products from Catalonia. Recovered by the tenacity of the local families dedicated to agriculture, the potato from the buffet has returned to our dishes to offer an exquisite and creamy taste to the dishes.
On Sundays and holidays in the month of October in OrÃs, the Buffet Potato Market is held, in which the 50 tons of potatoes from the buffet are sold, of white and black, which are produced in the territory; it is a direct sale from the farmer to the consumer. The artisan product is local and we can visit where the cattle graze, where we grow our products and where we make them. The extensive breeding of cattle allows us to carry out a very important maintenance of the forest, and the pasture meadows and cultivated fields draw this landscape so familiar and so close to us, which combines pastures and forests, fields and farmhouses. We work with the land maintaining the traditional ways of working, which identify our country, our temperament and our way of doing things.
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