Nutrition | ALL-ANDORRA

 What we eat or drink is the result of the past and all those civilizations that have passed through these territories have left a mark in the cuisine of the Catalan Countries. Current Catalan cuisine has characteristics left by the Iberians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Jews and Arabs. There are also some influences from French and Italian cuisine. The discovery of America brought new ingredients, which are now staples, such as potatoes and tomatoes furthermore the new American cuisine has also brought about changes to traditional kitchen.

 In the Baix Llobregat beer was already prepared in the Neolithic. The arrival of the Greeks, in Empúries, and the Phoenicians, in the Balearic Islands and in the Valencian Country, marked a major change in habits. Before their arrival there was neither olive oil nor wine.

 From 5,000 years before Christ, the food was based on spelled type of wheat, barley, millet, maize or corn, legumes (they were eaten fresh and dried), fruits, fish, lamb, goat and pork. In some parts of the Pyrenees, horses and even dogs were eaten.

 The Iberians already made beer and wine that they sold to the Phoenicians, and in Cerdanya they made exquisite hams praised by the Romans, ,«Cerretana mihi fiat vel missa licebit / de Menapis; lauti de petasone rorent»(«I hope they serve me the ham of the country of the Ceretans and not give me that of the country of menapis, and that the starving devour the thigh»). They stored a lot of grain that was eaten in the form of bread and flour.

 Greek chefs were famous and enjoyed a high social status. It is possible to attribute to the presence of the Greeks the cultivation and use of foods that are now essential, the Romans ended up reinforcing this tendency further. The Greeks introduced or strengthened the cultivation of almond, the production of wine (from autochthonous strains) and the olive from wild olive (through grafts), a plant deeply rooted in the Catalan Countries.

 Plini said that “the Laietana vineyards (Barcelonès and Maresme) are famous for the quantity of wine that they give, but those of Tarragona and those of Laura for their finesse”.

 Esabeche was an area of Roman cuisine including fish casseroles with raisins, barley cooked with juice, Vallespir barley escudella, green sauces for fish made in the Balearic Islands, several roasts, fried and boiled dishes that are not so common in today’s cuisine. Already than they were using grills, casseroles, soups, pots and suquets to cook fish. The Catalan word of paella comes from the Latin patella.

 In the Roman villas (antecedents of the farmhouses) wine, olive oil, vinegar, honey, cheeses, cold meats, hams, salted or preserved in vinegar fish, dried fruit, etc. were prepared.

 Some current sweets inspired by Romans are the Santa Teresa toast covered with honey, cream or white cheese, fried milk, pine nuts, raisins, dates; or semolina with pine nuts, almonds and sweet wine; panellets, coca with peaches, cheese bunuelos, flaons of fresh cheese and type of nougat from Xixona.

 The Arab and Jewish legacy is important in the Iberian Peninsula. Some foods originating from the times of Muslim occupation are the sauce of xató (romesco), salvitxada, all-i-pebre and salmorreta. According to Corominas, both the words “xató” and “romesco” come from the Mozarabic.

 The Arabs introduced products which are now considered basics such as artichoke, eggplant, chickpeas, sugar, couscous and noodles, spices (such as coriander, basil, saffron and cumin) and Gastronomic techniques, such as distillation of alcohol, which, despite the Koranic prohibition, often had medical uses.

 Certain slow cooking methods of meat and vegetables in casserole pot can be compared to those of both Arabic and Jewish stews. Some of today’s desserts and pastries are also reminiscent of the Jewish tradition, which is also widely recognized among Muslims.

 As a consequence of the intercultural clash, there was also a certain desire to reject these two cultures (or perhaps a greater need to reassure against the difference, or even openly display the Christian religion in the face of persecutions of a political nature) on the part of the Christians, that was translated in the high consumption of pork, that has survived till today with the great liking of the dried sausages – embotits, and the preference of this meat over beef.

 Very soon these preparations became immortalized in recipe books, the first of which is the Llibre de Sent Soví, from the year 1324, which compiles more than two hundred medieval recipes.

 It is with the mediterranean policy of the Crown of Aragon – essentially a policy of commercial dominance – that ports and markets got filled with new ingredients and the noble and bourgeois tables experimented with new recipes from far and near.

 The new contact between Europe and the Americas, in the 15th century, did not provide new recipes or cultural influence right away, but over time new products were introduced, such as chocolate, potatoes and most importantly tomatoes, an ingredient that according to Colman Andrews is one of the most essentials in current Catalan cuisine.

 The use of tomatoes does not enter the kitchen of the Catalan Countries until at least the 17th century and is not documented until the 18th century.

 In the 16th century bread was still a basic element of any meal. Meat was very prized, especially ram meat (lamb). At the time, meat was roasted or cooked. The first written references to the use of dried cod in Catalan cuisine are also from the 16th century, cod was brought from Portugal through the Basques, across the Pyrenees. It was typical to eat a lot of vegetables and season it a lot. The fruit was also valued highly, especially melon and grapes, as well as nuts. The usual drinks were red wine and water, in any case always fresh. In this century, the fish was prepared in suquet with vegetables, oil and pepper. Also at this time cream became a fashionable, if it had to be sweetened, it was done with honey or sugar.

 In the 19th century, the bourgeoisie opted for opulent preparations and menus, which never came to become popular or rooted in, often inspired by bourgeois French cuisine, which despised traditional and homemade cuisines such as Catalan, Italian and Occitan. On the other hand, at the inns, Catalan cuisine was still accessible to everyone, innovated and improved according to the tastes of its customers, who copied some of the dishes, such as cod a la llauna, at home (mostly on holidays). The traditions or customs like the paella eaten on Thursdays are also owed to them. Furthermore, it is in this century when the pa amb tomàquet (bread with tomato) appears for the first time in a written reference.

 The different cuisines are never separated from one another and there are usually as many dishes shared as unique. One of the reasons to consider Catalan cuisine as part of a Mediterranean is the large number of basic elements that it shares with other cuisines such as Italian, Occitan and Spanish. One reason to consider Catalan cuisine as independent of these three is the numerous unity of some recipes all over the Catalan Countries (the esqueixada, arròs a banda or the escalivada are found with various names but with similar recipes), or the use of a single name for a broad culinary concept (as in the case of coca).

 Another consideration is that, although many dishes common to the three countries of Catalan culture date from after the reconquest (such as samfaina and sofregit, since tomato was introduced in the 15th century) the cultural relations and especially commercial ones between Catalonia, the Valencian Country, the Balearic Islands, and also with the rest of the Western Mediterranean did not stop there, instead there was a more or less continuous exchange based on the ports and markets and meetings between fishermen of the Catalan sea. The level of popularization of certain coastal dishes such as paella, allioli or samfaina, easy to find even in the interior, is much more remarkable than any interior dish, such as trinxat or girella, which even in the 21st century are not habitual outside the Catalan Pyrenees.

 Speaking of tomatoes, their acceptance throughout the Catalan Countries, without exception, indicates a high level of culinary interrelation in the Mediterranean of the Late Middle Ages, despite the fact that the tomato was rejected by the rich and loved by the poor. Thus, the tomato, despite being subsequent to the reconquest and repopulation of the Islands and the Valencian Country, became essential in the Mediterranean cuisine and especially in the cuisine of all the Catalan Countries.

 ● Condiments: Olive oil, salt, sugar, garlic, pepper, red pepper, almonds, parsley, saffron, cinnamon, rosemary, thyme, chocolate (unlike Occitan cuisine, Catalan cuisine traditionally does not use as many spices).

 We can talk about three types of Catalan cuisine: the shared one, the original one and the unique one. The shared one is that which is shared with the rest of the Mediterranean. The original one was invented in the Catalan Countries, but is now present in the cuisine of other countries. The unique one includes those dishes or food that have not transferred out from the Catalan Countries.

 ● Paella – A dish that originates in the Ribera del Xúquer river, Valencia, and has spread to other regions, to most of the Catalan comarques, the Balearic Islands and Murcia from at least the 16th century according to Francisco de Paula Martí; also has a documented historical presence in Occitania (Nice). Nowadays it is offered in a large number of Spanish restaurants thanks to the mass tourism, and lately in other parts of the world: in Australia, the Philippines, Latin America (especially Mexico and Venezuela), the United States, and Western Europe. In France it has inspired paëlla, a plate of rice cooked with turmeric, saffron and chorizo.

 ● Coca – present all over the Mediterranean: in Italy as a pizza, in Greece, in Turkey as pide, in Armenia as lahmacun, in the Arab world in general just as bread.

 ● Coca – present all over the Mediterranean: in Italy as a pizza, in Greece, in Turkey as pide, in Armenia as lahmacun, in the Arab world in general just as bread.

 ● Samfaina, xanfaina, tomacat or mullador – present all over the world and deeply rooted in the Mediterranean, in English and French it is called Ratatouille, an almost identical version from Provence and marketed all over France. In Castilie it is called pisto and in southern Italy, the Neapolitan sauce is very similar to it.

 ● Cava – present in La Rioja and Extremadura, in the French region of Champagne as champagne , in the rest of France as crémant and in Italy as a spumante.

 ● Bunyols de bacallà (Cod fritters) – present in Spain and Portugal. Present also in some Central American countries as “accras” of cod which are almost the same, but with chili peppers added.

 ● Bacallà amb patates (Cod with potatoes), also present in other cuisines with different names such as: borrida, sacsacollons, bacalhau cozido, ‘a la grandi colloni, etc.

 ● Chicken with samfaina, and variants depending on the regions: chicken with pepper and tomato, chicken with tip (Girona), chicken a la Catalana (northern Catalonia), etc. There is also a similar version in the Basque Country.

 ● Partridges with cabbage, or in cabbage farcellets (bundles) and cooked on a frying pan. Typical of the Catalan Pyrenees, Occitania and some places in the north of France.

 ● Embotit (llonganissa, chorizo, etc.) – present in Spain, France (saucisson) and Italy (salame or luganega in Milanese). In Germany there is a great variety of deer meat sausages and in the Muslim countries they are made with turkey meat or lamb.

 ● Buñuelos: sweet and savoury – the sweet ones are present around the world while savoury ones are made in Mediterranean countries.

 ● Meatballs or Boles de picolat (typical ones from North Catalonia, in catalan also called pilota) – present throughout the world.