“In the people and food of Aragon, what you see on the outside, is what is on the inside” so reads the main message of the institutional campaign to promote agri-food promotion of the Government of Aragon. “Aragon, noble food. What you see, is what’s on the inside”. The chosen positioning conveys the attribute of nobility to Aragonese food, conferring values as appreciated as safety, transparency, quality and honesty.
Aragon is a major agri-food producer with a tenth of all agricultural production in Spain, leading producers and exporters in sectors such as meat with pork, and fruits and vegetables with stone fruits, while also leading the most unique ones such as the black truffle. Few autonomous communities have foods as unique and exclusive as Aragon, since many of them have been, and are, pioneers in Spain and the world, for one reason or another.
Did you know that the origin of chocolate as we know it today is in Aragon in the sixteenth century, that the work of one of its most famous chefs, “Fra Altamiras”, contemporary to Goya, arouses the interest of renowned chefs of the national and international scene? Follow the QR to access his recipe book, it is a real gift.
The black winter truffle, the black diamond of gastronomy, symbolizes one of Aragon’s great standards, since this Community is the world’s leading producer and exporter of Tuber Melanosporum, giving rise to a unique cuisine that deserves the praise of the most exquisite palates, with chefs as renowned as the starred Carmelo Bosque, promoter of the new Center for Gastronomic Innovation of Aragon. The truffle tourism experience is unique, offering original activities from the source, such as truffle “hunting” in the field, tastings and cooking with truffles.
The meat sector, with the leadership of pork, has the uniqueness of the oldest PDO ham in Spain, the Teruel Ham, and also with the recent PGI of fresh meat Teruel Pig. Ternasco de Aragón was the first fresh meat PGI in 1996, and is known as “pink meat” which, besides being delicious, is very healthy. This is demonstrated by nutritional studies carried out for more than 15 years with Ternasco de Aragón lamb, which conclude that “consuming pink meat regularly in a healthy, varied and balanced diet is healthy for the organism”.
The Aragonese community has one of its most precious and noble strongholds in an autochthonous variety of olive that produces some of the best olive oils in the world: the empeltre, with two Protected Designations of Origin (PDO): Aceite del Bajo Aragón and Aceite Sierra del Moncayo.
In fruits and vegetables, Aragon leads in the production and export of cherries and peaches, has borage, a vegetable highly appreciated in its gastronomy, and at the same time treasures two unique PDOs: Fuentes de Ebro Onion and Calanda Peach.
And speaking of treasures, it is the turn of the Grenache, a grape variety that is considered native to Aragon, being one of the most planted in the world. It is in Aragon where “the empire of the garnacha” finds its maximum expression and recognition, with prestigious jewels in the production areas of the DOs of Campo de Borja, Calatayud, Cariñena, and Somontano. In addition, there is an excellent representation of Aragonese professionals on the international wine scene, with Masters of Wine such as Fernando Mora, and the best sommeliers in Spain such as Raúl Igual.
Aragón is currently committed to promoting another of its native varieties, the cariñena grape, also known as mazuela. In fact, the Zaragoza town of Cariñena, which has a Protected Designation of Origin, one of the oldest in the world, is the only region that has a variety with its name.
This is just a small sample of the gastronomic heritage that Aragon has to offer.
More information at www.aragonalimentos.es and www.turismodearagon.com
