diumenge, 13 de desembre del 2015

Aquestes festes regla Ratafia amb Llet. Per Nadal i Reis fes un SANT GALDRIC! i per Cap d'Any fes LA GROSSA!


Establiments recomants per Ratafia amb Llet SANT GALDRIC

VINS BUSTINS Ctra de Vilavenut, s/núm Tel 972580280 - 17820 Banyoles

AGROBOTIGA LA CLOTXA Barcelona, 17 Tel 938794936 - 08401 Granollers

CARNISSERIA CONSOL Mercat de Salt Tel 972235716 - 17190 Salt

CAN COSTABELLA Sant Andreu, 46 Tel 972570540 - 17846 Mata

BAR RESTAURANT EL FORN CASAL INDEP Plaça Sant Pere, 5 Tel 972981607 - 17007 Girona

SUPERMERCAT FORNELLS OLIVETS Carretera de Santa Coloma, s/núm Tel 972238017 - 17181 Aiguaviva

CAFÈ DE LA SELIS Pompeu Fabra, 17 Tel 972851360 - 17411 Vidreres

RESTAURANT CA L'ENRIC Ctra de Camprodon N-260, km 91 Tel 972290015 - 17813 Vall de Bianya

RESTAURANT LES COLS Carretera la Canya, s/núm. Tel 972269209 - 17800 Olot

AGROBOTIGA EL FORN Ctra de Sta Coloma, km 13 Tel 972474683 - 17185 Vilobí d'Onyar

VINS PARÉS Avgda Ildefons Cerdà, 119 Tel 938810060 - 08540 Centelles

AGROBOTIGA MAS BES Bústia, 3 Mas Bes Tel 660290678 - 17184 Salitja

GRANJA EL PROVENÇAL N-156, 485 Mas Fàbregas Tel 972477423 - 17457 Riudellots de la Selva

Demana també les teves participacions de la loteria de Cap d'Any amb els números de 17181 AIGUAVIVA, 17183 SANT DALMAI, 17184 SALITJA i 17185 VILOBÍ D'ONYAR

I SI NO TOCA, QUE HI HAGI PER TOTHOM SALUT I FORÇA AL CANUT!


CB on the Road: Santa Coloma de Farners' Ratafia Festival

2015 has been a banner year for the herb-infused liqueur known as ratafia. In the little town of Santa Coloma de Farners, within the Catalan province of Girona, locals have been making this unique libation for centuries, with each family passing down their own version of the drink from one generation to the next. In 1997, within the county’s official records, came a major food discovery –written recipes for three distinct styles of ratafia dating back to 1842, which are now recognized as the oldest of their kind in Catalonia. These handwritten lists of ingredients (along with other culinary notations, savory recipes and home remedies) were discovered in the old notebooks of Francesc Rosquellas, once the proprietor of a cafe/restaurant in Santa Coloma de Farners whose name had long since been forgotten.

Upon discovering these precious bits of gastronomic patrimony, the Ajuntament (City Hall) of Santa Coloma de Farners charged the local distiller Russet with the task of recreating these historic concoctions, beginning straight off in 1997 with the “Clàssica 1842.” Russet proceeded to release the “La Nou Verda” recipe in 2002 and the “Vuit Porrons” in 2014. Since 1997, the town of Santa Coloma de Farners – and the world of ratafia at large – has considered these three recipes its defining doctrine. Naturally, it was with giddy excitement that a new, fourth Rosquellas recipe was discovered in 2015 within the same town records as before, a recipe with tart cherry as its base ingredient.

In honor of this stirring addition to ratafia’s historical lineage, Russet now sells a four-bottle box set – an essential for the after-dinner arsenal of any ratafia aficionado and the star of 2015’s much-anticipated Fira de Ratafia of Santa Coloma de Farners, the 34th annual festival honoring this dark and complex digestif.

The celebration (in the form of a ratafia-making competition) technically began in 1982, though the first two years of celebration were actually bundled in with Santa Coloma de Farners’ Festa Major (the biggest annual town celebration, held each year on September 24). In 1984, ratafia finally earned its own moment in the sun, and the festival moved to the second weekend of November each year.

Some of the ingredients that go into making ratafia at the Ratafia Festival, photo by Sam Zucker

The process of making ratafia is tied tightly to the seasons. In mid June, as the wild herbs in the surrounding countryside reach their full, aromatic glory, local vendors pluck them from field and farm and sell them in fragrant bundles in the streets of Santa Coloma de Farners. Bulbous glass flasks are filled with potent aguardent on terraces throughout town, in preparation for Saint John’s Eve (La Vispera de Sant Joan), perhaps better known as the Summer Solstice. On this “magical” night, fists full of green walnuts (nou verda), spices, herbs and much more are added to 120-proof neutral grape brandy and set to macerate.

“Without the nou verda you can’t call it ratafia,” explained Mireia Vial as she passed around a wooden box full of little plastic bags packed with the four dozen or so most typical ratafia ingredients used in Santa Coloma de Farners. Vial is an Official Guide of Catalunya and grew up not far from Santa Coloma de Farners in the Gironese region of La Empordà. The box she passed to us is emblazoned with the logo of the Confraria de la Ratafia – the Ratafia Brotherhood. The Confraria is the official governing force in Santa Coloma de Farners when it comes to ratafia and their symbol is a half moon and half sun, representing sol i serena – an essential part of the ratafia making process that refers to the period in which sun and shade fall over the glass flasks in which ratafia is aged as they sit on local outdoor terraces throughout July and August. Though this tradition and technique is mostly learned from within one’s family, the Town Hall and the Confraria organize public workshops throughout the year to guide novices in each step of the process.

When making ratafia, the first (and most important) elements to add are green walnuts, followed by the other botanicals of your choosing. Once mixed, the concoction is left at the mercy of the elements, infusing, oxidizing, and intensifying in flavor for 40 days. “In Santa Coloma de Farners, we swirl the liquid in the flask periodically while it macerates,” explains Mireia. “This is a unique practice that gives the ratafia a more intense flavor.” After the first 40 days, the liquid is filtered into smaller glass bottles (or oak barrels in some cases) and aged further, allowing the powerful punch of the alcohol itself to mellow out as the delicate, intricate, herbal matrices of the liqueur shines through. After another few months of anxious waiting, the ratafia is filtered again and is finally ready to drink at the beginning of November, a boozy catharsis that coincides each year with the Fira de Ratafia.

Santa Coloma de Farners' Ratafia Festival, photo by Sam Zucker

The Ratafia Festival is much more than just a showcase of local producers and ratafia-laced treats (which run the gamut from pastries and sausages to teas and ice creams). Throughout the four main days of the festival, and for some days before as well, a multitude of events and activities are offered to the public, including distillation demos, ratafia making workshops, guided tastings, cooking classes, live musical concerts, historic walking tours and photography lectures.

One of the biggest events of the week is the Ratafia Making Competition, dating all the way back to 1982 and still going strong; in 2015, 212 ratafias were entered. Judges, including the famous Catalan chef Joan Roca of Celler de Can Roca, evaluated each homemade infusion for color, aroma and flavor. The winner’s name was immortalized on the “Olympus of Ratafia” – a trophy displayed in the upstairs hall of local establishment Can Trias and the principal exhibit of the L’Univers de la Ratafia. Consisting of an itinerary of emblematic places in Santa Coloma de Farners related to the world of ratafia, “The Universe of Ratafia” begins at Can Trias, where there is a wealth of information on display. In addition, plaques and QR codes at points of interest throughout the town offer visitors the full ratafia story in a very visual, interactive way.

Keeping in the spirit of the festivities, during the Fira de Ratafia, nearly all of the restaurants in Santa Coloma de Farners offer a special “Ratafia Menu.” The beauty of using ratafia in the kitchen is that this herbal liqueur is equally adaptable to sweet and savory dishes. As every ratafia is different, one must analyze each mixture’s predominant notes and use them as a guideline in the pairing, as is done with expert precision at legendary pastry shop Casa Tuyarro.

Drinking ratafia from a porron at Casa Tuyarro, photo by Sam Zucker

Pastisseria Casa Tuyarro was founded in 1894 and sits just off of the Plaça de Farners. Besides being one of the oldest and most beautiful “early modernist” shops in town offering a vast array of ratafia brands and ratafia-infused pastries, Casa Tuyarro also makes its own ratafia. While some styles we tasted during the fira had bold notes of licorice, thyme and rosemary, that of Casa Tuyarro had an unmistakable, predominant flavor: cumin. A bit odd, the combination of sweet alcohol and pungent cumin seeds, poured in long streams from classic Catalan porrons, was actually quite enjoyable. As we contemplated the savory culinary preparation in which this particular ratafia would feel at home, we were presented with a sampling of this classic pastisseria’s most popular confections. Each cake and cookie was bursting with sweet, herbal goodness, including the Tortell de Ratafia, a round, walnut-studded cake that is the house specialty.

When passing the day in Santa Coloma de Farners during the Fira de Ratafia, it is easy to get carried away with the free samples and find yourself in a half-drunken state, with a sugar-infused hangover looming on the horizon. Our recommendation is to take it slow and fortify yourrself with a hearty menu de ratafia at the restaurant Vent d’Aram, located in a lovely modernist building just one block from Casa Tuyarro. This year, in honor of the festival, the Vent d’Aram was offering a €25 set menu that included canelons of roast duck with ratafia and foie gras, bacallà (salt cod) with cream of ratafia, confited pork cheek with prunes, chestnuts and ratafia and ratafia tiramisú for a sweet finish. After a leisurely meal, another stroll around the small town center, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of Santa Coloma de Farners in its moment of festive glory, is definitely in order.

Visit the event website for more information about the Fira de Ratafia in Santa Coloma de Farners.

CULINARY BACKSTREETS


dissabte, 5 de desembre del 2015

VI FESTA DE LA RATAFIA DE BERGA Dissabte 12 de desembre del 2015

VI Festa de la Ratafia a Berga de la mà del Casal Panxo! Concurs, tast, sopar i molt més dissabte que ve.

61es Jornades Gastronòmiques DESEMBRE 2015

JORNADA DEL PORC
Data: 7 de desembre del 2015
Lloc: Cau del Nap

Degustacions:

PATATES DE RIUDELLOTS DE LA SELVA
EMBOTIS DE SALT
XUIES DE SALT
BOTIFARRES PICANTS DE SALT
BOLETS DE SALITJA
VI DE VILOBÍ D'ONYAR
AIGUA DE SANT ANIOL
BOMBONS D'UCRAÏNA
RATAFIA DE SALITJA
LICOR DE CASSÍS DE LA VALL D'ARAN

Embotits de ca la Consol del Mercat de Salt

Pinetells de sota el pi de can Saus a la vinagreta

Patates rosses de Riudellots extra-cruixents

Xuies a la brasa de ca la Consol

Botifarres picants de ca la Consol

Vi de can Juli de Vilobí

Aigua volcànica de Sant Aniol

Bombons d'Ucraïna

Ratafia Volcànica Prèmium

Ratafia amb Llet de la Vall d'Onyar

Licor de cassís Dera Val d'Aran




INTRODUCCIÓ A L'ELABORACIÓ CASOLANA D'AIGUARDENTS I DESTIL·LATS

Santa Coloma de Farners, 12 de desembre del 2015