More discoveries from Madrid Fusion
My humble take on three incredible Spanish discoveries: Castillo de Canena olive oil, Vacum premium steak, and GMA abalone.
The Madrid Fusion XV gastronomic summit is now just a distant yet good memory, and I had a blast not only appreciating high quality Spanish wines, but also learning about other Spanish food products. I had not encountered several of these products and brands before the fair, and in this column I want to share my humble take on three incredible Spanish discoveries.
EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL: CASTILLO DE CANENA
Castillo de Canena is one of the most historic olive oil producing companies with beginnings stretching back to 1780. The company was named after a castle in the hills of Canena town in Spain’s Andalusia region. As most people know, Spain is the world’s largest olive oil producer, and is four times bigger than the next biggest producing country, Italy. The region of Andalucia alone has more olive oil production than all of Italy. There were easily dozens of olive oil brands participating in Madrid Fusion XV, but what attracted me to Castillo de Canena was the aesthetic display composed of beautiful colored bottles of different sizes showing the range of olive oils they carry — probably the most extensive I have seen. Also, Castillo de Canena only produces extra-virgin olive oil, the highest of the olive oil grades. Extra-virgin olive oil is oil from the first pressing of the olives, with no chemicals involved in the process, and having a low acid content and a more delicate flavor. International olive oil standards strictly require that extra virgin olive oil be almost free of acidity (expressed as a percentage of oleic acid), with no more than 0.8% acidity.
Just like wine varietals, there are thousands of olive varietals, but only dozens of these are used regularly for commercial olive oil production (it is the same case too with wines). Castillo de Canena uses mostly two indigenous Spanish olive varietals: Picual and Arbequina. What is fascinating about Castillo de Canena is that their entry-level extra virgin olive oil is already their Reserva Familiar Picual and Reserva Familiar Arbequina — both single or mono-varietal extra virgin olive oil that consistently top olive oil competitions all over the world. Then as you go up the range, they have the Primer Dia de Cosecha ( literally translated as “First Day of Harvest”) range in nice Tabasco-red colored bottles.
Also they have the Primero Royal Temprano, made 100% from the olive varietal called Royal — a local varietal that had been cultivated hundreds of years ago and is making a strong comeback — and some more like the Aceite Arbequina al Humo de Roble (smoked oaked Arbequina olive), and even a biodynamic version. They have crafted is an “artisan- like” manner their extra-virgin olive oils into so many variations, all of which manifest unique flavor profiles when tasted over plain bread — amazing!
The Picual varietal I tasted showed more subtle flavors of fresh leaves, herbs, nuts, and on the palate it is full-bodied, with stewed tomato flavors and some peppery elements at the end. The Arbequina varietal, on the other hand, had generous fresh olive nose, was grassier, green apple tart, but smooth and nutty on the finish. And the Royal varietal had more complexity, with vegetal and fruit notes, French beans, Cavendish banana, a supple texture and was delicate at the end.
I hope to hear people talk of olive varietals in the country soon... it is really cool to know how similar olive oils are to wines to some degree.
PREMIUM STEAK: VACUM
At one of the dinners I attended in Madrid, we were treated to one of the best slabs of meat I have ever tasted. We are not talking of Kobe, Wagyu, or aged Angus, but instead one proudly from Spain, produced under the “Ibérico Beef” concept. This concept is similar to the aging and drying of pork on the renowned Spanish Pata Negra ham. At the dinner, we tasted a 60-day aged Ibérico rib-eye steak done medium, and it was absolutely delectable. Our dinner host, Jose Rosell, owner of luxury steak purveyor Vacum, explained that one of the main characteristics of Vacum meat is its aging process, which is created to enhance the meat’s flavor and tenderness.
He continued: “At Vacum, we have developed a unique, slowaging system that evenly ages the entire piece, continuously controlling temperature and humidity to help promote the growth of certain moulds that makes it possible to achieve the best tasting meat one can find.”
Vacum only breeds native cows like the Asturian Mountain, Alistana Sanabresa, Sayaguesa, and Rubia Gallega raised in high mountains — 1,400 meters above sea level — with access to fresh pastures and natural grass. Vacum also prefers older cows because of the more rustic flavors. Vacum’s designated cow herders are instructed to treat each cow with utmost care and attention — ensuring that the animals are stress free and happy. This, according to Mr. Rosell, translates to delicious, flavorful, marbled beef. I just hope the in-house slaughter house is as gentle on the cows when the time comes for them to be turned into steak cuts.