EVOLUTION OF THE VALENCIAN INDUSTRY : TURRÓN AND HORCHATA

A BIT OF HISTORY It is said that Jaume I was given a drink that he drank. It was white and sweet. When he drank it, he asked: ‘What’s that?’ and he was answered: ‘That’s milk taken from chufa’. And the King Jaume I exclaimed: ‘That’s not milk, that‘s gold, sweety’. And that’s when that sweet milk took its name from, from that expression ‘that’s gold, sweety’, which translated into Spanish means: Horchata. If it is a legend or a real fact, we don’t know it. What is important is that this tasty drink was made with tuber from the Valencian fields. Apart from being delighting because of its taste, it owns several benefits for our health.

CROP Before planting the seed, the soil has to be prepared: leaving it loose and spongy It is planted in little long hills, called caballones in the moths of April and May. They can be collected between the months of November and January. After collecting them, they are washed and they are left to get dry for three months. While those three months, they are removed several times so that they are dried homogeneously. After three months, they are washed and classified to be used in the elaboration process. It is grown in 16 villages of a Valencian area known as Horta Sud, which is the only one in Spain where this tuber can be grown thanks to the features of its soil. The Chufa (cyperus esculentus) is a cetacean plant of 40/50 cm of height. In the extremes of its root, chufas are formed. These can have two forms: strengthen or almond.

Elaboration First, the chufas are washed with water during a process of shaking, until the water is completely clean. Then, they are put into water with salt. Those which are less heavy, float, so they are deleted. Those which are heavier and don’t float, are chosen. These ones are the best ones. During a process of cleaning, hydration and disinfection, they are blended in a mole. The base got from the process is sieved several times in order to get the final extract, in which sugar is added. Finally, it is sieved until getting the horchata, which must be cooled at 0 degrees.

PROPERTIES The horchata is a source of vitamins and nutrients. It has digestive properties, and due to its high content in alimony and amino acids, it has got many minerals and low in sodium. It is a drink from vegetal origin in its totality with cardiovascular properties.

DEGUSTACION It is a typical drink in the Valencia Community, and it is refreshing and sweet. There are two types of horchata: -LIQUID HORCHATA: One part of reduced of chufa and four parts of cold water. -FROZEN HORCHATA: One part of reduced of chufa and three parts of very cold water. It is drunk and enjoyed together with fartons, a strengthen dough which is typical in Alboraya (Valencia) and very popular in all the area of the Valencian Community. It is made of eggs, flour, sugar, oil, leavening and milk.

THE Turrón ORIGIN ‘In that time, the King got married with a Scandinavian princess, and so, she came to leave her cold land. The princess felt very sad as she couldn’t enjoy her beautiful sightseeing in her country, covered with perpetual snow. The King, who was desperate for seeing the new Queen with a sad mood, had the idea to grow everywhere around the castle thousands of almond trees. When, the almond tree became in flowers, the sightseeing was covered with different tones of white. It seemed as if everything was covered with snow, and the Queen was happy again. The inhabitants in Jijona, a village in Alicante, learnt how to pick up the almond tree fruits. They learnt how to treat them, and so they made the first turrones.

DEFINITION AND TYPES: The ‘turrón’ is a dough got from the cooking of honey and sugars, with or without egg white, with the adding of toasted almonds, pealed or with peel. The honey can be substituted total or partially by sugar of different types. The well-known types of ‘turrón’ are ‘Turrón de Jijona’ or ‘Turrón de Alicante’, which are famous around the world. Its elaboration process is not simple, as it is required special machines, as for example the ‘boix’, the mecanincs and the mill. The ‘Turrón de Jijona’ and ‘Alicante’ have got the same ingredients, and they follow almost the same steps for their elaboration. ElaboraTiOn: ‘TURRÓN de ALICANTE’: First we heat the honey. We mix the sugar and the egg white with the mecanics. The pealed, toasted almond is added. Then it is dried naturally in the open air. They are put in rectangular boxes and they are cut in bars. TURRÓN de JIJONA First we heat the honey. We mix the sugar and the egg white with the mecanics. The pealed, toasted almond is added. Then it is dried naturally in the open air. Differently from the ‘turrón de Alicante’, we get our mixture and add it to the mills so that they are refined. Then it goes to the ‘boixets’, which are some metallic recipients in a concrete form and they are hot. At this stage, the experts in ‘turrón’ are very important, because they have to mix the product with some special sticks wih armonic and balanced movements.