Castilla- L a M ancha Castilla-: the flavours of south central

In the past twelve years, the gradual introduction of irrigation technology has notably improved output. GUIDE of the Best Fruits and Vegetables

74 www.frutas-hortalizas.com national parksandnumeroussitesofenvironmentalinterest. three has Mancha Castile-La south. Toledo,the de to Montes the (north), the Sistema Ibérico (northeast), and the and Central Cordillera the like landscapes mountainous embraces also it although plain, wide a essentially is Mancha Castile-La scale. in industrial sometimes is and areas large over extends region’shorticulture The castellana. meseta the as known plateau aquifers ofAlbaceteandCiudadReal. main the on clustered is change of process This doubled. has technology has notably improved output, which in some instances jobs. In the past twelve years, the gradual introduction of irrigation rural many sustain and community the in roots deep have crops These grove. olive and melon, garlic, mushroom, field Major crops of the region include saffron, onion, aubergine, onion, saffron, include region the of crops Major The large region of Castile-La Mancha forms part of the inland

Fotografía: Servicio de Prensa de Turespaña 75 www.frutas-hortalizas.com GUIDE of the Best Fruits and Vegetables Castilla-La Mancha www.frutas-hortalizas.com 76 GUIDE of the Best Fruits and Vegetables Castilla-La Mancha variety grown in the is a native garlic Las Pedroñeras Cuenca area of Ajo Morado de de Morado Ajo La Mancha. tile-La Mancha dedicates around 13,637 cha Baja, andCentro. districts of La Mancha, Mancha, Mancha Alta, Man- nised in 2001; it covers garlic produced in 225 indication Ajo Morado de las Pedroñeras was recog- geographical protected The flesh. yellow-white of head comprises eight to ten crescent-shaped cloves each – size medium its and taste piquant its smell, lour, the distinctive features of this garlic are its strong co- purple its Besides . particularly region, the of provinces other to spread has it lately though variety chiefly grown in the Cuenca area of La Mancha, with pepperpasteandchopped. stuffed ready-dressed, forms: three in commercially available is aubergine Almagro stage. every November in several stages; the land is watered after to July from harvested is crop The province. Real Ciudad in Calatrava de Valenzuela and Calatrava de Granátula Calatrava, de Calzada Bolaños, Almagro, Rey, del Aldea of municipalities the in immemorial local growers which has been cultivated here for time the by bred variety aubergine native a covers 1995, designation oforigin(PDO),CebolladeLaMancha. protected new a register to aims Mancha La Castilla de Cebolla de Productores organisation producer created recently The (melon). Mancha la de Melón ñeras (garlic), Berenjena de Almagro (aubergine) and Pedro- las de Morado Ajo (PGIs) indications phical geogra- protected the include Mancha Castile-La of names protected The level. national the at important and mostly does not use irrigation, but is nonetheless Mancha has been modernised only to a limited extent, in winterandhotsummers. continental, with low rainfall, fairly low temperatures melon is specially significant. Cas- significant. specially is melon Manchego Ajo Morado de las Pedroñeras is a native garlic in recognised Almagro, de Berenjena PGI The Castile-La of sector vegetable and fruit The mild to tending Mediterranean is climate The ha to melon local crocus. The Consejo Regulador covers saffron production in the manchego districts saffron manchego the in production saffron the covers Regulador Consejo The crocus. of stigmas the of made is spice Saffron heritage. cultural and historic region’s the of part is plant saffron bulbous The November. and October in colour (popularly known as saffron ‘roses’) give the landscape a special touch of warmth and seed cavityisorange. central the while white, is pulp The ripens. melon the as yellow turns skin the size; middling of patches dark distributed uniformly with green, mostly is peel The depth. shape. The peel can be smooth or slightly rough, with lengthwise marking of varying oval their is feature distinctive whose cultivars, Sapo de Piel or Piñonet native the of variety Saccharinus the of melons to label PGI the grants body) (inspection lador Regu- Consejo The Mancha. La de Melón indication geographical protected present the promoted which cooperatives of association an society), promotion melon cha the creation of the Asociación para la promoción del Melón de La Mancha (La Man- ral district known as Mancha in the northeast of province. May 2003 area under cultivation for this crop. Melon is surface grown, processed and packaged in the natu- the of 35% and output national of 37% for accounts and cultivation, Another standout crop is Azafrán de La Mancha (saffron), whose pink crocuses pink whose (saffron), Mancha La de Azafrán is crop standout Another saw 77 www.frutas-hortalizas.com GUIDE of the Best Fruits and Vegetables Castilla-La Mancha www.frutas-hortalizas.com 78 GUIDE of the Best Fruits and Vegetables Castilla-La Mancha cers. produ- and oil olive particularly businesses, 76 total a to home was Mancha Castile-La 2005, for data Agriculture of Ministry to grove, and a little over 4,942 8,622 produce, similar 14,000 crop, By 2005. in Spain for total the of 8% for accounted face area given over to organic farming in the region sur The Mancha. Castile-La in year by year ground duction areas. pro- major the in together population the bring that brace over 2000 em- support they industries service and agricultural the of size the and cover they area surface large help form the backbone of the regional economy. The are enormously important in Castile-La Mancha. Both la Vera". de "Agridulce and "Ocal" are varieties prized highly most the paprika); (sweet dulce pimentón make to recipes, particularlyinmanchegocookery. Spanish many to indispensable is Saffron aroma. deep a food lends that flavouring wonderful a it fragrance and a slightly bitter taste. These traits make ces. of Toledo, Cuenca, Ciudad Real and Albacete provin- Environmentally compatible farming is gaining grove olive and vineyard like crops Ligneous A further important crop are the peppers grown exotic strong, very a has saffron Mancha La hectares are dedicated to cereals and cereals to dedicated are hectares undertakings and 250 ha are given over to olive to over given are ha ha to vineyard. According

organic farming organic cooperatives - Cstilla-La Mancha www.frutas-hortalizas.com 80 GUIDE of the Best Fruits and Vegetables Castilla-La Mancha s BRC. BRC. marks GLOBALCAP, IFS,ISO22000and its properties,endorsedbythequality from benefit and appreciate to consumer garlic, isavailabletheyearroundfor Ajosanto, genuinePedroñeraspurple facilities, modern of use the to Thanks disease. shown tolowertheriskofcardiovascular compound calledallicinwhichhasbeen tradition. Garliccontainsasulphur local rooted firmly of setting a to applied meticulously technologies modern Its unbeatablequalityistheoutcomeof recipes. finest the to touch special a lends with astimulating,powerfulflavourthat cooperative’s exceptionalpurplegarlic, the identifies brand Ajosanto The the Ajosantobrand. under garlic certified selected, produces Cooperativa SanIsidroElSanto,which the as known now association area’s economy andformedthe the for garlic of importance the grasped As farbackas1963,thelocalgrowers Pedroñeras. Las de Morado Protected GeographicalIndication,Ajo own its from benefits variety garlic This to thespecificenvironmentofLaMancha. variety: itswildforebearsevolvedtoadapt the cultivationandstorageofthisgarlic for perfect are relief and climate local The Las Pedroñeras. Pedroñeras purplegarlic,Ajomoradode Las as abroad and Spain in known garlic, purple native the to home are Mancha The incomparablelandsofCastilla-La A so a JOS n ciedad i s A id NTO ro

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t iva ...... 253 DE Bombo, Yema, SanapolandTomil. marketed underthelabelsPlinio,El are products Its peppers. and watermelon The cooperativealsoproduces flavour, itkeepsoutstandingly well. La Mancha.Crunchyandwithanexquisite of soil and climate the to adapted has that Sapo de Piel of variety native a Requet, Cantaloupe melons.Thestandoutisthe varieties ofPeildeSapo,Amarilloand The partnershipproducesthirteen Mancha. geographical indication(PGI)Melóndela recently introducedprotected and labelitsmelonswiththesealof Apóstol hasthusbeenthefirsttocertify standard ofquality. CooperativeSantiago exceptional an offered is consumer strict controlsthatensuresthe delicious fruit,grownandmarketedunder conditions ofclimateandsoil–a to produce-underthespeciallocal growers combinewithmoderntechniques century. Thedeep-rootedtraditionsofthe Mancha bytheArabsineleventh cultivation ofwhichwasintroducedtoLa the melon, the is product main Their quality.excellence inproductandservice of 700, joined in a commitment to achieve partnership hasgrowntoamembership cooperative partnership.Since,the Santiago ApóstoldeTomelloso group ofmelongrowersfoundedthe . Itwasherethatin1971 a of town the lies travels, Quixote’s Don of land the Mancha, La of plain vast the On C de Coop OOP

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255 Takii Mancha. Castilla-La can expresstheirmaximumpotentialin September. Vuelta F1’s special advantages fromlateAugusttoearly it isharvested and withagoodskin.SowedinFebruary, colour, firm brown appealing an is It line. and optimaluniformityinthepackaging output stable ensuring storage, for onion late-harvest a is This characteristics. Europe offeringoutstanding F1, anewvarietydevelopedbyTakii The programmehasnowproducedVuelta seasons. sowing different for cultivars valuable growers European offers onion improvementprogrammethat Takii &CompanyLtd,Japan,operatesan of subsidiary a and developers variety Takii Europe,oneoftheleadingonion of themyriadvarieties. each by golden turned are heat, and cold of extremes the attenuate that breezes sea the vastmanchegoplains,farfrom When theonioncropripens,fieldsof unbeatable qualityfortheexportmarket. methods, theareaproducesonionsof winters andtraditionalcultivation scant rainfall,andthankstoitssoils,hard cultivated areaforonion.Despitethe total country’s the of 55% for accounting district, onion-growing Spain’slargest heart oftheIberianPeninsula,ishometo very the in region a Mancha, Castilla-La V ue lt

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...... 255 81 www.frutas-hortalizas.com GUIDE of the Best Fruits and Vegetables Castilla-La Mancha