In recent months we have carried out three tastings of local varieties, an initiative included in a broad project that aims to create a distinctive "Local Variety". It is a pilot project funded by Fogaiba (Ministry of Agriculture) called "Innovation in the differentiation of local varieties in the local market" and which aims to create the basis for the creation of a distinctive local variety that allows them to differentiate in the market.
The tastings were made from the products produced by the farmers collaborating in the project: the drunken cabbage was from Toni Feliu, from the Mallorcan Ecological Farmers; the red pepper and the tomato from Agromart. The establishments where the tastings took place were the Terranostra cooperative supermarket and the Agromart establishments in Campos and Manacor.
At the first taste of drunken cabbage, it was compared to a hybrid cabbage, Milan cabbage. Both have been grown in ecological conditions, the first by the family business of Casa Pagesa and the second by Teulera. A survey was conducted to evaluate both cabbages and the evaluations of the drunken cabbage have been very positive, both the evaluation of the appearance of the cabbage and the taste. The drunken cabbage has had a higher score with respect to the taste than the Milan cabbage. The cabbages could be tasted all by themselves, the way they were valued, and dipped in olive oil, coconut salt and black pepper.
The second taste was of blond pepper, where it was compared to the hybrid Italian pepper. The two peppers have been grown by Agromart under conditions of integrated agriculture. A survey was conducted to rate both peppers and the ratings are that the red pepper is slightly sweeter than the Italian pepper. The peppers could be tasted all by themselves or also dipped in olive oil and coconut salt.
In the third tasting, the Ablonda or Mateta variety ramellet tomato was compared with the Racibal variety hybrid "rubbing tomato". The two tomato plants have been grown by the Agromart company. The tomatoes could be tasted all by themselves and with bread with olive oil and coconut salt. The tasting included a survey on personal knowledge and experience of the tomato plant in general and tasting in particular. Some of the people who participated in this tasting emphasized the importance of being able to differentiate local varieties from external ones in agri-food products. Regarding the taste, the difference in the appearance of the local variety with the hybrid is very clear, the latter is a more intense red, and in relation to the taste, differences have also been noticed. It should be noted that the local variety stands out especially in post-harvest conservation, a characteristic that cannot be assessed with a taste. The tomato of the local variety has a very high post-harvest preservation, which can be up to 10 months; instead, the hybrid has a postharvest conservation of a few weeks.
July 28, 2023
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