Fried Olives

Catalonia is a land of many olive oils—and excellent ones, at that. We could map out the oils made from both virgin and ripe olives

Olives fregides
Catalonia is a land of many olive oils—and excellent ones, at that. Thanks to its climatic and topological diversity, the Mediterranean countryside allows for the cultivation of more than one hundred different varieties of olive trees, each presenting a unique aroma, taste, and texture. You’d be remiss to overlook a single one!

We could map out the oils made from both virgin and ripe olives, with their various aromas of herbs or nuts—all of which deliver a healthy dose of natural antioxidants—across their various Protected Designations of Origin (PDO), including those of Empordà, Les Garrigues, Siurana, Terra Alta, and Baix Ebre-Montsià.

Across Catalonia, various organizations are working with farmers to re-introduce ancient and native olive tree varieties, promoting landscape restoration in the process. These techniques produce authentic, once-lost olive oils, which, in the near future, will be liquid gold available to all.

TRADITIONS

The Vermouth and “la hora del vermouth” tradition – “FER UN VERMUT”

The drink is a Catalan national pastime and taking time to “fer un vermut” in Catalonia offers a window into the country’s culture.

The Catalans developed a fun, simple tradition around imbibing vermouth called “fer el vermut.” Literally “doing vermouth,” this custom involves going out to the bar down the street from your house with friends and family to order a glass or two of vermouth before midday dinner while nibbling on salty snacks like olives, potato chips, and gourmet tinned seafood, like mussels in escabeche, anchovies, cockles, razeclams, etc..Once you’ve worked up an appetite with this apéritif, it’s time to go back upstairs and have midday dinner.

It’s a lifestyle, as much an activity as it is a beverage. There are establishments called vermuterias here. Historically, people drink vermouth on Sunday mornings after church. In fact, it’s so stitched into the culture that “fer un vermut” is an expression that doesn’t even require you to order vermouth. It means, let’s meet for a drink in the middle of the day (another culinary surprise).

If you ask enough catalans about vermouth, soon enough you will wind up in Reus, a Catalan city just south of Barcelona with a thousand-year history, and the drink’s unofficial capital.