The terrain and topography of the Valencia region foster a climate ideal for cultivation. These lands generate a wide range of produce that enrich the local cuisine and have achieved great fame for both its traditional and strikingly contemporary dishes. The continuous and dramatic geographical contrasts of rocky mountain peaks and the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the footprint of human labour, form a distinctive and rich landscape: steeply terraced fields, extensive rice fields, irrigation systems and castles of Arab origin, dry stone walls, windmills and waterwheels, chapels, monasteries, historically significant archaeological sites, cave paintings and remains of Iberian and Roman settlements.
Irrigation systems developed by the Arabs are still in use today throughout the citrus groves of the Valencia region
Our Mediterranean cuisine is testament to the contributions of techniques and products that successive inhabitants of the Iberian peninsula have made to our culture. Vines, almond, olive, orange, vegetables, fruit and an array of spices coupled with an exquisite refinement in preparing dishes that today, thanks to the expertise of renowned chefs, have achieved worldwide fame.
Even today we can taste dishes from the Phoenician era, such as “polp sec” or dried octopus, a delicious dish known as “gum of the Phoenicians”, “capellà”, a dried and salted fish originally prepared by early sailors onboard their boats. Traditional sausages are still a popular traditional dish, as are the precious “figatells” or spicy meatballs. There´s a huge array of rice, fish or meat stews, plus various indigenous varieties of citrus fruits and cherries. Exquisite sweet ingredients include almond, honey, arrop and rice. The local speciality groundnuts are used to produce the delicious and refreshing drink “horchata”. Local herbs have been used throughout the ages to produce unique herbal liqueurs.
Paellas
But undoubtedly the most internationally known dish of Valencian cuisine is Paella. Such is the versatility of this rice based dish is that it can be prepared with meat, vegetables, seafood or fish, as a dry dish “seco” or with a rich stock “meloso”… Paella is an exquisite pleasure that the region´s best known chefs offer on the menus of their famous Valencian restaurants.
Furthermore, if a product other than wine, especially characterises our cuisine it is olive oil. Our region is one of the World´s main olive producing areas and proudly provides top quality oils to the most demanding chefs and restaurants throughout Europe and beyond. The wines of this region are well known for their consistently high quality. The area boasts both large scale producers and small, specialist bodegas, many of which have recently received accolades and recognition in national and international competitions.
Gourmet snack with iberic ham and olive oil
Ultimately, we invite you to this very special corner of the Mediterranean, a corner that combines stunning landscape, diverse and traditional agriculture and a deeply rich culture. Our cuisine still holds secrets that we want to help you to discover. For those who wish to taste and learn about our culture, this is only the beginning…
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