{"id":20192,"date":"2024-04-04T10:05:54","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T10:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?p=20192"},"modified":"2024-04-04T10:10:09","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T10:10:09","slug":"calcot-onion-harvest-in-full-swing-in-valls-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/04\/04\/calcot-onion-harvest-in-full-swing-in-valls-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"Cal\u00e7ot onion harvest in full swing in Valls, Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The November to May cal\u00e7ot onion harvest in Spain is in full harvest mode in Valls, the onion\u2019s original hometown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Taragona township is basking in its famous onion riches despite Spain experiencing one of its worst droughts<\/u><\/a> in two centuries<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valls produces 10%<\/u><\/a> of some 55 million nationwide cal\u00e7ot shoots, of which the bulk grows in the native Catalonia region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Valls still holds the crown as the birthplace of this flagrant produce and it enjoys a special heritage status in the market. People leave other growing areas and come here to sample farmhouse-style burned onions on open fireplaces at Valls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why call them Cal\u00e7ot?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

History recounts two interesting details about the discoveries of the growth format, name and culinary habits attached to the onions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first one is that farmers in Valls would pile up soil around the root to make the stem grow straight. This left the underground section tender and white, a secret to flavour that this species holds over bulbous types. The name Col\u00e7ot is thus a corruption of the Catal\u00e1n word for covering the bottom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was also here in this town that a farmer in the 1800s burned some shoots by accident only to unearth \u201cgold.\u201d When he peeled the charred remains he discovered gooey stuff inside, a sumptuous feature that has made cal\u00e7ots quite popular.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cherished Gourmet Culture<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Each onion season, it is not strange to find traffic headed from Barcelona to Valls and other production areas. Families and friends meet for special barbeques which earn each individual at least 25 burnt onions at a sitting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the consumption of cal\u00e7ots is even a festival that attracts gourmet competitions across Spain, Ireland and the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n