In this episode of 'Here We Grow', Euronews heads to Galicia in Spain to meet the seafood producers and innovators creating famous flavours.
ADVERTISEMENTGalicia in Spain is a land of legends, tradition and gastronomy - we went to discover how its fertile ocean offers its people the finest flavours of the sea.
In this episode, we travelled around the region meeting some of its most sustainable and innovative seafood producers. From the coastal area of A Coruña to Rias Baixas in Pontevedra.
FAMOUS SEAFOOD SECRETS
Costa da Morte is an area famous for seafood and amazing landscapes.
Antón Muiños started diving aged five and is based in the area. He has a passion that became his job and he now leads the seaweed harvest at his family-run company, Porto-Muinos.
“It is very difficult for me to be away from the ocean,” he said. "I knew that I wanted to be in the field, to touch the seaweed, to be here every day harvesting and learning for instance that some seaweed has to be collected by hand, others have to be cut. It's something I'm passionate about, not only the industry, but just to come here and pick a couple of buckets and spend the day around here."
The temperature, currents and sun make it a fertile ocean. Every year Anton and his team collect 400 tons of 30 different species of seaweed.
UNIQUE FLAVOURS
At the factory, the algae is washed and freshly packed or processed to make pasta, tea, salads or tapas.
The unique texture, the sea taste and the nutritious qualities make seaweed a must in sophisticated and healthy kitchens.
Spain is one of the leading countries for fish farming. Euronews visited a turbot farm, with a unique location - in a marine reserve.
Carlos Tavares, a sustainability and quality control manager at Stolt Sea Farm, explained how the water flows in from the ocean, is filtered, and then fills the 500 tanks on the farm, and then flows back out into the reserve.
“The older fishermen always tell us that where the fishing is best and richest is close to the water outlet because the nutrients are coming from the farm - and this is incorporated into the natural ecosystem,” he added.
PRODUCTION PROCESS
At the production plant, the fish are filleted and carefully prepared.
Its delicious white meat is highly appreciated. Juvenal, a Roman poet, described it as a delicacy of the Roman empire, that is also high in nutritional value.
Located by the coast, La Brújula canning company only accepts the best catches.
Cristina Rey is the quality control manager. She gets up at 5am every morning to make sure she gets the finest fish.
She said the secret of the company’s success is combining excellent raw food, high technology and artisanal processes.
"The process, the auction, the fish markets. It’s just amazing because you get to live the essence of the Galician culture every day - the culture of fishing, not only the manufacturing process but also all that is behind it. If you don't get good raw material, the result will never be what you expected," Cristina Rey said.
