Spanish Fruit Breads and Cheese - A Perfect Pairing!

Chances are, if you’re lucky enough to be in Spain during the holidays and are invited to share a meal, you’ll be offered all sorts of traditional holiday sweets. Maybe some almond turrón or a few alfajores... but you also might be offered a slice from a large, solid round reminiscent of a wheel of cheese. However, this wheel is dark in color and more solid – it is comprised solely of dried fruit and nuts. Spanish “fruit breads” are the essence of sweet simplicity.

The “fruit breads” of Spain aren’t really bread at all, but a sweet compressed round of dried fruits and nuts that are eaten in slices. Fruit breads are most typically eaten around the holidays, but are also enjoyed year-round as a simple dessert or as an accompaniment to cheeses. Our Matiz Fruit Breads are made from figs and apricots paired with walnuts and almonds. We source our fruit breads from a family-owned Spanish company called Biovera. The Sanchez family cultivates fruit trees in La Vera, located in hot, arid Extremadura in central Spain.

Figs and apricots were originally brought to Spain by the Moors. These fruits are original cultivars of the Middle East and northern Africa, but were natural transplants to the desert-like climate of southern and central Spain. In fact, Spanish dates are the most northern dates grown in Europe. Figs are picked and dried in the fall months, preserving them for winter. Once these fruits are dried, their nutritional properties remain intact. Figs and apricots are high in fiber, and apricots are high in vitamin C.  They are an all-natural, delicious treat that you can feel good about!

This holiday season, may we suggest this “recipe” for a festive cheese course with fruit breads and other fine accompaniments from Matiz. !Buen provecho!

Matiz “Just Add Cheese” Course

Lay out an array of some of our finest Spanish cheese accompaniments, add a few good hunks of Manchego, Idiazabál or Mahón and your cheese course is complete!

Matiz Fig Bread

Matiz Apricot Bread

Matiz Date Bread

Matiz Picos and Tortas de Aceite

Matiz Quince Paste

Matiz Marcona Almonds

Dequmana Cured Olives

Matiz Piparras

Arvum Sherry Vinegar

Castillo de Canena Named Best in International Achievement

Castillo de Canena accepts their Spanish Food Award

It seems to be a well-kept secret that the best olive oil in the world comes from Spain. However, here at Culinary Collective we have the opportunity to taste some of the best Spanish olive oil on the international market today, confirming sip after sip that no other oils can compare in their complexity. We pick producers who not only cultivate a superior product, but who also run their businesses in a way that cultivates a larger idea – that of elevating the standards within their industry. Castillo de Canena is one of those companies, and they have just been awarded the Premio Alimentos de España por la Internacionalización  (Spanish Food Award for Best in International Achievement).   

Castillo de Canena "First Day" Arbequina and Picual Olive Oils

This award is given in recognition of a company that excels in producing, supplying and promoting quality food products among consumers overseas. We have been importing Castillo de Canena for quite a few years, and have come to know the Vaño family, after whose own family castle in Canena the company was named. We have seen first-hand their commitment to growing a business with ecological and financial sustainability while producing the highest quality product. Owner Rosa Vaño confirms this triad of values when she says,

“The oil market is increasingly competitive. Nevertheless, at Castillo de Canena we work tirelessly to be one of the world’s best oils in terms of quality, innovation and respect for the environment.”

The Vaño family takes their commitments seriously. For environmental efficiency, they use solar panels, strategic planting to avoid soil erosion and recycle biomass for fuel. They also aim for dexterity within their business model by formulating well-structured export strategies with a careful selection of target countries for export.

These are the values that keep the Castillo de Canena flowing into our warehouses year after year. Their arbequina and picual varieties are finally becoming well known in the US as some of the best Spanish oils on the market today. Congratulations to Castillo de Canena and the Vaño family, we have a feeling this award won’t be the last!

Product Highlight: Quince Paste

When the leaves fall and the mornings greet us with autumn’s telltale sign of sapphire blue, here at Matiz we know it’s time to look for quince. Most people think only of fall’s ubiquitous apples and pears, but quince fruits at the orchards of Trafut Cano in Spain are what we think of first.  These pear-shaped fruits go into both varieties of quince paste (or membrillo in Spanish) that we carry – Matiz brand and Corazón del Sol. Trafut Cano is a family-run business that has partnered with us since our beginning over 15 years ago, and continues to produce an outstanding product that we’ve never tired of pairing with our favorite Manchego.

In the orchards of the Cano family in Andalucía is where you’ll find these chameleon-like fruits. Looking like an irregular-shaped pear but with a tough, astringent flesh, quince fruits change to an appealing flavor and texture after hours of cooking with sugar and lemon. Quince have a light flesh, but this turns to a deep caramel the longer it’s cooked, producing a mild, sweet flavor somewhere between an apple and a pear. Corazón del Sol quince paste is lighter and milder in flavor that our own Matiz brand, which is cooked longer to result in a deeper color and more caramel notes.

Spain has always had a love affair with quince, as a traditional sweet foil for their pungent sheep’s milk cheeses. However, quince have been enjoyed around the world for millennia. Quince are in the same family as apples and pears and are native to the slopes of Iran and Turkey. The ancient Greeks considered these fruits a symbol of fertility, and there are tales that the biblical “forbidden fruit” was written to be quince. They were popular in the US during the colonial period, but have since become more of a “forgotten” fruit than a forbidden one.

Here at Matiz, we think quince are ready to be the new breakout stars of fall. Quince paste is quite versatile – its subtle flavor can conform to a variety of sweet and savory flavors. Besides pairing with your favorite pungent Spanish cheese, quince paste can be added to desserts. Check out our recipes page for fun recipes using quince paste.

How do you like to use quince paste?

Photo credit: Rebecca Siegel (quince paste photo 1) and Maggie Jane (whole quince)

Support the Farm Campaign for Olivar de la Luna

“Every time you spend money, you're casting a vote for the kind of world you want.” - Anna Lappe

It’s no secret that we’re interested in where our food comes from. We scout out small producers from all over Spain, visit their farms and learn their stories. We understand that food is an expression of unique people and place. We love carrying products that not only come from magical places, but taste magical too. 

Sometimes we become so touched by the story and the people behind a product that we’re moved to help when times get tough. We’ve launched a “Support the Farm” campaign to help our friends at Olivar de la Luna buy back their land, taken by the bank during the recent tough economic climate in Europe.  Our founder Betsy Power first met the family behind her beloved olive oil, Olivar de la Luna, back in 2007 and was wooed by the gutsy, independent Spanish couple bent on turning an aging family farm into a sustainable enterprise. Read the story here, Touched By The Moon. 

Olivar’s owners Jesús and Tránsito have been working on the farm for over 30 years in the Sierra de la Luna, producing rich olive oil from their rare nevadillo blanco olives. When the economic crisis hit Europe, it hit Spain especially hard and demand for their precious oil plummeted. Jesús and Tránsito continue to work the land, but the family farm now has an uncertain future.

We couldn’t imagine not stepping up to support this farm and this incredible oil. If you haven’t yet tried Olivar’s golden, full-bodied olive oil, you’re in for a treat. The olives are picked at the perfect time to capture a peppery acidity that leaves a bite in that back of your throat. Gutsy, just like the people who make it.

Beginning in 2013, we at Matiz decided to give all profits from the sale of this oil right back to Jesús and Tránsito at Olivar. The profits will help them eventually buy back their land, keeping Olivar’s future secure. Maybe someday their now teenage son will have the option of inheriting this land and continuing the family tradition.

Can you recommend a store in your area to carry Olivar de la Luna oil? Please let us know here. You can also buy online from La Tienda.

We've Been Framed!

A chance visit to a local Northeast Portland eatery turned up a surprise when our owner Betsy Power noticed this framed bag of Matiz Paella rice on the wall. We think our packaging is a work of art, and are happy to see when other people think so too!

Petisco is a slice of Europe in the Irvington neighborhood. The menu is eclectic ranging from signature sandwiches and brunch to a dinner fit for a night out, all while maintaining a family atmosphere.

We love it when customers reuse our packaging, and the cloth rice bags are a pretty way to reuse and recycle. Do you have any creative uses for our bags? Please let us know!

Matiz gets Fancy in Bend

by Betsy Power

Last weekend I found myself in Bend, Oregon. Late evening. Suffering a popcorn coma from a movie outing. Attempting to work it off, I was wandering the streets of my unfamiliar surrounding when BAM – a whole window of Matiz rice stopped me in my tracks. Bags of the stuff lined the display shelf, Matiz curtains ran across the full top of the storefront. Was I dreaming?

I had stumbled upon Barrio, a fairly young but already well-loved Bend eatery that specializes in Spanish and Latin American inspired dishes. Tapas and paella are their specialty, and they obviously go through a LOT of our Matiz Paella rice.

I had to find out who was behind this wonderful window of Matiz, so I ignored the recently hung closed sign and wandered in. A few regulars were still at the bar and an adorable young waitress was quick to hunt down chef/owner Steven Draheim to answer my inquiries.

Chef Steven did indeed confirm that Matiz paella rice is their favorite and they go through quite a bit of it. So much so, that he had an abundance of cloth sacks with which to decorate many more display windows if the need should arise. In fact, his daughter, an aspiring designer, had jumped at the opportunity for some free and fabulous materials to get truly creative. A Matiz dress! And in a fashion show nonetheless.

Paris Draheim is a hobby designer and seamstress. Her latest work was the cocktail dress for Barrio in Bend Oregon. Photography by Tambi Lane Photography

Is anyone else out there having fun with our Matiz packaging? We want to know! Such creativity should not go unnoticed. Thank-you to the talented Paris, the Matiz cocktail dress designer!