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!