In the Basque Country, going to cider houses is a deeply rooted custom. It consists of eating the traditional and drinking cider from the kupela, Cuba, in small quantities as many times as desired. Every time the tap is turned on, they say ‘txotx’ and the stream is caught with the fine crystal cider glass, whose trick is learned immediately. It sprouts fresh at thirteen degrees centigrade, acid with sweet, bitter nuances, slightly effervescent due to natural carbonic fermentation, low alcohol content, but acid.
The first drink is disruptive for those who do not know it. Then it turns out to be pleasant and interesting due to the nuances developed by the apple, a “so humble” product, ideal for exceptional drinks, says Asturian Tino Panizales, winner of the category, ‘The most special’ at the III Sagardo Forum International Cider Competition of 2021. He conquered with his ice cider of different varieties of bitter apple and a particular method. Freeze and thaw on trays, ferment at fourteen degrees, put in oak barrels for two to three years. It does not add alcohol or sugar and the result is something similar to the vermouth described by the jury as silky, harmonious between sweetness and acidity, pleasant.
Aware of the “wild” flavor of cider, he proposes to make more friendly, sweet, light products like those of the brewing industry, but with quality. Instead of cider apples, “use them as a table, add sugar, concentrates, add gas and full advertising,” says Panizales in the XXVII yearbook of Sagardo Berriaren Eguna. In the Basque Country, a production of eight million liters per year is reported, two million with local apples -gezamina, urtebi haundi, patzolua-. The bottles have a red badge. The denomination of origin establishes that there are 115 varieties, 248 grouped producers, 48 cider houses, a large part in Guipúzcoa, one of the three provinces of the Basque Country and cider territory. Near San Sebastián, my home, is Astigarraga, a pioneer town in making cider and putting a grill next to the barrels. It is in a bucolic setting between mountains and is part of the Camino de Santiago route.
The Zapiain family lives there with five hundred years of tradition, award-winning cider and a new generation that sets the course, according to ‘The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’. It is a cider house/sagardotegy among the favorites of Joaquín Benito, a well-known gastronome in this region and influential on Instagram. He has thousands of followers for his philosophy. “I am passionate about gastronomy. I do not dedicate myself to this nor do I have interests with anyone and, in addition, I like to share. It’s my hobby,” he says.
He says that the traditional menu, fried cod omelette, chop, cheese, walnuts, quince, is something recent, as is the chorizo pintxo with house cider. “Before, they would go with the chop or even the rib and they would roast it there. Now, the cheeses are selected”.
Cider production starts in autumn. The ‘txotx’, a real social event when it starts, goes from January to April and then it is bottled. He mentions five cider houses, two of which are my favorites: Zapiain and Calonge, with their own aging meat, old sardine omelette, a classic, and cider with twenty-five European varieties.
Asturias and Galicia are the other Spanish cider regions. They also produce France, England, Germany… Legend has it that it protected against scurvy and gave sailors strength for the sinuous journey to Newfoundland in search of whales. The reality is that going to a cider house is good for
mind because eating and drinking richly, at ease, relaxes the spirit, socializes, laughter slackens and life takes a different turn, especially in dark times, of war
#txotx #acidity #sweetness