Something had to be eaten. The chronicles tell that in the middle of the 15th century, the sailors who lived crossing the Atlantic from one side to the other made it pending on their long voyages of a single food: hard bread. Immune to humidity, after weeks of travel it could not be said that this was precisely a delicacy. However, it fulfilled its function honorably: to fill the stomachs of men who had enough to pay attention to what was happening outside the ship, with those ever-changing and treacherous winds and tides, to also have to worry about being squeezed by hunger. .
As a distant echo of those times, today a small town located in the interior of Galicia produces cookies inspired by those stories: they are the unmistakable Mariñeiras de Daveiga cookies. The company Lugar da Veiga, SLL was born in 2005 in Chantada (Lugo) by the hand of three brothers who wanted to return to their land and contribute to their town by applying the principles of the social economy. After 18 years, it is one of the fastest growing companies in Europe since 2014, according to him Financial Times.
For the firm’s general coordinator, Xosé Lois Lamazares, creating this project was never a matter of necessity because all the brothers had stable jobs in other parts of Galicia. The idea, he says, was always to help develop the area: “This is what inspires us,” says Lamazares, 59. While they were studying various product alternatives, by chance they had to travel to Buenos Aires to visit a fourth brother. It was this trip that allowed them to discover sea biscuits, a product introduced to America from the Iberian Peninsula that had practically disappeared in Europe.
In the Anglo-Saxon world, these became part of the British diet as crackers or soda crackers. “We found it to be a very interesting product for Galicia. It was a totally different cookie concept because it was not sweet”, says one of the founders of the brand. The preparation of the biscuits is very simple: wheat flour, butter or extra virgin olive oil, salt and to preserve them naturally, barley malt extract, barley malt flour, soy lecithin and ferment.
These ingredients are kneaded, left to ferment for a couple of hours, shaped by hand and baked. “It is a very simple process with very interesting results”, says Lamazares. As it does not have any type of humidity, it is a product that is preserved naturally, which explains, on the one hand, its popularity. On the other hand, it must be said that these cookies go with everything; Since no flavor predominates excessively, its pairing can be made with sweet or salty: there are those who put jam and cheese to spread for breakfast; There are those who use them as a base for canapés and skewers and, finally, there are those who are so fond of the product that they prefer them alone between meals to kill the bug. This last option seems like coffee to us for the very coffee lovers, the butter ones are especially dangerous; you can eat half a bag without realizing it). There are small ones -bite size- that are ideal to accompany Russian salad or to serve with the crudités of a hummus or any spread.
Lamazares says that in order to go to local suppliers, some adaptations had to be made to the recipe for sea biscuits. In recent years, other foreign ingredients such as quinoa, chia and flax have also been added. In addition, the company not long ago launched a line of snacks that follows market trends with flavors such as pizza, empanada or garlic and parsley. 18 years ago the project opened with just six workers. Today there are more than 80, of which 55 are partners, since the company was established as a limited company in which capital can be contributed.
As it is a participatory project, information is essential, which is why meetings are recurring in which, together, issues ranging from income statements to organizational changes and new hires are discussed, in which priority is given to women who live in the area. “This shows that the commitment to the social economy can also give results. People are more involved, and with that it is easier to grow a lot”, explains the co-founder.
Today, Lugar da Veiga produces 6,000 kilos of cookies per day on average. With a weight of eight grams for each one of them, in total the company produces 1.3 million kilos per year. One of its owners is proud to say that now, after several difficult years, they are billing just over six million euros per year, more than six times more than just six years ago. Galicia and Portugal make up its main market, although its products are found in the main distribution chains. “In Portugal the star is the one with chia seeds, and in Galicia the most successful is the classic one with extra virgin olive oil,” confesses Lamazares, who does not hide the next challenge: filling Europe with crunchy biscuits. It will be the return of a ship that sailed to the Americas and did not return.
In the Product of the Month section, we tell the story of groceries that excite us because of their quality, their flavor, and the talent of the people who make them. No producer has given us money, jewelry or Mercadona gift vouchers to make these items.
#Mariñeiras #Daveiga #cookies #transoceanic #sailors