Albera products
100% organic products
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Organic veal from Albera
Indigenous breed in danger of extinction.
Consuming it we support sustainable farming respecting the environment and safeguard the breed.
How is the cattle raised?
In semi-freedom up in the Albera mountains Feeding on natural resources and ecological forage supplementation Ecological, clean and healthy meat without traces of medicines or vaccines. Certified by the Catalan Consortium for Organic Agricultural Production (CCPAE)
How is the meat?
Tender with slight taste of Mediterranean herbs Not very high fat content 100% healthy and respectful of the environment Identifiable by color, texture, flavor and certification.
- Color: Deep red
- Texture: Tender and sweet
- Flavor : Mediterranean herbss
- Certification: CCPAE
La Vaca de l'Albera
És una raça autòctona catalana en perill d’extinció que viu en règim de semi-llibertat a la Serra de l’Albera. Rustica, àgil i de petita estatura, està molt bé adaptada a viure a zones arbrades de muntanya.
El programa de recuperació iniciat per l’Associació Baussitges d’Amics de la Vaca de l’Albera l’any 2010, intenta augmentar la seva població per treure-la del perill d’extinció.
Els dos valor diferencials d’aquesta raça son:
- - La seva adaptació a viure a zones de muntanya i una alimentació més semblant a la d’un herbívor salvatge que a la d’una vaca (branques i fruits d’arbres com l’alzina, el roure i el faig), la han convertit en una de les millores eines per a la neteja de boscos i el seu manteniment, valor avui dia molt important per la lluita contra els incendis forestals.
- - Les característiques peculiars de la seva carn, molt sabrosa, tendra i amb baix contingut en greixos, capta l’interès de tots aquells que busquen una alimentació exquisita i saludable.
Native breed in danger of extinction
Consuming it we support sustainable practices with the environment and the safeguard of the race
Oil
In the middle of the Albera Massif, interspersed between oak forests, our ecological olive trees grow. In spring these fields are used as pasture for Albera cattle herds. The cattle control the growth of the grasses and at the same time they fertilize the fields with their feces. Thus we favor conservation of this disappearing cattle breed while trying to maintain the balance of the fields.
A detailed monitoring of the trees allows us to choose the best time for the olive to be collected before falling. Then, manual harvesting and mechanical pressing in cold before 24 hours after being collected allow us to obtain a product of the highest quality.
Our oil is made from three olive varieties:
- ARGUDELL: native Catalonian olive variety, fine, smooth and excellent quality with taste of almonds, anise and artichoke, fresh and green.
- PICUAL: typical of the south of Spain, here it acquires a different taste becoming much milder. This happens due to the peculiar characteristics of these rough lands and the influence of the dry and strong Tramontana wind.
- MANZANILLA : a very full-flavored variety.
The blend of the three varieties results in an exclusive oil mild on the palate with an aroma of Mediterranean herbs: Fresh, green and tempting. Due to the typical quality of the Picual olive, our oil does not become stale or grow bitter as it ages.
Honey
Our honey has a golden color, a buttery fluidity and some transparency. Coming mainly from the holm oak, it has a high nutritional value.
Because of its geographical isolation and the great distance that separates Baussitges from any crop that uses products harmful to bees, our environment becomes an ideal place to develop a sanctuary for bees. We are testing different types of hives: models Guillaume, Langstroth, Dadant, Layens. Some of the tested models have been ruled out by the climatology of the region, with strong wind gusts that make the ones that are too high unstable. Next spring, with the help of a professional beekeeper, we want to start with a small incipient apiary that could serve as a basis for a future project.
Cork
The abandonment of forests in Catalonia in the middle of the last century, the loss of the practices of thinning, cleaning, pruning and other activities that were done in times not too far from our centennial cork oaks, has caused the Alt Empordà to lose the fame it had once as a producer of very good quality cork. Nowadays, cork companies that remain in our territory, prefer to go and buy cork in Extremadura or other regions of southern Spain. Although the quality is worse, they ensure a more complete use of the purchased plates. The attack of the famous beetle that forms galleries on the inner side of the cork reduces quality of our production. Previously, the cork forests were maintained better and now we must break with this sloppiness if we want to recover the lost quality.
One of the challenges we have at Baussitges is to get all the winegrowers in our region to use the area's cork to bottle their wines.
Firewood
As a result of the recovery of old areas of pasture now invaded by the forest, we obtain large amounts of oak wood, which once cut to size required by our customers, and dried to lose excessive moisture, is sold for heating homes in winter.
There is no exploitation of forests in Baussitges. The purpose is to recover old grazing areas for the Albera cattle. We do not cut large trees, because we try to favor our forests to reach the state of "mature" forests. The recovery of these grazing areas will make Baussitges more sustainable allowing the cows that live here find enough food at the place and thus we avoid buying food from other producers.