El País, Gastronotas de Capel, extensive report dedicated to our golden blond

News published by José Carlos Capel, in El País, May 21, 2020.

I tried for the first time the golden blond last summer at the bar Tragatá, second brand of the cook Benito Gomez (Bardal 2*) in Round, The meat is sweet, elegant and with peculiar notes. The great paradox is that this lineage, from the Iberian pig, officially does not exist. My conversation with Simon has been revealing.

Does it really not exist? “According to the Ministry of Agriculture it is an extinct breed, which cannot be recognized since we do not have a sufficient number of animals, only 180 / 200”.

¿Golden blonde from Ronda o gaditano gilding? “Either way, both names allude to the same native breed, a legend of the Serranías from Malaga and Cadiz”.

Mountain pork?“Indeed, feral, from the trunk of the Iberian, which lived in freedom in the mountainous core that runs between Round and the Sierra de Grazalema. In spite of its affinity with the Retinto, genetically it differs from the rest of the Iberian breeds”.

Reasons for its disappearance? Its low profitability. It is a small animal, not very productive, of very slow growth, which takes three years to reach the ideal weight for slaughter and, due to its high fat content, its shoulders and hams require long curing periods, never less than three years. To top it off, they have a white hoof, The cost of production is three times higher than that of other Iberian products. Its production cost is triple that of other Iberian products.

Chestnut pre-montanera? Our golden blond, The offspring of 100% Iberian sires and dams feed on four types of acorns, holm oaks, cork oaks, cork oaks, chaparros and gall oaks. In the month preceding the montanera, they satiate themselves with chestnuts, in a pre-mountain unique, which gives them sweet nuances. At The Dehesa of the Monteross The animals in extensive breeding are subjected to an enormous exercise that contributes to the marbling of their meat. We are the only company that breeds this breed in the world, the production is minimal and the effort required is excessive.

What is your activity? The Dehesa of the Monteros? “We breed extensively between the Serranía de Ronda and the Genal Valley 1,000 pigs, all 100% certified Iberian pigs, most of which are entrepelados with some retintos. Only 5% (50/60 animals) belong to the lineage blond gold. We are a family business founded by my mother, Consuelo Gámez Amián in 2008, Professor of Economics at the University of University of Malaga”.

You can see the complete article here

News published by José Carlos Capel, in El País, May 21, 2020.