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SABORS D'ORIGEN
It is a company of producers and marketers of organic fruits and vegetables from the historic orchard of Valencia.
They believe in local agriculture, in which the farmer is a participant in the product value chain. Firstly, because no one takes care of the quality of the product like the farmer himself, from the seed to the consumer's table. And secondly, because this ensures the economic viability of small agroecological farms.
Terra i Chufa is much more than organic tigernuts and horchata and other products such as flour, beer or oil made with our own tigernuts, it is a young project to recover and maintain the traditional agricultural knowledge of the Horta de Valencia. They cultivate local varieties of peanuts, pumpkins, onions, beans, cabbages, but we have also incorporated the tastes of consumers from central and northern Europe by planting kohlrabi, fennel or celery root among others. They follow the principles of agroecology by delivering the product directly to the farm or to their stalls in the municipal markets of Russafa and Rojas Clemente.
Mas i Riurau del Fondo
The facilities where Terrra i Xufa is located are heritage of natural ethnological interest, included in the catalog of rural nature assets and protected spaces of Valencia.
The Mas del Fondo, the farmhouse, dates from the late 18th century, had large areas of grape cultivation and wine production. The riurau is a large shed where grapes were dried to make raisins and other processed products.
Currently, the Mas has an agricultural operation, where, apart from cultivating peanuts and tiger nuts, the Guirra or "red-nosed" sheep is also raised, a native breed of Valencia in danger of extinction. According to the census of the Ministry of Agriculture, there are only 6,000 Guirra sheep left in the world, and of these, 600 are found on the Mas del Fondo estate.
At Mas del Fondo, we work holistically and biodynamically thanks to the herd of Guirres sheep, which feed on crop residues, reducing food waste and closing the nutrient cycle with the incorporation of their compost into the soil.
La Xufa
Common name: Chufa, Chufa, Catufa, hazel sedge, erdmandeln, souchet, tigernut
Scientific or Latin name: Cyperus esculentus. Family: Cypeaceae
Variety: Alboraia almond and Bonrepós round almond
Use: Cultivated for at least 4000 years by the tiger nuts found in the burials of Ancient Egypt, its traditional use has been medicinal to cure gastrointestinal conditions. Although according to Theophrastus in “The History of Plants” the Egyptians boiled them in beer to drink them. Both tiger nuts are used in the form of flour, as well as the whole peeled or chopped tuber to currently make sweets, bars or biscuits, since it is a gluten-free and highly energetic product, with 30% fat, of which 70% is oleic acid, that is, heart-healthy, and 8% protein. The predominant presence of arginine as an essential amino acid, a precursor to prolactin, stands out. That is why the consumption of horchata, the emulsified liquid resulting from the maceration and pressing of crushed tiger nuts, is traditionally recommended for pregnant mothers and children.
Cultivation: In Valencian conditions it is sown during the months of April-May and the crop extends until December. It is a very demanding crop in fertile and sandy soils, with a high percentage of organic matter. Generations of farmers have amended the fields with contributions of sand from the worn beach as bedding for animals. It needs periodic irrigation and flooding, in the summer period as a good cyperaceae. Except for the Bactra or tiger nut borer, it does not have excessive pest problems and its organic cultivation is recommended.
