Culinary Catalonia - chorizos, patés and poultry

The art of cured meats are mastered to perfection in Catalonia, Spain 

One of the main reasons why I love Catalonia is their rich culinary culture. I love roaming through the abundant food markets of Barcelona, where the wide range of specialty products are displayed, and I know for sure that if I had such markets close by, I would buy products there instead of at my local supermarkets.

Here are photos of meat and meat products as seen in Catalonia these last years. They will give you an idea how many meat specialties you can can choose from. They may be more expensive, than products found in the supermarkets, but the quality is superior to any mass produced foods.

Display of cured meats and salamis from different cities as the Pamplonica from the city of Pamplona in Navarra,The xorico de vic originates from the city of Vic north east of Barcelona where cured sausages have been produced as far back as the 14th century. The Longaniza Iberica is a Spanish sausage closely associated with the Portuguese linguiça.

Patés with Armagnac, figs and port wine and cava (left), supreme patés layered with duck and ceps (foreground). On the right part of the photo you have cream cheeses flavoured with nuts and pine nuts.

Poultry does not come any fresher than this. You will even have to decapitate it and remove the innards. The brightly coloured skin reflects its diet, derived from fresh maize corn.

More chorizo and ham stories on Enjoy Food & Travel 

• Asparagus with Spanish Serrano ham and Hollandaise sauce (May 24th 2010)
• The ultimate Sunday breakfast sandwich (March 30th 2010)  
• Let them eat - ham! (September 14th 2008) 
• Making a creole chowder (April 6th 2007)
  
• Chicken risotto with ceps and spanish chorizo (January 19th 2007)