Fuet from Catalonia

Tasting notes

Due to the mold or "bloom" which forms during the production process, the outside has a whitish color. It is sold in lengths of about 30-40 cm and with a diameter of 3 centimeters.

Other notes

It may have different flavors depending on the type of spices that have been used and the process of fermentation it has undergone.

Production / Processing method

The lean pork meat is minced with lard to a size of 6-8 mm, and kneaded. Salt, pepper and spices are added and it is once again kneaded until the final mixture is obtained. This mixture is left to stand in a refrigerated chamber for 36 hours at a temperature of 3ºC.

It is then stuffed into a thin pork casing. The casing is dried in a heated chamber at a temperature of between 18ºC and 20ºC and humidity of 80/85%, for 24 hours. After this time the sausages are left to cool before being transferred to the drying room where they are maintained at a temperature of between 14ºC and 15ºC and a relative humidity of 75%-80% for 12 days.

Geography / Relief and climate:

The Autonomous Region of Catalonia has an area of 32,113.41 km2. It comprises the provinces of Barcelona (7,728 km2), Girona (5,910 km2), Lleida (12,172 km2) and Tarragona (6,303 km2). It borders on the north with Andorra and France, on the west with the Autonomous Region of Aragon (Huesca, Zaragoza and Teruel), on the south with the Autonomous Region of Valencia (Castellón) and on the east with the Mediterranean Sea. Catalonia has a very wide variety of landscapes with altitudes which range from 100 m above sea level all the way up to peaks of over 3,000 m in the Pyrenean mountain range, which runs across the northern part of this region. It is also home to the Mediterranean-Catalan mountain system, an alternating series of mountain ranges and lowlands running from northeast to southwest. And finally there is the central Catalan depression which extends from the northern to the southern part of Catalonia along the coastal mountain range.

Catalonia has a Mediterranean climate. Generally speaking, it is characterized by its cold winters and very hot dry summers, while the mountainous areas near the Pyrenees have minimum temperatures below zero and abundant snow in winter, with an annual precipitation of over 1,000 mm. The varying altitude of the landscape gives rise to a widely contrasting climate.