On my last trip to Asturias I had the opportunity to visit with my friend Xandru González Fernandez. Xandru and his partner Paz González Mesa are very much involved in the study and conservation of Asturian culture and traditions. On their home property, they have preserved a number of horreos, Celtic buildings from the 1500s.
Paz, a former university professor, was not at home that day. She was at the holiday market in Oviedo to show the wool and textiles that are part of her work to preserve the local textile arts. Xandru gave us a quick overview of a few textile making artifacts that looked to me like they were pulled right out of a fairytale.
Xandru is a cook and gardener, so we always have plenty to talk about. On this visit we quickly touched on spelt cultivation, how he grows the grain and transforms it into bread all right here on the property.
Walking around the property is like walking through time. It’s magical. And just like magic, we quickly found ourselves in the cider cellar. The smell of fermenting cider permeated the room on that December morning.
We tried cider right from the barrel. Not ready yet, he said. To me it tasted just like the cider my uncle Zoilo used to make. We would always drink it before it was “ready.” This is the taste of early winter from my childhood. Xandru also opened a bottle of finished cider for us to try.
This cider was a treasure to be shared: he sent me off with a couple of bottles that we enjoyed during our stay in Asturias. I hope you will soon have a chance to try Asturian cider, or failing that, a local cider brewed in your own community. If you have a favorite cider house, let me know about it so that we can compare notes.
Buen provecho!
Dinner with Daniel 