FOOD & DRINK
Before we have a look at restaurants
worth visiting on Tenerife, let us look at
the food the traditional Canarian kitchen
can offer.
COOKING
The island cuisine is one of the aspects of our culture that visitors generally know least about. It is however, highly interesting and can provide some very pleasant surprises for anyone who fancies a change from their usual diet or the dishes on offer at many international restaurants, whilst they are on holiday.
Canary Island cuisine is very simple, but full of its own genuine flavours. The climate - with all the different microclimates - and the traditional produce of the islands are the main factors that have influenced the traditional dishes of Canary Island cooking.
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FISH
The fish here is delicious and. Dishes are usually very simple; boiled fish - or "sancochado" as they say here - seasoned with oil, vinegar and hot peppers, or with "mojo" - the typical local dip. There are different versions of "mojo", but you will always find it on any self-respecting table in the Canary Islands. There is green - coriander - mojo and red, or hot mojo. The most popular fish here among the local people is parrot fish, with its delicate, white flesh, but other tasty fish include snapper, dentex and saupe. Members of the tuna family abound in the waters around the islands. They are delicious served fried, grilled or soused: chub mackerel, sardine and especially blue jack mackerel (chicharro in Spanish) which has become a nickname for Santa Cruz and by extension for the whole island. The people of Tenerife are known as "chicharreros". There is one marine species that must not be missed: the Moray eel, fried and crunchy, it was the favourite dish of Roman Emperors and, for some reason or another, it has been neglected by modern gourmets. In the cooler, damper parts of the island, a fish stew is ideal, usually dusky or comb grouper, served with the fish stock, thickened with "gofio": flour made from ground and toasted corn.
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MEAT
In the meat section, mention must be made of a dish called "carne de fiesta" (festival meat), which consists of, chunks of seasoned pork. It owes its name to the fact that it is the dish that is usually served in all the popular festivities, served from stalls and bars during the village fiestas. Goat´s meat, in all its different varieties, and rabbit in "salmorejo" sauce which, like most of the fish dishes, is served with "papas arrugadas" - potatoes boiled in very salty water and served in their jackets to conserve all the flavour of the outstanding island varieties of potatoes. These come in all sizes, textures and colours, although the best ones are "bonitas" and above all, the "negras menudas", dark on the outside, yellow on the inside, they are delicious.
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DESSERTS
Canary Island confectionery is rich and varied, maybe because it is the final dish of a good meal. "Huevos moles" - egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon and lemon peel, "bienmesabe" -almond paste/sauce - and whey are just some of the typical desserts to be found in Tenerife. Many of these dishes can be served with a topping of palm honey; originally from La Gomera, it is made by boiling the sap from the highest most inaccessible part of the palm tree.
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CHEESES
Fresh goat´s milk cheese is often served as an hors d´oeuvre to the main course. The cheeses of the Canary Islands are recovering their good reputation, they have won important prizes and awards in recent international dairy shows. Up until the 40´s and 50´s, when there were large herds of cattle on Tenerife, cheeses were made from varying portions of cow´s milk mixed with goat´s and sheep´s milk. Nowadays, goat´s milk cheese predominates, which can be 100% goat´s milk, or mixed with sheep´s milk, which makes it creamier. It is sometimes still mixed with cow´s milk as well. Although it is sometimes matured, and occasionally smoked, cheese is usually served fresh, as it has a pleasant and mild flavour, distinguishing it from certain European varieties of goat´s milk cheese.
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MOJOS
"Mojo", a word probably of Portuguese origin, is the Canary Island term for their typical sauces or dips. Not all sauces are called "mojos", just the typical ones that are originally from the Islands, so, for example, there are no mayonnaise "mojos", that would be a sauce, but there is a coriander "mojo". The best known "mojos" are coriander - or green - "mojo", although the green colour comes from the parsley it contains, "colorado" - or red - made with lots of paprika, and hot "mojo", made from chilli pepper. These are the main "mojos", but there are others, including ones made with saffron and cheese and almonds.
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GOFIO
"Gofio" is a flour that can be made from almost any kind of grain. It is toasted and ground to give a fine, wholemeal flour. In Tenerife the most common "gofio" is made from wheat, although it is also made from corn and occasionally from chick peas. There is also a "gofio" made from a mixture of wheat and corn. "Gofio" was the staple diet of the Guanches before the Spanish conquest of the Islands. They used mill stones to make it. Nowadays it is used as an added ingredient to many different dishes, and is now even being used very successfully to create new desserts and ice creams. It was always a vital staple when food was in short supply and was taken to the Americas by Canary Island emigrants. In 1990, the "Canary Island Gofio Producers Association" was founded, which has successfully promoted gofio and won it its own quality label "Gofio Canario".
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WINE
The origins of vineyards in the Canary Islands, and particularly in Tenerife, date back to the time of the conquest by the Kingdom of Castile. The varieties of grapevine brought by settlers tended to be white, suitable for making strong wines, which were easier to conserve.
Varieties of grapes that produced lower quality wines were known as "vidueños", whereas fine wines included above all Malmsey, originally from Greece. Wines made from this variety were considered the best in the world, and could be found in all the Courts of Europe and in the best cellars of both the Old and the New World, with "Sack" and "Canary" becoming the flagships of Canary Island wines. In the 16th and 17th centuries, wines and vines played a fundamental role in both the economy and society of Tenerife, reaching a peak in the second half of the 16th century, with the sugar crisis.
English shipping laws of the late 17th century, giving protection to Portuguese wines, and the Spanish War of Succession in the early 18th century had a negative impact on foreign trade in Malmsey wine, leading to considerable losses in comparison with earlier times.
Canary wine merchants responded to the crisis by exporting "vidueño" wines and "false Madeiras", taking advantage of the fashion for this wine, managing to penetrate the English and English American markets. This explains why red wine grape varieties were brought to the Canary Islands in the 18th century, necessary for producing this kind of wine.
Now, many years after all these historic and commercial vicissitudes, the wines of Tenerife are regaining their own personality and are becoming the ideal drink to accompany island dishes. Nowadays, Tenerife produces excellent young reds and other wines, all produced under 5 different marks of origin that cover the different growing areas.
In the "XII National Competition of Young Wines" (Vintage of 97), the Tacoronte-Acentejo local vineyards, "Bodegas Insulares de Tenerife S.A.-" won the following prizes, awarded by the Spanish Wine Tasters´ Union (U.E.C. from its initials in Spanish): • Golden Bachus (1st prize) for the red "Viña Norte carbonic mashing" • Golden Bachus (1st prize) for the red "Viña Norte mashing in the barrel" Silver Bachus (2nd prize) for Viñan Norte rosé.
In the same competition, another local vineyard, "Valle de la Orotava" won:
Silver Bachus (2nd prize) for the white "Valleoro traditional white, fermented in the barrel"
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VINES AND VARIETIES
The quality of the grape varieties introduced by settlers, along with the fact that Tenerife was unaffected by the philoxera plague that ravaged European vineyards, made it possible to create an excellent wine-growing reserve in the islands.
Vines are grown between 50 m and 1600 m above sea level; the most widespread native varieties are Listán Noir, giving the wines rich primary aromas; Negramoll, which gives dry, light smooth and rounded wines, and Listán Blanc, which blends well with the other varieties. Other varieties, such as Malmsey, Gual, Tintillo, Forastera and Moscatel are also grown, but to a much lesser extent.
Local varieties have certain limitations for creating vintage wines. Of the 106 vineyards that operate in Tenerife, only 9 produce more than 100,000 litres of wine a year.
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REGIONS WITH A MARK OF ORIGIN
Tenerife has five wine-growing areas with a mark of origin, covering a total of 8,177 Has. of vines on the island.
"TACORONTE-ACENTEJO" MARK OF ORIGIN This is the largest and most densely populated wine-growing area in the Canary Islands, with 2,422 Has. of vines (980 registered with the Regulatory Council) between 50 m and 850 m. above sea level. It encompasses the vineyards of the boroughs of Tegueste, Tacoronte, El Sauzal, La Victoria, La Matanza, Santa Ursula and the areas of Guamasa, Tejina and Valle Guerra.
This was the fist area in the Canary Islands to win a "Mark of Origin", awarded by the Autonomous Region on the 22 - 1 - 92, and by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on the 7 - 9 - 92.
"VALLE DE OROTAVA" MARK OF ORIGIN This area has 926 Has. of vines (430 registered with the Regulatory Council), between 275 m and 675 m above sea level. It encompasses the boroughs of La Orotava and Los Realejos.
"YCODEN - DAUTE - ISORA" MARK OF ORIGIN" This is an area of 1003 Has. of vines (560 registered with the Regulatory Council), between 75 m and 925 m above sea level. It includes the boroughs of San Juan de la Rambla, La Guancha, Icod de los Vinos, Garachico, Los Silos, Buenavista del Norte, El Tanque, Santiago del Teide and Guia de Isora.
"ABONA" MARK OF ORIGIN The area has 1995 Has. of vines (714 registered with the Regulatory Council), between 210 m and 1780 m above sea level. It includes the vineyards of Fasnia, Arico, San Miguel, Granadilla de Abona, Adeje, Arona and Vilaflor.
"VALLE DE GUIMAR" MARK OF ORIGIN The area has 1468 Has. of vines (400 registered with the Regulatory Council), between 175 m and 1400 m above sea level. It includes the vineyards of Arafo, Candelaria and Guimar.
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THE HONEYS OF TENERIFE
The climate and terrain of Tenerife endow the flora with some very special features. These floral combinations and the endemic plant species are the reason for the diversity and originality of the honeys of Tenerife.
The honeys of Tenerife come from some 10,000 mobile hives distributed all over the island in the care of some 500 bee keepers, who take care of their small hives with all the loving care of the craftsmen they are. The native bee of Tenerife is the black bee, producing some 150,000 kilos of honey a year on average, accounting for 50% of all the honey produced in the Canary Islands.
Moving the hives in search of the best blossoms at any one time allows bee keepers to obtain some very special honeys, which offer a wide range of flavours and unusual colours that are not found in other honey producing areas, from the Light colours and less intense flavours of the Broom and Bugloss honeys, to the dark colour and stronger taste of the banana - avocado honeys, covering the whole range of ambers and golds.
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MULTI FLOWER HONEYS
Tenerife produces some exquisite multi-flower, or "milflores" honeys with surprising characteristics, due to the multiple combinations of flowers possible, as there is no dominant species of plant. The honeys of Tenerife are classified according to the altitude they are produced at, hence, we have High Mountain, Foothills and Coastal honey.
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HIGH MOUNTAIN HONEYS
The High Mountain Honeys are produced at an altitude of over 1200 metres, basically in Las Cañadas del Teide from flowers like broom and bugloss. These honeys include the outstanding Teide White Broom Honey (Miel de Retama del Teide), produced at an altitude of over 1500 metres.
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FOOTHILL HONEYS
This is produced in hives situated between 450 and 1200 metres. These include the multi-flower foothills honeys and the single flower honeys made from chestnut, tree heath or bugloss. These honeys have a stronger flavour when there is a dominance of heathers, fennels and chestnuts, and milder and more aromatic when the predominant plant species are oregano, eucalyptus or tagasaste.
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COASTAL HONEY
These are honeys produced below 450 metres, which combine orange blossom, balo, avocado, banana plants and other species. One of the best of these is the avocado - banana honey.
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SINGLE FLOWER HONEYS
The island also produces single flower honeys, when the nectar comes from a single plant, or from a small number of plants.
Teide White Broom Honey(Retama del Teide).
This is produced in the spring and summer, at an altitude of over 1500 metres, in the Mt. Teide National Park. This is the oldest honey of Tenerife and the most traditional honey. It is a light amber colour and its delicate flavour makes it ideal for putting in tea and as a breakfast honey.
Bugloss Honey (Miel de Tajinaste)
This is made from the different bugloss species to be found on the island, found mainly in the Arafo and Arico highlands. This is a very light coloured honey with a mild flavour and floral aroma, making it ideal to serve with delicate food, as it does not mask the flavour of the ingredients.
Avocado - Banana Honey (Miel de Aguacate - Platanera)
A spring honey, produced in the lowland areas of the island. It has a dark, almost black colour, and a characteristically intense aroma that is reminiscent of caramel and ripe fruit. Because of its intense colour and aroma, it has been used traditionally to kneed with "gofio" corn flour and dried fruits into delicious "pellas".
Chestnut Honey (Miel de Castaño)
This is a summer - autumn Honey, when the chestnut trees of the north-facing highland slopes and the Arafo and Candelaria highlands blossom. It is a dark amber colour and has a highly intense and persistent aroma. Ideal to serve with desserts, kneed with "gofio" or with meat and poultry.
Heather Honey (Miel de Brezal)
This is produced in areas with a mixture of heather, thyme, oregano and holly, in the Corona Forestal Nature Park. Not much of this amber coloured honey is produced. It has an aroma of medium intensity and it is intensely astringent.
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