The Fruit Trees of the Vega Baja del Genil
In the fruit trees that flank the banks of the Genil River, products of enormous quality and of very diverse varieties are harvested thanks to the suitability of the soils, the wisdom and good work of the gardeners, the water engineering and a long agricultural history. In Puente Genil, they make their famous quince jam, whose fruit is harvested in autumn and is the reason for two festivities in Priego and Carcabuey. The Cadenera orange —large, easy to peel and with a lot of juice— grows where the Guadalquivir and the Genil come together in Palma del Río, in their Pagos de Huerta. These are old peasant settlements, farmhouses located on the silty lands of the meanders of the rivers. Some of them had their own schools. A visit to these agricultural areas is a real ethnology course.
The quince is the hallmark of Puente Genil, a town in the Cordovan countryside. Its cultivation generates a lot of wealth and work, both during the harvest season, from the end of September to December, and later in the transformation industries. Different products are made from the quince fruit, which is highly regarded for its excellent quality. Of the 25 that Puente Genil had in the last century, some well-known factories can still be found, like La Gondola,El Quijote and Saint Lawrence. The most popular is, without a doubt, quince cheese, although it is also made into jams, compotes, preserves and jellies.
Local production exceeds 4 million tons, but it is also grown in the villages of Zagrilla Alta and Baja, Carcabuey and Cordoba. Festivals related to this fruit are celebrated every autumn in the region, which is the origin of the famous sweet that the Greeks and Romans offered as a wedding gift, as it symbolised love and fertility. In Priego de Córdoba and Carbacuey, the peak days are in October, when theQuince Festival and Tasting and the Membrillo Festival, respectively, which have an extensive leisure and gastronomic program that includes visits to companies. Puente Genil celebrates the Quince Tasting-Festival in November, with tastings and educational workshops.
Quince is a relative of the apple, and in Carcabuey they have taken advantage of this opportunity to recover a deeply-rooted native variety. We're talking about the camuesa or pippin, a very popular fruit appreciated by the elderly. It has almost fallen into oblivion, but in this municipality of the Subbética, farmers of a certain age, well aware of the value of this botanical heritage, have preserved almost 400 trees. Another local variety is the cadenera, which is not just any orange. Exclusive to Palma del Río, their juice is very, very abundant. Therefore, it is not surprising that the city proudly wears it as a sign of identity.
The Month of the Orange takes place between March and April, which is celebrated with the dissemination of gastronomic recipes based on this fruit, a chef demonstration at local restaurants, and free orange juice in establishments that are members of the local business association, cultural events, heritage visits, etc. There are numerous local companies that carry out guided tours of their crops and facilities, as is the case of Biovalle. Palma doesn't just make its living from oranges, it also produces limes, red grapefruit, lemons, walnuts, almonds...
Since time immemorial, in the lower plain of the Genil, where the river makes its tribute to the Guadalquivir, the land and the water have generated an extraordinary wealth of fruit trees and orchards. But, above all, it has managed to preserve its traditions and enormous biodiversity. Enjoy it!
