Taste the tasty Santa Cruz Christmas

The dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy tells us that the word “degustar” means, textually, “to taste or taste, generally with delight, food and beverages”. But then it goes on to tell us that “degustar” also means “to savor and perceive with delight pleasant sensations”.

We are approaching dates where, from the project “Degusta Santa Cruz” we can (and should) feel wonderful tasting and perceiving with delight the countless pleasant sensations that Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital city, its neighborhoods and the municipality offer to all citizens in the upcoming festivities of Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Epiphany.

The good establishments of all sectors that work and professionally offer their products and services in the field of gastronomy, hotels and restaurants, offer their clientele endless possibilities and quality experiences, as well as references and quality brands that come from our own island and from all over the Canary Islands, but also from the mainland and abroad. Santa Cruz de Tenerife offers an almost infinite number of options.

But, with all due respect to national and international brands, as it could not be otherwise; it is understandable, fair and necessary that, in these complicated times of economic crisis, health crisis and, in the case of our beloved island of La Palma, humanitarian crisis due to the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano, we think about “tasting”, above all, the products and flavors of our land.

Throughout the municipality of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, most of its establishments directly or indirectly related to food, have been offering for some time now products of the so-called Kilometer Zero (Km.0) whose harvest, production, processing, packaging and labeling has been carried out entirely in Tenerife or any of the other seven Canary Islands.

Special mention should be made of the range of quality products from the Canary Islands that the Central Market Nuestra Señora de África offers every day, our popular “La Recova” of Santa Cruz de Tenerifewhere, on a daily basis, you can find, taste and buy fruits and vegetables, meats and sausages, fish and seafood, as well as an endless number of fresh and quality products from the municipality of Santa Cruz, Tenerife and the whole of the Canary Islands.

Especially at Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Epiphany, are dates in which the tradition of the Canary Islands encourages us to have family meals and, above all, to use the traditional recipes of our islands for these meals. With fresh products from Tenerife and the Canary Islands and as protagonists dishes whose recipes come from our mothers and fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers that, generation after generation, have been passed down in writing or, in many cases orally, usually until now from mothers to daughters and granddaughters.

When thinking about those family meals that are approaching, and respecting this year especially the necessary hygiene and safety measures against the SARS-Cov2 coronavirus pandemic, let us never forget those dishes, recipes and products of our land. From the project and product club “Degusta Santa Cruz” we encourage you to bet, above all, for what is ours.

To taste Santa Cruz and to savor Christmas in Chicharras is to remember the traditional recipe of Puchero Canario, considered and qualified by the remembered Catalan journalist, writer and gastronomic critic, Xavier Domingo (1929-1996) as “the most balanced, ecological and dietetic stew of Spanish cuisine”. A good Canarian stew for these cold days, especially for Christmas lunch (and its corresponding “tumbo” for the next day) is, without a doubt, a marvel.

To taste Santa Cruz is also to remember a good fish casserole (if possible grouper) with its corresponding escaldón of gofio with a few wedges of onions (if possible Guayonje, in Tacoronte; or from Los Carrizales, in Buenavista del Norte). But we must not forget also a good sama roquera or a tasty salted fish, accompanied by some black potatoes with our traditional mojos, green or red. Other delicacies.

We must remember that the island of Tenerife was the gateway for potatoes from Peru, that the first varieties were planted at Finca La Pared, in Icod el Alto, and that very soon they were also planted in the Anaga area, within the municipality of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and that from our port they left for all of Europe. And we must not forget that the Protected Designation of Origin “Papas Antiguas de Canarias” was the first PDO for potatoes, granted by the European Union.

To taste Santa Cruz de Tenerife is to be carried away by the sweet taste of our traditional Christmas cakes, angel hair or guava, from Los Realejos or Arafo. From our popular Christmas trout made with sweet potato or also with hair, elaborated practically all over our island. From the turrones and mantecados of Tacoronte, the almond polvorones of Las Mercedes, or the rosquetes of Guía de Isora many sizes and textures.

To taste Santa Cruz is not to forget the cheeses of Las Montañas, in Anaga, and the wines produced in our municipality from vines planted and harvested in Anaga. Let us not forget, just as an example of worldwide success, that the red wine Táganan, produced by winemaker Roberto Santana, with its label Táganan Margalagua, has obtained 97 points in the prestigious Parker Guide (equivalent to Michelin in the kitchen). Táganan, moreover, has enhanced its fame by having been placed more than once as a protagonist on President Barack Obama’s table at the White House.

Truly, all these products and many more of great quality of Tenerife and the Canary Islands are available to those who wish to have them on their tables in the coming holidays. And really, our Central Market Nuestra Señora de África and many establishments in the city and municipality of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, have them available to their customers.

It only remains that, as it was said at the beginning, when thinking about the meals of these upcoming holidays, we do not forget that Degusta Santa Cruz bets for what is ours: for our products, our dishes, our recipes, our flavors.

From the Development Society of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and from the project and product club “Degusta Santa Cruz“, very tasty and happy holidays, always in good health.