It is a slogan that is repeated many times in sustainable horticulture “in high season”. Summer to winter radically changes the appearance of our orchards: sprouts, drunks, celery, curly, leek, etc. They take on prominence in winter. In February, Pamplona and Tudela organised the first days on these cold-resistant vegetables: Verdura de Hielo I. Days.

Vegetables that, besides fighting the ice, benefit from it

One of the drivers of the conference is the chef José Uranga, member of Slow Food and agricultural technician, among others. He talked to us about the mechanisms that winter vegetables have to cope with the cold and the benefits that frost brings on vegetables. “Vegetables usually have a bitter touch, especially to fight fungi and insects. By not needing it during the winter, plants stop producing bitter substances, especially phenol and polyphenol,” he says.

Uranga has also explained that plants take advantage of their energy to change their fibers, in order to maintain the ice. The hydrolyzation of the fibers and substances that plants produce to combat the cold directly affect the texture of vegetables: “All these processes make the texture of vegetables more creamy.”

Taste, territory and sustainability

The main objective of the conference was to highlight winter vegetables and it has been professionals from different areas who have addressed the issue in the days from the areas of health, gastronomy, production and ecology and sustainability.

Round table, product tasting, workshops on how to clean and prepare vegetables, seed exchanges or visits to orchards. All that and much more in February in Pamplona and Tudela. The organizers have been pleased with the response of the people, and Uranga says there is interest: “These vegetables are part of our culture and tradition, we need to know how to value them and continue working to maintain it.”