There are many ways to celebrate a party. And Alicante's bonfires are no less. One of those forms passes, of course, through the palate. Because in Alicante, the Tasting papillae also have a must These days.
The days of Plantà, a small range of typical flavors is displayed that any Alicante eagerly awaits: coca amb tonyina, bacores, salazones, watermelon, anise tennis … everything fits on the festive table. But what about lunch? That traditional dish whose name already indicates its moment of the day (lunch) but whose importance goes far beyond the hour. It is also a custom, a symbol of fogueril identity that takes special prominence during the mornings of Plantà.
“It's to gain strength,” Oscar Torregrosa, Commissioner of the Foguerer-Carolinas and Member of the Fogueres Federation explains. Alcoçaret consists of a combined dish where they live The sardines, fried eggs and ñorasall well accompanied by crispy bread, wine or beer, and, of course, the best company. “He is being lost over the years because young people don't like it very much,” he laments torregrosa. Even so, he says there are still many commissions that prepare it, as this Friday morning happens.
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“We buy the products in neighborhood or market stores,” he adds, also claiming the proximity trade, so linked to the party. For his part, Juan Carlos Vizcaíno, veteran Foguerer, recalls that in the 50s and 60s the lunch was a custom more linked to the barracks, but that today has also extended to many racs. “It is almost a rite that we maintain all year”he points out.
Beyond the lunch, Biscay stands out other traditional flavors, although less known: the “all kinds” rice, the omnipresent watermelon, or the ANIS PALOMETAS TENIS. And although there is no preferred menu as such, there is something that never is missing: the Cocas Amb Tonyina and the bacores, indisputable queens of the night of the plantà.
In the Central Market, the Placeros are in charge of carrying the flavors of the bonfires in each commission, in each tray that is on its way to a barrack or a racó. In selected Gourmet products, Diego Fernández acknowledges that although some individuals do take more exclusive products, such as SALAZONESmany commissions opt for cheaper and practical options to feed many people.
For the barracks
In La Fristeria José and Carmen, Carmen Vicente says that they have been selling bacores for three weeks, although this week the demand has shot. “Especially this Friday is the strong sales day,” he says. The price is aroundS 8 or 8.50 euros per kiloand he explains, “you can't upload because you know it is a claim product.” Carmen also speaks of big orders: “There are barracks that ask us for 400 or 500 bacores.”
Coca Amb Tonyina, another of the essentials on the table these days. / Héctor Fuentes
A trend confirmed by Juanma Aracil, from Fruuts Chalaca: «This Friday is the Strong Day. This year they have advanced by heat, and as is a very perishable genre, You have to sell it quickly ». From Brothers Guardiola, Irene Fernández says that the commissions come for what never fails: “We are commissioned by coca trays Amb Tonyina, also snacks for fast foods.”
At the Juanelo Salazones stop, Fran Micó summarizes it simply: «In bonfires, people are looking for comfort. They take trays already cut so that they only have to take them out and that everyone can eat without complications ». Because in Bonfiresthe party starts in the streets and ends on the palate.
