How to recognize the Protected Geographical Indication pepper of Arnoia?
The Arnoia pepper has very specific production characteristics and undergoes a series of quality controls that make its variety a unique pepper. We tell you all about the process so you won’t have the slightest doubt when you go to buy them.
Production:
The seedbed is of great importance to the success of pepper cultivation. Traditionally, the best plants have been chosen as a starting base. The ripe fruit is dried and the seed is extracted. The seedbeds are prepared during the months of February and March. A “hot bed” is made to encourage germination and they are covered with plastic-sheet tunnels, which have gradually replaced the straw covers used traditionally.
Once germination is complete, transplanting to the growing plots takes place during the months of April and May. Watering must be done “at the base” to avoid damaging the flower or, where applicable, the fruit. Fertilization is aimed at maintaining the balance and the nutrient levels in the soil and in the plant.
Harvesting is done by hand, before the fruit ripens and at the moment when, in the judgment of the farmers’ experience, it presents the ideal conditions for marketing.
Selections of the best plants are usually made, whose seeds will later be sown to ensure the survival of the ecotype.
When the peppers are harvested, they are transported to the warehouse in trailers or rigid containers to prevent them from being crushed.
Quality:
Only peppers grown in accordance with the established conditions, in the plantations and by the producers registered in the corresponding registry, may be covered by the Protected Geographical Indication (P.G.I.) “Pemento de Arnoia”.
The control body keeps a permanently updated registry of producers and plantations. All natural or legal persons registered in the registry, the plantations, the warehouses, the industries and the products are subject to the inspections and verifications carried out by the control body, in order to verify that the certified products meet the requirements of origin and quality.
The peppers covered by the P.G.I. undergo a careful selection to obtain a product of superior quality, after which they will be presented: whole and firm, with normal shape, development and coloring, healthy, free of blemishes, clean and free of visible foreign matter, provided with a stalk and free of abnormal external moisture.
Both on the commercial label and on the Indication’s own label, the mention Protected Geographical Indication “Pemento de Arnoia” must appear.
Presentations:
The marketing of the peppers covered by the Protected Geographical Indication “Pemento de Arnoia” will be in homogeneous batches in terms of quality, state of ripeness and coloring. They are presented in bags with a capacity of 200 or 400 grams of peppers.
Season:
The fresh marketing period will run between June 1 and October 15, and this period may vary somewhat when, due to the climatic circumstances of the season, the characteristics of the product so advise.
In conclusion, the Arnoia pepper is distinguished by its color (a range of greens tending toward a soft red upon ripening), its shine and smoothness, the fineness and consistency of its flesh, the aroma, and, in a special way, its flavor. A high-quality product, considered by many “a true delicacy.” Haven’t you tried them yet?