Why We Named Our Sweets "Dulces del Rocío"

Why We Named Our Sweets "Dulces del Rocío"

(Sweets of El Rocio)

We named our Sweets after a small town about 50 Km. out of Seville Spain in the Huelva Region of Andalucia. This is the same region from where Christopher Columbus is said to have sailed to the "New World" in 1492.

The region where El Rocío is located was once a place populated by diverse peoples, Arabs, Jews, Christians. It has been inhabited since before Roman times and as it is costumary of places where diverse cultures meet, Andalucia was a place were culinary traditions were exchange and meld into new ones. It is well known for it's rich confectionary sweets that to this day are hand-crafted using family guarded secret recipes that have been passed from generation to generations.

El Rocío is also a place of pilgrimage to The Virgin Mary, and Huelva as a whole is full of churches, monasteries, and convents. As a child, I always associated the best sweets with monastic orders, since members of these religious organizations normally sell sweets to the general population to generate much needed income. I remember quite well that my Grandmother, used to take us to the local convent to buy the best caramels. To this day, I have yet to recreate these little treasures.

The Patron Saint of El Rocío is Our Lady of Rocio (Our Lady of The Dew). What follows is a brief introduction to a tradition that dates back to the 1700's when a sepherd discovered the statue of The Virgin Mary that is said to have been hidden in the woods during the time of the Reconquest, a period of turmoil and intolerance in Spanish History, when both Cristians and Muslims distroyed religious relics when they conquered an area. It is believed that Christians of the town of Rocinas (ancient name of El Rocío) removed the image of The Virgin Mary around the 1400's and place it in the woods to spare it from any sort of damage, only to be forgotten for many years.

Our Lady of Rocio - The White Dove

Each year before the Sunday of Pentecost over millions of people make a pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Virgen del Rocío (Our Lady of the Dew), at the edge of the Doñana National Park in southern Spain.

Pilgrims known as rocieros, travel for weeks, by foot, ox carts, horseback, car or plane from all over Spain, Europe, and The World. Most will assemble in Seville and other large cities in Southern Spain with one of many caravans organized by the "official fraternities" of Our Lady of Rocío. Dressed in traditional flamenco costumes pilgrims began the last leg of the pilgrimage in brightly-decorated horse-drawn carriages, as part of caravans traversing the Andalucian countryside.

Beginning on Wednesday before Pentecost Sunday, devotees of the Virgen del Rocío participate in a joyous celebration blending religion and festive local flavor. , huge processions of flower-decorated wagon carts carrying the Standard (Sinpecado) of their fraternities converge in the village of Almonte (El Rocío), a small town 50km from Seville. The celebrations conclude with the solemn mass and procession of the Statue of the Virgen del Rocío on Monday of Pentecost.

Since the 15th century, the Virgen Del Rocío has been the patroness of Almonte (El Rocío). Legend says a hunter found a statue of the Virgin Mary in a tree trunk near the sandy beaches inscribed with the words " María de Los Remedios me llamo"(“I am called Mary of Remedies”). It is believed that perhaps the image was hidden during the late period of the Reconquest to prevent vandalism.

The small church was saved in part thanks to the Final Will and Testament of a Spaniard that had immigrated to Lima, Peru and left 2000 silver coins for the preservation and restoration of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Rocío. Since then, due to the importance of the region as a cross-roads of sorts for merchants and travelers alike, the advocation of Our Lady of Rocio was spread all throughout the Spanish Kingdom and it's colonies.

Today, everywhere people from Andalucia have settled there seems to be some sort of beneration to The White Dove (La Blanca Paloma), as those who benerate her call her, since one of her titles is Virgin of The Holy Spirit. You can read more about Our Lady of Rocío and the wonderful traditions of pilgrimage associated with her and the small villages of El Rocio and Almonte by visiting the bi-lingual website at www.elrocio.net .

www.SplitBeanCoffee.com

Split Bean Coffee's Flavor of The Month for June 2006 -

Split Bean Coffee's Flavor of The Month for June 2006 -
Strawberry Alfajores & Mashmallows

Split Bean Coffee's Flavor of The Month is Strawberry. This wonderful fruit makes a great tasting preserve that compliment our cookie waffers perfectly. Our preserves imported from France and contain no preservatives or additives. You may order our Flavor of The month in both our Standard and Bite Size variety. Order two boxes of our flavor of the month and receive a free sample of one of our micro-roasted coffees. Planning a gathering this late spring, our Alfajores la Misíon are great way to enjoy the company of friends and family. The make great camping treats, or can be used to make ambrosia salads with a twist.

A Brief Story of The Strawberry

The strawberry is a member of the rose family and is unique in that it is the only fruit with seeds on the outside rather than the inside. They are also a very healthy fruit, being rich in vitamin C and a good source of folic acid as well as being high in fibre.

Strawberries were cultivated by the Romans as early as 200 BC and in mediaeval times strawberries were regarded as an aphrodisiac and a soup made of strawberries, borage and soured cream was traditionally served to newly-weds at their wedding breakfast. However, it is believed that the Strawberry was cultivated in the American Hemisphere way before the arrival of the europeans. Native American Indians were already eating strawberries in warm corn meal when the Colonists arrived.

Until 1550-1551 the Mapuche and Huilliche Indians of South America, cultivated their strawberries undisturbed. Then the Spanish conquistador, Pizzaro, who had been attempting to conquer Chile for fifteen years, appointed Pedro de Valdivia supreme commander of the Spanish troops in Cuzco, Peru. Under Pizzaro they were able to penetrate the region between the Itata and the Tolten rivers where the Mapuche put up a strong resitance.

The Spaniards finally won the battle, and as keen appraisers of South American culture, they counted the strawberry among the spoils of conquest. Soon after, the Chilean strawberry arrived in Cuzco, then the home of Garcilazo de la Vega, the son of an Inca princess and a Spanish conquistador. In his study of Inca culture, Los Commentarios Reales de los Incas, he described the fruits cultivated by the Incas of his day. Although de la Vega left Peru in 1559, he included in his descriptions a fruit called the Chili, which he thought probably had come to Cuzco in 1557, six years after Valdivia's conquest. According to him, this pleasant-tasting fruit bore small seeds on its surface like the fruits of the Arbutus. Both fruits were of the same size, but that of the Chili was rather long and heart-shaped instead of round, and the plant grew on low bushes which crept along the ground. Botanists are certain that de la Vega was probably describing the strawberry. As he was unable to give the fruit a Peruvian name, he called it instead the "Chili," thus supporting the evidence that the species was F. chiloensis, the strawberry of the Mapuche and Huilliche Indians.

The Chilean strawberry's journey from Chile to France in 1714 was the most important event in the history of the modern strawberry. The Chilean berry had one quality the European kinds lacked -- size. The larger berries attracted the notice of a French spy who had crossed the pirate-menaced seas to Chile in the early 1700's on a mission for King Louis XIV. Along with his observations on fortresses, armies, guns and supply routes, governors and Indians, he included a description and drawing of the Chilean strawberry. A collector as well as an observer, he spent six months caring for the specimens he took with him on the return voyage to France. Through the initiative of this French Spy, the New World strawberry, already cultivated for many years by the Chilean Indians, was brought cross-bred with the North American F. virginiana which the French were already cultivating. The American Exchange, the great exchange of foods between Europe and The Americas is full of wonderful stories like this one. We can include amongst them The Tomatoe, The Potatoe, Chili Peppers, Coffee, and Corn.

Today, Strawberries are harvested by hand. They are picked, packed and shipped within 24 hours to stores all over America, they are also shipped to Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Japan.

California produces 80% of all strawberries in the nation, thanks to migrant farm workers who are a important part of the American agricultural economy. California alone grows one billion pounds a year. Americans eat on an average, about 5 lbs of strawberries each year. California plants 24,000 acres of land of strawberries which produce 21 tons of strawberries each year.

www.SplitBeanCoffee.com