Chef Begoña Rodrigo inaugurates the new season for the world’s only PDO-designated pomegranate
Michelin-starred chef Begoña Rodrigo officially launched the Mollar de Elche pomegranate campaign at a special event at a farm in Elche this week.
According to the president of the Mollar de Elche Pomegranate PDO, Francisco Oliva, this season’s harvest is down by around 60 per cent due to the impact of climate change and thrips. Nevertheless, he assured that the product would reach supermarket shelves in good condition.
“We are facing an adverse situation but, fortunately, the fact of having a Designation of Origin allows us to have more strength, tools, unity and capacity to ask for help and find solutions,” Oliva said.
“Nobody defends the Mollar de Elche pomegranate more than us. We have given this variety the prestige it deserves, we travel to national markets to make its qualities known, we spread the name of Elche and our pomegranate throughout the world, we launch promotional campaigns that have been awarded for their success, we have the support of great chefs and we go all out to proudly say that the best pomegranate in the world is grown in this land.”
Rodrigo commented: “We as restaurateurs of haute cuisine have the responsibility and the means to make people value this type of product and pay for it, so, for our part, we are going to do that and I hope that its qualities are disseminated and its problems are solved”.
The Mollar de Elche pomegranate is the only one with a Protected Designation of Origin. It unique characteristics include its sweet flavour, high juice content, unique pale skin colour and soft and edible seed.
The PDO covers around 500 growers in 40 municipalities of L’Alacantí, Baix Vinalopó and Vega Baja. This is Europe’s biggest pomegranate producing area, with 3,000ha of production, of which around 1,000ha are covered by the PDO.
