As a key ingredient in countless recipes, essential for Galician empanada, and with many health properties, onions also represent an opportunity for entrepreneurship in the region. The business potential of this humble, but essential, product and the reality of the sector will be the focus of a conference organised by the Association of Rural Development of Marinas-Betanzos, to be held in Betanzos, and which will bring together producers and processors in the region. Industry professionals agree on praising the quality of native varieties, such as the flat Miño and Betanzos.
"Bakers say that the onions from Betanzos and Miño are the best because of their taste and also because they don't make the dough wet," explains onion producer Cristina Bañobre, based in Miño. The president of the Association of Bakers of Carral, Manuel Rodriguez, confirms: "The onions here taste better and have less water, and they are also more compact than those coming from Valencia, which are irrigated and have more moisture. The onions from Betanzos and Miño are also not very acidic, which is important to ensure the empanada will taste good." The baker plants his own onions, as he considers them crucial for a good outcome. "If you don't use good onions, the rest will not come out fine," he affirms.
The baker highlights the difficulty in cultivating local varieties, which despite their higher quality compared to Valencia's produce, are more expensive and more difficult to peel. For this reason, and to prevent the use of canned onions, Rodriguez is trying to encourage the packaging of fresh and already chopped native onion varieties. "For each kilo of empanada more than one kilo of onions is needed," states the baker, and claims: "We must encourage the use of fresh local onions. I don't plant them because I have nothing better to do, but because I want quality.
Source: laopinioncoruna.es