Calçot season begins, with a harvest of over 18 million predicted

The 'calçot' season officially kicked off in Catalonia this week, with a harvest of over 18 million predicted.

Calçots, a unique variety of onion that can be described as a cross between a leek and a spring onion, are a staple of Catalan culture.

Originating from Valls in Tarragona, western Catalonia, calçots will be the highlight of barbecue-style gatherings across the country in the coming weeks.

The season for calçots begins in November and ends in April, but its peak time symbolically is in January, with a great feast in Valls. 

This year, farmers are anticipating a bumper season in both quality and quantity.

Thanks to recent rains, the calçots are expected to be "fantastic," with more than 18 million set to be harvested.

Restaurants in Alt Camp hope to host over half a million 'calçotades' -traditional gatherings to eat calçots- slightly surpassing last year’s figures.

The season was officially launched by 94-year-old Instagrammer Iaia Angeleta, who honored the legacy of the older generation who dedicated their lives to farming.

Why are they called calçots?

"The name 'calçots' comes from the word 'calçar,' and 'calçar' means when we plant the leaf and it starts to grow, we cover it to make it grow in a long form," Ricote explains. In English, this technique is known as hilling.

The word also means 'to wear on one's foot' or 'to shoe' and it comes from the Latin term 'calceus' for a type of boot worn in ancient Rome.

How to eat calçots

Calçots can get messy. They are eaten in a specific way, by holding the green leaves in the center and peeling off the sooty outermost layer.

Dip them in the orange 'salvitxada' sauce, and lower them into your mouth from above. Bibs, called 'pitets', are usually provided in restaurants and sometimes gloves are too, but you should still expect to get dirty.

One of the most important aspects of calçots is the ritual of eating them. These barbecued onions served on terracotta tiles are not commonly eaten at home, but more so as the centerpiece of events known as calçotades, popular social gatherings with friends and family that usually take place from January to March.

Each year, Valls hosts the 'Gran Festa de la Calçotada', a huge calçot festival, complete with competitions for calçot growers, sauce makers, and of course an eating contest.

Listen to this episode of our podcast Filling the Sink to learn more about calçots.