Cider House or Sagardotegia Rules (with apologies to John Irving) - Out of Town Blog

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The Basque Country's Golden Rule of Cider Table of Contents The Basque Country's Golden Rule of CiderCider Houses ("sagardotegis") are Seasonal RestaurantsCommunal Dining Without PlatesCod Served Two WaysThe Ritual of Pouring the Cider had to be MasteredThe Meat Always Looks Too RareComments Spain and the Basque Country share the same passion for food and wine, ...

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• Autor: John Irving
• Fuente: Out of Town Blog
• Fecha: 2019-02-05
• Clasificación: 2.0. Sidrería
• Tipo documento: Blogs
• Fondo: Sagardoetxea Fondoa
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• Código: NA-008260

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Spain and the Basque Country share the same passion for food and wine, but the Basques
also consume huge quantities of cider, a taste not shared in southern Spain. Called
Sagardoa, this sour, low alcohol drink is actually a probiotic food, one that is so healthy, the
life expectancy of Basque women is 86.2 years, the highest in the European Union. And
Basque men, at 80.3 years, have a higher life expectancy than all but Swedish men, who
can expect to live an average .1 of a year longer. Basque longevity is at least partly
attributed to their lifestyle and diet. That includes drinking plenty of cider.
Basque cider is healthful in another way. It has spawned a huge family recreational activity
called Cider Houses. (“sagardotegis” is Basque for “cider house”)They are like the Canadian
(maple) Sap Houses, only here, instead of maple syrup production and yummy things to eat
like poutine, truckloads of apples are turned into huge barrels of cider each fall. Then the
restaurant, with dining halls lined with these massive barrels, opens for business and stays
open until the cider runs out. Families and friends gather to eat, drink and entertain
themselves.
Just outside of San Sebastian is the Alorrenea Cider House, where quantities of cider are
consumed and 100s of people are fed each day in their vast halls. While normally I would
go to a restaurant and say I dined there, in the Cider House I did more than that, I
experienced Basque culture and an important part of Basque family life. Going to a Cider
House turns out to be an event.
Communal Dining Without Plates
First off, the dining is communal. Different groups will be seated at the same long table,
although each group orders their own food. Even that is simple. Are you having a small or a
large meal? The courses are set, and the quantity based upon how many in your party, so
all you have to decide is how hungry you are and how long you plan on staying. The large
meal has more courses; maybe a salad, an egg & potato omelet, and a huge plate of
sausage are added. I was so busy people watching I lost track of the platters being carried
to other tables.
We ordered the small meal because we didn’t have time (not to mention room in our
stomachs) to stay and spend the afternoon eating. That meant we were seated across from
one another separated by a long baguette of bread in the middle of the table. At our placesettings
were big cloth napkins and utensils – no plates. Would the four of us be eating from
the same serving platter?
Cod Served Two Ways
Our first course was a huge, fluffy, salt cod omelet. If you think the cod/egg combination is
an odd pairing, let me assure you – it works! I love cod. It was delicious. I wish my omelets
were that puffy and good. And while at first it seemed a bit odd for four people to be
sharing the same plate, by the time it was empty we were all comfortable with the idea. It
seemed normal, and everyone around us was doing the same thing. If you wanted bread to
wipe the platter with, just pick up the loaf and rip a piece off. We did!
Our next course was the same sized platter filled with pieces of cod smothered in green
peppers. They weren’t bell peppers, but a slender, milder, more complex tasting one. Again
– a delicious combination of flavors. I don’t know how salt cod can taste so good in Spain
and so blah when I make it at home, but it is a dish I never tire of when I visit.
The Ritual of Pouring the Cider had to be Mastered
Our place-settings also included a short, squat glass. One wall of the hall was lined with
huge barrels of cider. The plan was to pick a barrel, any barrel, and master the ritual of the
pour. The spigot points straight out of the barrel high up the front. The idea is to hold your
glass low and an arm’s length from the barrel and open the spigot so the cider shoots out 4
or more feet into your glass.
As if that feat were not enough to master, you then bring your glass forward following the
stream of cider up while the next person holds their glass where yours was. When your
glass is about a third full you pull it out of the stream and the person behind you begins the
same ritual. If you are lucky there are only a few behind you. Luckier still are the ones just
filling their glasses and leaving you to continue the pour. Either way, there is a connection
made with perfect strangers until you become one of their group too.
Sometimes there will be singing, always in the Basque language so it is difficult to sing
along, and occasionally someone will have an accordion or bagpipe, and the whole jovial
atmosphere becomes even more so as we sway shoulder-to-shoulder in time with the
music. Little kids stop running around to dance, sometimes with their parents, and we all
have a jolly time.
The Meat Always Looks Too Rare Then more food comes out. For us it was a meat course. Picture a huge rib steak about two
inches thick, crusty dark on the outside and blue in the middle. I’ve eaten in cider houses
throughout the Basque Country and it is always the same. I think just once I’d like it
medium-rare. The raw look is off-putting, unless you’re Basque until you carve off a piece
and start chewing. Then you find it is amazingly good! That’s when I realize I wouldn’t
change a thing.
Well, the cider is a bit sour for my taste, but it grows on me. And while no one gets drunk,
there is a looser, more relaxed feeling to the room after folks have poured from the
unlimited cider barrel a few times. That was about when the idea of another steak took
hold, so we pretended to be cannibals one more time with another unbelievable slab of raw
meat. Gnawing on the rib, I was glad for the dish-towel sized napkin yet again.
The final course is always Idiazabal cheese, membrillo (quince paste), and whole walnuts
still in the shell. The walnuts are such a Basque tradition that there was a complimentary
bowl of them in my room at the Miro Hotel in Bilbao. We cracked nuts, drank more cider,
and finished off the last of the bread with the cheese. By then I felt like I was at an
extended family holiday dinner – my newly found Basque family – and I realized yet again
how much fun a sagardotegis can be.
Tours By Basques provided a knowledgeable and genial guide Toursbybasques.com. For
more information about traveling in Spain Spain.info or in the Basque Region:
Basquetour.eus.
Our Cyder House experience was also made possible by Hotel Miro in Bilbao
Mirohotelbilbao.com and Alorrenea Cider House Alorrenea.com.