Description
The Melva de Andalucía PGI is a preserve of bullet tuna and frigate tuna of the species Auxis rochei and Auxis thazard in oil, produced using nonindustrial methods.
Production Area
Production takes place in the municipalities of Almería, Adra, Carboneras, Garrucha and Roquetas de Mar in the Province of Almería; Algeciras, Barbate, Cádiz, Chipiona, Conil, La Línea, Puerto de Santa María, Rota, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Tarifa in the Province of Cádiz; Almúñecar and Motril in the Province of Granada; Ayamonte, Cartaya, Huelva, Isla Cristina, Lepe, Palos de la Frontera and Punta Umbría in the Province of Huelva and Estepona, Fuengirola, Málaga, Marbella and Vélez-Málaga in the Province of Málaga.
Production Method
The fish of the species Auxis rochei and Auxis thazard after fishing, have their heads removed, and the fish are gutted and then washed to remove blood and mucous. The fish are boiled in fresh, salted water, during which the pH value and chlorine content of the water are kept constant. Then, the fish are skinned by hand in order to keep intact their natural qualities. The skinned and boned filets are placed in metal or glass containers, sterilised by a heat treatment to eliminate any microorganisms. The liquid of preservation is exclusively olive oil or sunflower oil.
Appearance and Flavour
The Melva de Andalucía PGI is a high quality preserve, compact and smooth, with a pleasant smell and very characteristic taste. The fish used for the production of the preserves has a firm, elongated and rounded body, a short snout and two clearly separated dorsal fins. It is a bluish or bluish-grey colour with a silvery belly and flanks; its skin is very hard and tough and entirely devoid of scales, except on the front of the body and along the lateral line.
History
Fishing of frigate tuna and bullet tuna is a traditional activity in Andalusia and the production of Melva de Andalucía PGI is uninterrupted and habitual. In Spain, fishing of migratory species goes back three thousand years, when the Phoenicians and the ancient Andalusian people began catching tuna, bullet tuna, frigate tuna and mackerel using rudimental nets and hooks. The processing industry of these migratory species has developed in the first century AD: all types of tuna and mackerel were processed in the factories that prospered along the Andalusian coast. The production of fish preserves in Andalusia has an ancient tradition which continues unaltered today. Today the non-industrial character of Melva de Andalucía PGI has been developed by small or mediumsize family undertakings managed by either the founders or their descendants, which has allowed them to maintain and hand down the nonindustrial production methods.
Gastronomy
The Melva de Andalucía PGI is best kept in cool dry places, once opened it is advisable to place it in the refrigerator and consume it within a few days. The Melva de Andalucía PGI is consumed as an only dish with vegetables or used as a base ingredient for salty pies or in salads.
Marketing
The product is sold as Melva de Andalucía PGI. It is packaged in metal or glass containers.
Distinctive Features
The physical environment of the Andalusian coast, the family tradition of the preserving enterprises and the traditional, non-industrial character of their production give to the Melva de Andalucía PGI a specific natural quality, highlighted by the compactness and the characteristic taste which distinguish them from other industrially obtained products.
