Mild Smoked Pimentón de La Vera AOP — Finca La Barca 70 g
House : Finca La Barca — Plasencia (Cáceres) — La Vera, Extremadura
Origin
Finca La Barca is a family house from Extremadura (the Oliva González family, the group behind La Chinata), specialising in smoked products from the La Vera comarca. Its speciality: pimentón de La Vera, protected by a Protected Designation of Origin – the Spanish equivalent of a grand cru. The red peppers are harvested at maturity, then slowly dried over oak and holm-oak wood fires for about ten days to two weeks. It is this drying that distinguishes pimentón de La Vera from all other paprikas: the smoky aroma is not an artifice, it is traditional and natural.
Features
- Producer: Finca La Barca – La Vera comarca, Extremadura
- Designation: PDO Pimentón de La Vera
- Variant: sweet (dulce) – no heat, pure smoky aroma
- Drying: oak and holm-oak wood fire, 10 to 15 days
- Grind: fine, stone-milled, ready to use
- Format: 70 g metal tin, opaque, firm aroma protection
- Storage: dry, away from light (12 months)
Tasting notes
Intense dark red colour, almost garnet. On the nose: clean oak smoke, notes of dried tomato, an almost caramelised sweet tip. On the palate: no heat, just that smoky depth that coats and lingers. The smoke is noble, never aggressive – the result of controlled drying, not an additive. Once opened, the fragrance fills the kitchen – it is the smell of Spain in winter.
How to use it
- Essential for paella: 1 teaspoon in the sofrito, added off the heat so it does not burn
- On roasted potatoes, mixed with olive oil before cooking – the signature of patatas bravas
- In a marinade for chicken or pork chops before grilling
- On baked eggs or an omelette, replacing ordinary paprika
- Sprinkled over hummus, crème fraîche, fresh cheese – an instant touch of Spanish identity
Why we chose it
Pimentón de La Vera is the spice that sets Spanish cooking apart from any other Mediterranean cuisine. Without it, there is no paella, no chorizo, no Galician-style octopus. Finca La Barca is one of the producers that fully respects the PDO method: long drying over oak and holm-oak fire, fine stone milling, packaging in a metal tin to preserve the aroma. At 4.90 CHF for the 70 g tin, it is the spice you absolutely must have in your cupboard if you want to cook Spanish for real.
Finca La Barca
The smoked Pimentón de La Vera, PDO.
Finca La Barca is the smoked gourmet specialities brand of the <b>Oliva González family</b>, the same family as La Chinata. The family group — NETASA, founded in 1975 — has exported Pimentón de La Vera to all five continents for decades.
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