Best gastronomic activities in Vinaroz (Castellón)

Vinaros It has earned a reputation as an ideal place for family vacations during the summer thanks to the extension of its beaches that extend next to this town of Castellón.

But from the tourist point of view, a primary attraction of a visit of Vinaroz is gastronomy, both for its specialties and for the wide range of tourist activities that allow you to enjoy it.

Looking ahead to a future trip to this Levantine coastal town, I am going to give you some keys and gastronomic suggestions of Vinaroz.

1.- The Vinaroz prawn

The great star of gastronomy, and one of the reasons why Vinaroz is known in the rest of Spain, is for its prawns.

El Vinaroz prawn It has a special quality as a result of the characteristics of the waters of this Mediterranean coastal area, with a mild climate and low salinity.

The prawns are caught artisanally every day by the Vinaroz fishing fleet, which supplies the town's market every day. These prawns can reach 20 centimeters, and are very thick, they have characteristic reddish transverse bands on the abdomen.

Logically, the prawn becomes the key ingredient in the culinary preparations in Vinaroz. And around it, various gastronomic activities throughout the year, as Prawn days, Prawn Tapa Tour, or the Prawn Festival.

2.- The Vinaroz Market

The best way to get to know the food products that you can taste in the Vinaroz area is to visit the municipal market, which is located in the very center of the town, in the San Agustí squaren.

Built in 1929, the building sits on the site of an Augustinian convent, hence its basilica-shaped architectural design. Completely restored in 2011, it maintains the original iron structure.

In the market you will see numerous stalls dedicated to the sale of seafood, garden products, as well as meat. You also have bars where they cook the products that you yourself buy in the market.

To highlight the days Taste of the Territory which are held every month in the market, so you can taste local and regional products. Coinciding with the visit I made a few months ago, I was able to taste the meats from Morella, but the salted meats from Vinaroz, the cheeses from Catí or the oils from ancient olive trees are also common protagonists.

3.- Sweet Vinaroz Llepol

If you are passionate about sweets, as is my case, in Vinaroz you also have a gastronomic proposal to taste it.

This is the Vinaroz Goloso route (in Valencian, Vinaros Llèpol), that with a passport that costs 6 euros, which you can purchase at the tourist office, you can taste six different sweets offered by six pastry shops in the center of town.

This way, for only one euro each, you can try a Lyonnaise, tomato coca Vinaroz rock, llepolstia Aval cake, or pastries to choose from Suquet pastry.

4.- Cooking workshop in Ca Massita

Surely you know that cokes (coke) made in bakery ovens are a specialty on the Levantine coast.

Specifically in Vinaroz you can sign up for Workshop Bake from Ca Massita, one of the local bakery ovens, where you can learn how to make, for example, a fresh sardine coc o of tuna.

And also to make one of Vinaroz's exclusive preparations such as review farinade, which is prepared with flour, cinnamon, sugar, lemon, olive oil and water.

5.- Ancient olive trees

Near Vinaroz you can make a very original visit: the Museum of Millennial Olive Trees of La Jana.

25 kilometers inland you can see a farm where 21 ancient olive trees are located in the ancient Roman Via Augusta.

In the municipality of La Jana is where there is the greatest concentration of ancient olive trees from around the world, almost a thousand, and there you have the opportunity to see an olive tree that has a census age of more than 1.600 years.

6.- Traditional dishes from the gastronomy of Vinaroz

Finally, I am going to suggest some traditional dishes from the Vinaroz area so that, if you have the opportunity during your visit, be sure to try them: fish cuquet; there and loach fish and prawns; red mullet fillets with potatoes; brutal cuttlefish; xapá mackerel.

Between the Rice dishes you have the one of jail, the band, arrossejat and rice with espardenyes. Among the vegetables you have stuffed eggplants, tomato and pepper dumplings or caliu potatoes.

And specifically in winter, mushrooms take center stage, such as chanterelles, beef steaks, lamb stews, cabbages and cauliflowers.