Glossary C
Coca a Catalan word which refers to Catalan cake which has either sweet or savory toppings. Catalan Coca is a very popular flat and oval shaped pastry that is often made of unleavened bread or, sometimes, a sort of Victoria sponge . The texture can vary from dry and flaky to moist or spongy, and the ingredients and toppings range from sugar, anisette pine nuts and dried fruit to tangy fried onion and green pepper. Traditionally, different Coques are made for each feast day, the most notable and popular Coca which has a sweet toppings is Coca de Sant Joan , which is leavened, candied and glazed. Some Coques are covered with Pine nuts (Pinyon or Piñones).
Coca de Llardons is made with sugared Chicharrones (pork scratchings) and served and eaten during the Carnival week before Lent. All types of Coca is best served with Cava.
The sweet Coca versions are often named after a Saint and traditionally served on the feast (Fiesta) of that Saint, the main one being Coca de San Joan (St John), which has a candied fruit topping. Other Coques are just made with sugar or pine nuts.
Coca Amb Xocolate, another kind of Coca has a stuffing of rich dark chocolate and is best serve as breakfast dish. The savory topped Coques are eaten everyday and are often made with Samfaina with the addition of anchovies, sardines, sausages, and many more. Sweet Coques are oblong in shape and large ones can be bought by the slice, while savory Coques can be either oblong or more frequently are made in baking trays and sold in squares.
Commandaria refers to the legendary wine from Cyprus. Its color is warm, golden to ruby, its aroma is complex and passionate, its taste is sweet, its aftertaste is everlasting. Commandaria wine is old and unique that Cypriots traded it for centuries to the most demanding consumers of the known world and which other winemakers attempted to copy on many occasions. Commandaria wine carries with it the centuries old culture of the Cypriot rural society and is closely tied to the commercial activities of the island’s traders who loaded it on ships for export to the most demanding European markets of the time. Commandaria thrived during the Middle Ages, suffered under the dark period of the Ottoman rule, became a forgotten wine during the latter part of the 20th century but survived, remaining unspoiled by all foreign cultural influences, standing out today as the flagship of our vine and wine heritage.
Commandaria as a "legendary-wine" was a statement verified by the selection of vintage 1223 among the top ten wines of the past 1,000 years. The competition, BBC – one thousand years best wine competition, characterized Commandaria as "a powerful sweet wine from Cyprus" that won the first wine competition, La Bataille des Vins, organised by the French king, Philip Augustus.
Commandaria is made from the blend of two indigenous varieties, Mavro and Xynisteri and it is by no chance that only these varieties are suitable for its making.
Commandaria is a sweet, desert wine, characterized by a high alcoholic content of 15% and a notable richness in natural sugars derived exclusively from the grapes used. The critical factor in the serving of Commandaria is temperature. Commandaria brings out all its aroma and flavour when drunk well chilled at 6 - 9°C. Within this temperature range, ideal for most dessert wines, Commandaria reveals all its merits and at the same time conceals any likely "flaws", such as the presence of a high alcohol content and its volatile acidity which are more easily discernible when the wine is served at temperatures exceeding 9 - 10°C. Like all sweet wines, Commandaria is served in small stemmed glasses with a comparatively short stem and a long cup, with inwardly sloping sides to retain the wine’s rich bouquet.
Charapa refers to a river tortoise from the Amazon region of Peru.