There are a number of reasons for this, perhaps inspired by growing economic and environmental fears. Some resent paying over the odds for bottled water when tap water is (almost) free and generally tastes fine. For others, the plastic bottle has taken the place of the plastic bag as the environmental bête noire du jour. Apparently, sales of metal water bottles normally used on hiking trips are soaring as green-minded drinkers take tap water from home to gym, work and school, rather than picking up a bottle of Evian at the shop.
But it’s in restaurants that the battle lines are really being drawn. Although a growing number of consumers have no qualms about ordering a jug of tap water, many are still either too embarrassed to ask for it in fancy restaurants or simply prefer the flavour of their favourite bottled waters.
So if you do want to order mineral with your meal, you can negate the environmental effects somewhat by choosing local waters over the more exotic and far-flung labels. And Catalunya has a wide variety of waters to satisfy every palate and without costing a high environmental price. Any of the following varieties would be a fitting accompaniment to a Michelin-starred menú degustación.
Aigua de Rocallaura
This mineral water company celebrates its centenary this year. In 1908, the great-grandfather of the current proprietor started bottling water from the Rocallaura spring in Rocallaura, Vallbona de les Monges, in the comarca of Urgell. The water from the local springs contains bicarbonates, calcium and magnesium as well as some elements that are relatively rare in mineral water, such as lithium and strontium. It’s diuretic and recommended for people with kidney stones and is thought to be good for liver and intestinal problems. The high bicarbonate content makes it a good after-dinner digestive aid. It’s recommended that the water is taken at 13-degrees Centigrade, the temperature at which it emerges from the earth.
www.aiguaderocallaura.com
Aigua de Vilajuïga
This water was the favourite of Salvador Dalí, and it shares his birth year—1904. Like Dalí, it comes from the Empordà, specifically the Serra Verdera, part of the Cap de Creus massif. Also like Dalí, it’s unique because it’s the only Spanish carbonated water with no added gas—the bubbles in the bottle are those that have bubbled up through the rock. It has generally low levels of mineralisation, but relatively high levels of magnesium and calcium, which, the bottlers claim, “give it the correct quantity of mineral salts and oligoelements…that are indispensable for the body”.
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Make it simple
Posted by David August 12, 2009 09:48:55