Making the traditional ratafia. Photo by Anna Fuster.
With origins that date back two hundred years, ratafia's mysterious blend of fruit, nuts and herbs is now cemented into Catalan culture. We hear from those who are working hard to keep the tradition alive and brewing.
Lluisa Juanola darts off the farmyard track, picks a flower hidden in the grass and adds it to her basket. Farther downhill, Marta Compte does battle with the branches of a small tree as she tries to retrieve some pine cones hanging just above her head.
The women are taking part in an annual ritual: gathering plants to make ratafia, a traditional Catalan liqueur. A heady concoction of around 50 aromatic herbs, flowers, fruits and spices, this sweet, caramel-colored drink is said to have medicinal properties. While many Spanish liqueurs have become supermarket staples, ratafia remains very much a local product. And although small distilleries produce it commercially, the practice of making it at home is still widespread.
Herbs are traditionally gathered on the eve of the festival of Sant Joan, when they are said to be imbued with magical qualities. Each family has its own recipe — a secret passed down through the generations — and their own way of preparing the liqueur.
It is said there are as many different types of ratafia as there are people who make it.
Lluisa, who was taught what she knows by her mother, is passing her knowledge of herbs to her daughter Anna Güell and granddaughter Julia. For the past few years, they have been joined on their annual herb-gathering trips by several of Anna’s colleagues, all of whom contribute their ideas on what to add to the brew.
Another ratafia enthusiast, Xavi Amat, from Santa Coloma de Farners, learned how to make the liqueur by listening to the advice of his elders, as well as workshops held in his hometown. “Like all families who make ratafia, we have a secret recipe.” His town holds an annual ratafia festival, where the competition for the title of best home-brewed liqueur is fierce. He has entered many times with his mother and friends, and although they have not yet won he remains upbeat. “Competition is stiff. My prize is the satisfaction of seeing the happiness of my friends when they try the ratafia after a winter dinner.”
A glass of ratafia. Photo by Varaine.
While Xavi gathers herbs that he finds near his house throughout the year and buys others from stores, Lluisa’s friends enjoy the social aspect of their plant-gathering excursions in the run-up to Sant Joan. Setting off from her farmhouse in the shadow of the Pyrenean foothills, everyone is armed with bags and baskets, and a list of some 65 herbs, fruits and flowers. Included are the aromatic herbs rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano, as well as flowers such as horse’s tail and lion’s tooth, various types of ferns, stinging nettles and pine cones.
The most important ingredient for ratafia, however, is unripe walnuts. The tender green nuts, picked before their shells have hardened, form the base of the liqueur. They are steeped in alcohol along with the rest of the herbs and spices for a minimum of 40 days, before being filtered straight into bottles or decanted into wooden containers to age for an additional three months.
While Lluisa’s list gives the quantities of each plant needed to make eight liters, it is not an exact science. At the end of the afternoon the group has found about half of the plants listed and added another dozen. Extra ingredients such as coffee beans, lemon and orange peel, cinnamon sticks, ground nutmeg and anise will also be needed alongside the licorice-flavored liqueur anisette, in which the plants are left to soak.
Xavi believes that the weather has an influence on the taste. “Even [when] using the same ingredients, every year is different because of changes in climate.”
Ratafia was traditionally drunk after a meal to aid digestion. Nowadays, it is also drunk with coffee, on the rocks or with crushed ice. It has also found its way into the kitchen and is used in everything from starters and mains to desserts. From its origins in 1842, ratafia has had quite the culinary journey. Who knows what the future will hold for this sweet, delectable beverage.
This article has been adapted from a 2010 piece in Barcelona Metropolitan by the same author.