Gastronomy in Jaen

Thanks to its location between Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha, Jaen enjoys a strong culinary influence from two different axes. That is why its cuisine has its own medieval Andalusian seasoning based on olive oil with great flavour and very popular throughout the world.

In addition to olive oil, Jaen cuisine is influenced by the caliphate, where black olives, blood sausages with pine nuts and salads were the most representative.

From its La Mancha heritage, “migas” accompanied with melon, radishes or chocolate (from American cocoa) stand out for their easy preparation, as do many sauces, including the popular “ajoatao”.

Garden products

The fertility of its lands makes vegetables and legumes essential ingredients on the table.

Many dishes, such as “gazpacho”, “rin-ran”, “alboronía”, “ajilimojili” and the famous “pipirrana”, are very popular.

Also notable are vigil “empanadas” stuffed with cod, “ajoblanco” with raisins, brothy rice with fish, “salmorejo” from Jaen, green asparagus “gazpachuelo” and stews based on green beans.

Thanks to the exchange with the American colonies, the potato quickly became popular in Jaen. It appears in cod stews, the popular stew of potatoes “a lo pobre”, boiled potatoes with garlic and peppers and as a side dish in the famous “ asadillo jiennense” prepared with peas, aubergines, lettuce and wild asparagus.

Other preparations with garden products include the popular caper pickles, “choriceros” peppers, artichoke salads, spinach, chard, broad bean, aubergine or Carmelite stew, beans with partridge, Jaen rice and many soups.

The land of Jaen abounds in olive groves, with olive oil being an essential ingredient. There are many varieties of olives that appear in a series of preparations including the famous olive pate, table olives, olive pit and cod, radish and olive stews.

Lots of meat and fish

As a good Andalusian city, Jaen has a menu based on meat, especially slaughter and big game, as well as fish.

The slaughter of the pig is of great importance, as countless preparations are extracted from it. These include black pudding, mincemeat, carnival stuffing, rags, many sausages of great flavour and quality and delicious “flamenquines” based on rolled ham.

Lamb also stands out in traditional dishes such as roast kid or “choto al ajo cabañil”. Poultry dishes are based on partridge and quail, with highlights including pickled partridge and Baeza-style partridge salad.

In terms of big game, deer is essential to various dishes and stews. The most popular is deer pie in sweet and sour sauce.

Fish in Jaen is prepared salted and pickled and is very popular during certain festivities such as Santa Catalina. The most popular dishes are the delicious grilled sardines, Baeza-style salted cod with peas, pine nuts and bell peppers, and fried trout in butter with pieces of ham, white wine, parsley and salt.

Fruits and pastries

In Jaen, fruit production is abundant in the form of melons, pears, figs, cherries and plums, from which delicious preparations are made. These include “migas” with melon, orange hash, granade salad and a series of exquisite artisan jams.

Jaen confectionery has a great Andalusian influence. It includes almond sweets, “roscos”, “alfajores”, “mantecados”, sweet porridge, “tortas al hoyo”, San Marcos “roscos”, homemade cake made with eggs, cinnamon, milk, sugar, breadcrumbs and almonds, pan fruits and “tejeringos”.

As with other Andalusian towns, many of its sweets are made in convents. Among them are the popular Santa Úrsula yolks made in the homonymous convent, as well as the cod panetes and sweet rice of the Trinitarian Mothers of Martos.

These are very popular on Good Friday.

Land of refreshing liquors

Jaen has a developed liquor industry including options such as the traditional beer, “risol”, which is a herbal liqueur, aniseed and many wines, as well as other drinks like “sangría” and “zurracapote”.