The Jerte picota cherry campaign has kicked off on a positive note in the north of the Spanish province of Caceres, "with good volumes and high quality," says Fátima López-Santamaría, a technician at the PDO Cereza del Jerte. "We had a couple of days of rain that may have caused some losses. An assessment to quantify the affected volume has yet to be made; however, so far those losses appear to be insignificant. In fact, the impact has been more noticeable in other intermediate cherry varieties than in the late varieties of Ambrunés, which are the Jerte picotas covered by the PDO Cereza del Jerte."
Extremaduran producers still remember last year's campaign, in which, unfortunately, the rains had a decisive impact. "That's why we hope the losses will be minimal and not even worth mentioning," she says. "Especially this year, in which the quality of the Jerte picota cherries is extraordinary."
The Picota del Jerte is a cherry variety native to the Jerte Valley, where it has been traditionally cultivated among mountains of more than 1,000 meters of altitude since the 17th century, as stated by the PDO.
"It's crucial to remember that the harvest of the picota cherry, which is highly demanded in both the domestic and export markets, starts in mid-June, because one of the most significant issues that the PDO has to deal with every year is the marketing of regular cherries with their stems removed to pass them off as picota cherries, illegally using the PDO label for fruit that is neither an authentic picota cherry, nor has been certified or authorized by the PDO's Regulatory Council."
"Therefore, those who believe they are consuming Jerte picota cherries in May are actually consuming regular stemless cherries," because in Spain there are only Jerte picotas from mid-June onwards. If you want to consume the authentic Jerte picota cherry, always look for those sold with the logo of the Protected Designation of Origin."
For more information:
Regulatory Council of the DOP Jerte Cherries
Carretera N-110, KM. 381,400
10613 Navaconcejo, Caceres, Spain
Tel.: +34 927 471 101
[email protected]
https://cerezadeljerte.org