Hoy Aragón: Guallar’s Premium Preserves Make the Leap to Paris and Milan

Hoy Aragón places Guallar within a thriving Aragonese culinary scene—one that continues to gain momentum—highlighting the strength of its products and their potential beyond the region. In this context, the article focuses on a deeply local staple: Teruel-style preserves, a traditional craft rooted in resourceful, “simple and direct” cooking, passed down through generations and, until recently, little known outside its home territory.

According to the publication, with the aim of elevating this popular recipe into the delicatessen world and turning it into a gourmet benchmark, Guallar was founded a year and a half ago as a company producing a premium, artisan-made range of Aragonese preserves. The success, Hoy Aragón notes, has been remarkable: these “made in Aragón” preserves triumphed at Salón Gourmets in Madrid and received invitations to the trade fairs in Paris and Milan.

The company is led by the husband-and-wife team José Ángel Guallar and Pilar Elena, both with roots in Teruel. In the article, José Ángel captures the spirit of the project with a powerful idea: “We haven’t dignified preserves; they are dignified in themselves. We’ve simply taken the time to make them a delicacy…” He adds that they have “redesigned the concept”, treating and jarring top-quality meats by hand to offer an exceptional version—still uncommon in this segment.

The story begins during the pandemic. The couple used lockdown to recover a recipe inherited from their grandmothers—back when preserves were prepared in winter and eaten in summer. The trials turned out so well that they chose to move away from industrial products which, the article suggests, are often made without the same care or premium ingredients. In doing so, Guallar found a niche market and has continued to grow throughout its first year and a half.

Hoy Aragón describes the process in detail, stressing that it is done “as it has always been done at home.” It starts with air-drying Duroc pork loins and rib racks in the Montes Universales area, at over 1,000 metres above sea level, under optimal humidity and temperature conditions. The founders claim that “no one in the world does what we do,” and the article supports this with precise details: only the central ribs are used, cut to 5.5 cm, and the loin is cut to 1.1 cm to keep the centre gently rosy.

From there, always separated by cut to respect each texture’s ideal point, the pieces are confit (not fried) in batches of 100, in small pots with sunflower oil, for three to five hours over very low heat. They are then cooled and jarred separately in Bajo Aragón Empeltre extra virgin olive oil, with bay leaf and peppercorns. Before reaching retailers, the jars rest for at least 20 days at cellar temperature, offering a 12-month shelf life and leaving an oil that is “perfectly reusable.”

The article concludes by noting that these preserves can be enjoyed on their own or used in more elaborate dishes, listing the range’s classics: longaniza, pork loin, ribs, sweet chorizo, spicy chorizo and Aragonese dry-cured longaniza. It also highlights distribution through specialist shops in Aragón, Navarra, La Rioja, the Valencian Community and Andalusia, with nationwide delivery.