A British recipe reinterpreted from Galicia

Jam and marmalade making form part of a long European culinary tradition linked to preserving fruit with sugar. For centuries, these products were associated with royalty and the aristocracy due to the high cost and limited availability of sugar. Over time, preserves became part of everyday life and domestic food culture, particularly within British culinary traditions.

This project emerged at the intersection between that tradition and the Galician context. Through his long-standing relationship with Galicia and his work with Fundación RIA, David Chipperfield identified the culinary potential of local citrus varieties whose aromatic qualities, acidity and bitterness recalled the Seville bitter orange historically used in British marmalade production.

Based on this observation, a reinterpretation of the traditional British recipe was developed using oranges from small orchards and gardens in Barbanza. The project does not seek to invent a new tradition but rather to reinterpret an existing one through the Galician context while giving value to an overlooked resource.

The recipe highlights the distinctive qualities of Atlantic citrus fruit while significantly reducing sugar content to create a fresher and lighter product. This experimentation was also extended to lemons, a fruit widely present in Galician orchards and domestic cooking but rarely developed within sweet preserve traditions.

Atlantic citrus with its own identity

The oranges and lemons used come from small-scale production and family orchards located between the Barbanza peninsula and the Santiago area. Unlike other parts of Spain associated with large agricultural estates, citrus production in Galicia is highly dispersed and shaped by the traditional minifundio system — a fragmented pattern of small landholdings where many families may have only one or two citrus trees intended primarily for household use.

Adapted to the Atlantic climate and Galician soil conditions, these fruits develop distinctive characteristics, with particular acidity and aromatic profiles even when they belong to varieties found elsewhere.

The recipe is adapted to each fruit, but in both cases seeks to emphasise rather than soften their natural qualities. The marmalades retain the presence of the peel, reduce sugar content and work with the balance between acidity and bitterness. The result is a range of aromatic and lighter products intended not only for breakfast and baking, but also for pairing with cheese, savoury dishes and contemporary culinary uses.

A territorial food network

The production of marmalades forms part of a broader objective aimed at strengthening local food systems through the activation of underused agricultural resources. The initiative seeks to consolidate a network connecting domestic orchards, harvesting, collaborative processing infrastructure, product design, food innovation and spaces of consumption.

Production takes place at the collaborative food processing facility ‘Transformando en Brión’, a publicly supported facility managed by Asociación Darredor, providing small-scale producers with access to professional equipment, infrastructure and food-safe production processes. With a strong collaborative ethos, the facility forms part of the Agro-Food Coworking Spaces Network promoted by the Provincial Council of A Coruña.

This model helps reduce barriers to food processing and creates opportunities for producers who have traditionally remained outside commercial circuits. At the same time, it supports experimentation and the development of new products linked to local resources and small entrepreneurial initiatives. The facility also undertakes the identification and registration of orchards, enabling fruit purchasing and ensuring full product traceability.

Designed for different distribution channels, the product is available in three formats: a domestic version intended both for everyday use and gifting, a medium-sized format for hospitality settings, and a larger format designed for canteens and institutional catering.