VILLAFÁFILA CHAMOMILE
In homage to D. Dionisio Alonso (Isio-Tábares) and Dña. María de los Ángeles Fernández Martín (Angelines) , the last collectors of Manzanilla de Villafáfila
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VILLAFÁFILA CHAMOMILE In homage to D. Dionisio Alonso (Isio-Tábares) and Dña. María de los Ángeles Fernández Martín (Angelines) , the last collectors of Manzanilla de Villafáfila |
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La Manzanilla de Villafáfila, is very famous not only in the area around the Villa, but throughout the province and beyond, famous at fairs such as San Pedro de Zamora where its sale by the residents of Villa, is a safe value. This is how he already lets us see it in an article in the Heraldo de Zamora on August 13, 1908 1 , entitled “ BULLS IN VILLAFÁFILA” which commented on another of the most deeply rooted traditions of Villa bullfighting. That his fame already came from afar before. "…-Nothing of that! I went to Villafáfila to bring me the best manzanilla in Spain, well, the one you spend; it 's bad..."
COMMON CHAMOMILE Synonyms of the scientific name Recutita chamomilla = Matricaria recutita Birthplace Originally from Europe, spread naturally or by cultivation in Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Romania, Germany, Spain, Italy and Australia; also in West Asia and North Africa. In America it is cultivated in Argentina, USA and Venezuela.
Etymology of the scientific name It comes from the Latin matrix , for matrix and, from the Greek, chamaemelum , which means little earth apple, due to the aroma it gives off. Other popular names German chamomile, chamomile, Aragon chamomile, Hungarian chamomile. German, Kamillen; French, camomille allemande, matricaire; English, German Chamomile, Hungarian Camomille, Wild Camomille; Italian, Camomilla vulgare; Portuguese, Camomila da Alemanha, Feverfew. DESCRIPTION Annual, glabrous, highly branched herbaceous plant that reaches a height of 0.60 m. Leaves are sessile, alternate, bipinnate at the top and tripinnate at the bottom, with linear segments. Flowers grouped in small chapters, long stalked, with a conical and hollow receptacle, surrounded by an imbricated and flattened involucre, Flowers without pappus, female peripherals, ray florets, white; hermaphroditic central flowers, yellow, tubular. Fruits, small achenes, yellowish green. Villafáfila chamomile has a strong smell as well as its flavor, impregnated by the characteristics of its soil. USES AND PROPERTIES chapters
Essence
USED PART The dried "flowers" (heads) and the essence. Aromatic, pleasant and characteristic smell, somewhat bitter taste. Contains essential oil, salicylic and malic acids, tannin, a bitter principle (anthemic acid), choline, apigenin, inositol, resinous and pectic substances, etc. The essence is a liquid of a more or less intense blue color due to the presence of azulene, with time in the presence of light it turns brown. Contains sesquiterpenes, furfural, sesketerpenic alcohol that represents 50% of the essence with its oxide, bisabolol (45%) and farnesene (18%). The rest of the plant is known commercially as branch and its commercial value is low although it is usually part of the lower qualities.
REQUIREMENTS CLIMATE It thrives well in relatively humid temperate climates. A good flowering is when there are rains at the end of winter and spring. FLOOR It is not demanding in terms of soil quality. It adapts very well to different types of soils, although loamy-sandy soils of medium fertility, good drainage and somewhat humid are more suitable for cultivation. Excessively fertile soils produce abundant vegetation and lower flower yields and, as a consequence, harvest difficulties, uneven maturation and lower yields. In Villafáfila, the closer it is to the lagoons, the better its quality, due to the type of soil. CROP Chamomile comes out spontaneously, depending on climatic factors as well as its quantity. In prairie areas, and farmland that have not been treated with phytosanitary products.
HARVEST It is carried out when the chapters are completely open, which occurs in stages from the beginning and until the end of spring. The last flowers are smaller and more aromatic, but they can be confused with the "cimarrona chamomile" or "stinking chamomile" ( Anthemis cotula L.), but the latter differs in that the floral receptacle is globose and massive, in addition to having another scent. The way of harvesting can vary: It can be by hand, but the amount caught is much less with the trail and with more physical requirements. With the help of a metal comb "Rastro" that is passed over the plant. This comb consists of teeth, separated enough to retain the heads together, and an edge that cuts the peduncles.
The material obtained is quite clean, although it also requires further cleaning. Harvesting should be done from sunset until the morning of the following day as the peduncles are more tender and are cut closer to the heads.
You have to distinguish something very clear because chamomile and gamaza or gamacilla come in, it gives confusion to the unfamiliar, but looking at the differences they are clear, at first with a loose unaccustomed look it seems very similar in appearance but it is not like that.
Differences between chamomile and Gamaza:
POSTHARVEST PRODUCT TREATMENT It is necessary to distinguish The fresh material collected with combs, whatever its shape or type, must be quickly subjected to cleaning and selection, to remove all kinds of impurities. Then proceed to dry naturally exposed to the shade, which is placed on top of blankets or old sheets, paper bags. If it is placed in the sun, you must have much more control because it dries it more quickly and it can be consumed and scorched. When dried, chamomile loses a large volume, it could be said that more than 50% of the weight cut in the field.
Almost all the houses collect to have of the year, used medicinally, for inflammatory conditions, and digestive. Some people have harvested it for later sale, mainly at the San Pedro fair (Zamora) as it is very famous.
THE LAST MANZANILLA COLLECTORS FROM VILLAFÁFILA D. DIONISIO ALONSO ALONSO "ISIO-TÁBARES" AND MRS. MARÍA DE LOS ÁNGELES FERNÁNDEZ MARTÍN "ANGELINES" The last collectors for sale have been the married couple Mr. Dionisio Alonso Alonso (Isio-Tábares) from Villafáfila and Mrs. Angelines Fernández Martín (Angelines) from Santovenia del Esla (Pintorra).
As reflected in the interview they gave to the newspaper La Opinión de Zamora - Comarcas - Tierra de Campos. Saturday, October 20, 2001. From which we can make a literal transcription of it: The Druid of the Meadows • A resident of Villafáfila has been collecting and preparing chamomile for half a century In Villafáfila the custom of collecting chamomile from the meadows is still preserved. This is still done by a resident of this municipality, Dionisio Alonso, 68 years old who has been dedicated to this task for half a century. He assures that the best flavor and aroma of this plant is in the Campos region. Dionisio Alonso is a 68-year-old resident of Villafáfila, who for more than half a century has been dedicated to collecting chamomile from the meadows covered by numerous municipalities in the Tierra de Campos region and for a long time he is the only one who does so in area. During all this time, "life has taken many turns in all aspects related to this plant, but what has not changed are the exquisite flavor and aroma of the chamomile from these fields," said Dionisio Alonso.
This aromatic herb “grows up in the meadows at the beginning of May and lasts until June. This must be taken into account since the flower already begins to dry when July arrives, due to the heat. I remember that in the past, not only the common chamomile that we all know was caught, but also the gamacilla, a kind of bitter-tasting chamomile. Just like the poppy, the grana or the gamaza were collected. This above all, for its medicinal properties; Or so they said» explained this resident of Villafáfila. The characteristics of this herb vary depending on weather conditions, since it is a wild plant. However, it can reach up to 60 centimeters in height and its flowers, yellow and white, appear in flower heads of up to two and a half centimeters in diameter. Stems glabrous erect. «50 years ago, when I was still very young, the husband worked for the lord and earned about 600 thousand pesetas a year; Of course, you have to add the wheat, some straw cart and little else. With that he gave little to eat. So the women were the ones who were going to pick the chamomile. If they gained about 50 or 60 kilos, then they earned about two or three thousand pesetas, that is, more than men”, recalled Dionisio Alonso. Among the difficulties they encountered during the harvest in the past, this man pointed out "you always had to be very careful with the guards, who were watching, because if they were caught picking the chamomile they might get a fine, and also from working you were left with nothing».
The way to collect chamomile has not changed much, according to Dionisio. «To harvest it, an iron rake is still used with which only the heads are cut, which is the best part of the plant; then by hand they collect everything that has been cut into bags and then they have to put it to dry. The important thing is to be able to count on a ship big enough to stretch some tarpaulins and put the chamomile that has been collected on them. That's where it's left to dry." The elaboration "is very laborious, you have to put it on a board and look at it as if it were lentils in case something that doesn't work has slipped in." Another drawback is that "you are at the expense of time, because there are years when it is born and others that it is not." Dionisio Alonso collects this aromatic herb in the meadows «of Villamayor, Tapioles, Cañizo, San Martín de Valderaduey, in Villafáfila... all these towns around here. To collect it, you have to go to the salty areas, which is where it breeds best. It is in this area where it has the best flavor and aroma. Where it cannot be harvested in the areas where the cereal is planted because the herbicides kill the characteristics of the chamomile”. This resident of Villafáfila does not think that the chamomile that is sold in sachets is like drinking water "even though you go to a bar and there is no other choice." On the other hand, and raising a spear for the produce of the land, he assures that "if it were not for the foreign chamomile that is imported, it would be worth more than gold for its qualities." "Fifty years ago, if the guards caught you taking it, they would fine you up to one duro, almost what you had worked for."
Alonso sells the medicinal plant at fairs of land products • Mari Ángeles Fernández, the collector's wife, uses the herb to prepare different liquors. For years, Dionisio Alonso has been selling the chamomile that he collects from the meadows of Tierra de Campos at the Zamora local produce fairs. "In principle, he set up a stall next to the garlic vendors in Zamora." The chamomile is sold in bags of one hundred grams for three hundred pesetas each. «This year I will have collected about 300 kilos, and there has been a lot of chamomile left in the meadows because there was enough, but the thing is that my strength does not give me enough. In other times, it came to collect up to eight and ten tons. If I were 20 years old now, I would patent it, but I am no longer old ».
The manzanilla that Alonso collects is not only for sale. In his house, there is someone who takes advantage of it for other purposes. His wife, María de los Ángeles Fernández, usually makes chamomile liqueur. «I mix a liter and a half of water with a handful of chamomile and a kilo of sugar and let it cook for a long time. When I see that the mixture loosens the syrup, I mix it with a liter of brandy and that's it. Well, of course you have to strain it ».
There are many uses in which chamomile is used for its medicinal properties. It is very appropriate in all affections of any organ of the digestive system since it favors difficult digestions and helps to expel gases from the digestive system. It is also suitable in cases of gastric ulcer, gastritis, colic... It has a restorative value for skin conditions; in cases of rheumatism, sciatica, joint pain; Also for the eyes, in case of conjunctivitis, allergies, tired eyes... It favors the elimination of liquid in the body and facilitates menstruation.
In homage to my dear Mr. Dionisio Alonso Alonso (Isio-Tábares) † 1 933-2021 And Mrs. María de los Ángeles Fernández Martín (Angelines) † 1 937-2021 . The last collectors of Manzanilla de Villafáfila. Author: Jose Luis Dominguez Martinez. Villafáfila chamomile. http://villafafila.net/manzanilla/manzanilla.htm
Mr. Dionisio Alonso Alonso and Mrs. María de los Ángeles Fernández Martín. Personal information.
The Opinion of Zamora - Regions - Tierra de Campos. Saturday, October 20, 2001. eva ponte
Photography: Mr. Dionisio Alonso Alonso and Mrs. María de los Ángeles Fernández Martín. C. de la Cal. Jose Luis Dominguez Martinez.
Transcription and montage: Jose Luis Dominguez Martinez.All text, photographs, transcription and assembly, the rights belong to their authors, any type of use is prohibited without authorization. All text and photography has been authorized for storage, treatment, work, transcription and assembly to José Luis Domínguez Martínez, its dissemination on villafafila.net, and any other means authorized.1 Herald of Zamora on August 13, 1908. https://prensahistorica.mcu.es/es/catalogo_imagenes/grupo.do?path=1002747273.
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