Food Photography Course in Malaga
Málaga
Ancient and cosmopolitan Malaga in the past still retains its historic roots intact. In long-gone times it bore witness to the origins of man and of the Mediterranean culture, and is today the primary force in the Andalusian tourist industry, keeping alive its tradition of a welcoming and creative land.
Maritime Malaga on the coast where winter never comes; and with a mountain vocation inland, where nature is displayed in all its splendour. White villages with their attractive architecture, wrapped in romantic legend, bring points of light into secluded valleys where life goes by peacefully. And from the peaks of the mountains you can watch the horizon until it becomes lost in the immense blue of the sea.
The history of this province has taken place between the sea and the mountains. Its capital was a witness to the economic and cultural boom of the western Mediterranean. The town known as Malaka by the Phoenicians was transformed into a prosperous commercial centre. After the Muslim invasion of the 8th century, the territory became Arabised and later became part of the Nasrid kingdom in Granada, when it underwent a new period of commercial and cultural prominence. In the 19th century, the iron and steel industries of los Larios and the commercialisation of its wines provided significant economic development for the province. After decades of economic downturn, Malaga underwent rapid economic growth in the second half of the 20th century, thanks to the tourist industry. Each year millions of citizens from all over the world choose this idyllic land to relax on its sun-drenched beaches, discover its rich architectural heritage or explore the wild beauty of its mountain geography.
The province of Malaga has over 160 kilometres of coastline. A total of 14 districts are located directly on the Mediterranean Sea. You can find secluded enclaves set in unspoilt nature, as well as more established tourist resorts. The beaches in both the eastern and the western part of the province are so attractive they have made the Costa del Sol one of the top international destinations. Also a must is the landscape inland, with more than 15 officially protected areas classified as nature reserves, natural spaces or natural landmarks. Places that may be either in the depths of the Mediterranean or on the highest peaks. Magical forests and rivers where you can still find foxes, golden eagles and Spanish ibex.
The province of Malaga is located in the south of the Mediterranean coast, between the provinces of Granada and Cadiz, and bordering the provinces of Cordoba and Seville in the north. The capital city is Malaga.
It is a seafood cuisine, framed within the gastronomy of Andalusia, and therefore receives influences from all the peoples of the Mediterranean.The influences of the Phoenician and Roman tradition of salted fish, the Arabic honey and dried fruit pastries and the Castilian cooking techniques are famous.
Being a land that is located between the Mediterranean Sea and the mountains, it offers a wide range of possibilities due to the diversity of raw materials, among which fish stand out, especially for being a coastal province, and the typical meats of the many mountain ranges and the vegetables of the plain of Malaga. The salads being the most traditional of all the Malaga salad, based on boiled potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, boiled eggs, oranges and arencas, all washed down with olive oil. Some soups, as in the rest of Andalusia, cold soups are traditional, particularly in the province, the ajoblanco based on olive oil, garlic and almonds, as well as the Andalusian gazpacho and its variant the porra antequerana, the gazpachuelo, a soup of fish similar to the one in white reduced with mayonnaise, almond soup, puppy soup, based on puppy oranges, ...
What to say about the fish section, it is a coastal city where the products are totally fresh and where there's more variety than in any other type of dish. They are varied, creative and fresh and above all very healthy when made with totally natural products. On the coast of Malaga you can enjoy Malaga fried dishes. You will also enjoy the tasty and varied fish fritters (fish floured and fried in plenty of olive oil, over high heat and for a very short time). Therefore, we can find a variety of fish and seafood cooked fried or boiled, such as the famous sardine skewers that are eaten on the beach. There is also a wide variety of fish-based dishes, for example: clams, shredded tuna, squid stuffed a la malagueña, yellow dogfish, salted bream with peppers, sole in sauce with muscatel grapes, baked sea bass, mussels in pipirrana, hanger-style monkfish medallions, sardine moraga, fish au gratin with olives, marinated fish, cod fritters, malagueña fritters, sardines omelette and pickled anchovies.
About meat, this is consummated most on the mountains, especially in the Serranía de Ronda, which offers excellent preparations of game meat, vegetables and own-created sausages such as blood sausages. In the road sales of the Montes de Málaga, the plate of the mountains is typical. Worthy of note is the "Oxtail a la Rondeña". Also noteworthy are: rabbit a la cortijera, choto serrano, pickled partridges, partridges in salmorejo. Malaga cabbage stews, Andalusian tripe, noodle casserole with coquinas, malagueña clams, pea and broad bean stew, Malaga stew, chestnut and bean stew, chickpea stew, lentil stew, band noodles, porridge, Cortijeras crumbs, marinated potatoes, malagueña potatoes, Andalusian broad beans, rondeña stew, rice with cod, rice on the side.
In the desserts section, the monastic recipes stand out, especially in Antequera, such as the popular roscos and almond cakes, the muffins or the "Bienmesabe". Churros are known in the capital and some inland towns as tejeringos. Among others, we should also highlight: Orange sponge cake, oil buns, sweet potato patties, chestnut flan, quince meat, pine nut mustaches, oranges with Malaga wine, Coín fig bread,, Polvorones, avocado cake, coffee cake, oil cakes, the Crazy Cakes. At Christmas, there is no shortage of the Malaga table: mantecados, alfajores, borrachuelos generally seasoned with Malaga wine and wine rolls.
The vineyard was introduced in Malaga by the Greeks and the Phoenicians, who taught the native inhabitants to prune the vines around 600 BC. C .. The first archaeological document that is known about the production of wine in the province dates back to the Roman Empire and consists of a prismatic fermentation tank found in Cártama. The production was maintained by means of special taxes during the Muslim period, and after the Reconquest, creating the Brotherhood of Viñeros de Málaga in 1487. The fame of Malaga wines came to be recognized worldwide, so much so that in 1791 the Spanish ambassador in Moscow presented Empress Catherine II of Russia with boxes of Malaga wine, and the admiration they caused her was such that she exempted from taxes all Malaga wines arriving in Russia. Malaga wines were acclaimed in the stories, among others, by Emilio Salgari, and are mentioned in fundamental novels in the history of literature such as Stendhal's Rojo y Negro or in works by Fiodor Dostoevsky, among other authors. Its decline began in 1878 with the phylloxera plague in Malaga, marking the beginning of the agricultural, economic and later political crisis at the beginning of the 20th century. Unfortunately, like most of the world's great dessert wines, demand dropped dramatically in the 20th century. Currently there has been a resurgence of sweet wine and Malaga wines have rediscovered their position in the world. Likewise, new red wines and wineries have been incorporated, around twenty vineyards, from the Ronda region, which in a few years have won some of the main awards in the Spanish and international wine sector.
A journey along the coast
On a car journey of around 180 kilometres, it is possible to discover at a gentle pace some of the loveliest places in the coastal area.One essential stopping point is the capital, Málaga, which in recent years has invested heavily in culture which, in addition to the Picasso Route (the painter was born there), offers an interesting variety of museums: Pompidou Centre, Carmen Thyssen Museum, the Collection of the Russian Museum... It is lovely to take a stroll round this increasingly fashionable city and discover how the Alcazaba, the Castle of Gibralfaro and the Cathedral blend in with alternative urban art neighbourhoods such as Soho, with terraces where you can enjoy brunch, or with streets like the Calle Larios for those who love to shop.Other coastal tourist spots with beaches where you can relax are Nerja, Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Estepona and Marbella. This last location and the nearby Puerto Banús are ideal places to find haute couture brands, prestigious restaurants and beach clubs where you can lay back on a Balinese bed and watch the sun set. For travellers looking to recharge their batteries or disconnect, there are luxury accommodation options with nutrition programmes or boats to hire in the marinas.
Slow travel through the interior
The Costa del Sol seduces visitors with its cliffs, beaches, and coves and also surprises them with its stunning interior, home to villages of whitewashed houses with narrow, winding streets adorned with flowers and which conserve centuries-old traditions. They are built in the middle of the mountain range and discovering them means fully disconnecting in the heart of nature.Among the most beautiful of these villages are Frigilana and its charming old quarter, Antequera and its stunning prehistoric dolmens, and Ronda and its mythical bridge over the cliff which, in their day, captured the hearts of figures such as Hemingway, Orson Welles (whose ashes are buried here) and Rike.In addition to visiting these villages, we recommend a visit to some of the region’s wineries and attending a wine tasting, admiring the landscapes along the Caminito del Rey path or visiting nature reserves such as the Sierra de las Nieves or Sierra de Grazalema, staying in a centuries-old traditional Andalusian farmhouse or a rural house that offers massages and natural therapies, relaxing at historical spas such as the one in Tolox or the Carratraca thermal baths, and of course sampling the local cuisine with its unmistakable rural flavours.