One of the Costa Blanca’s main attractions is its food and drink. A culture shaped by its Moorish agricultural past and by its Mediterranean character.

Rice is the star ingredient of our local dishes. As well as paella, we have rice broth dishes such as arròs amb fessols i naps, rice with beans and turnip, and sticky rice dishes, as well as arroz con costra, baked in the oven with egg and sausage. Caldero, stew, and arroz a banda, rice with a fish broth, are very simple rice dishes that reproduce the recipes of seamen sailing from the ports of Alicante and can be accompanied by aperitifs such as salted and dried tuna, with which products such as bulls and mojamas can be made.

Both our wines and spirits have their Denominación de Origen (Denominations of Origin). The muscatels and white wines of the Marina Alta and the Fondillón del Vinalopó are our best-known sweet wines. Our reds are strong and robust, with high alcohol content. As regards liqueurs, Anís Paloma, Alcoy’s Café Licor, Cantueso and Herrero, (made using aromatic herbs from the la Sierra de Mariola mountains) are strong drinks traditionally enjoyed after meals.

Our best-known desserts are the famous turrones, (nougats), and the traditionally made ice creams by the universally acclaimed craftsmen from Xixona. Our pastries are typically Arabic in both origin and taste and include “rosquillas de anís”, aniseed biscuits, or “aguardiente”, eau-de-vie biscuits, empanadillas de boniato, pumpkin pasties and the almojábena fritters.