Anko – Canned Vegetables from the Heart of Navarre
Since 1959, Anko has been hand-crafting canned vegetables and vegetable soups in Cadreita, in the middle of Navarre's Ebro Valley. Not an industrial plant, but a family business that to this day operates without dyes or preservatives and has been awarded the "Alimentos Artesanos" seal.
Anko stands for Spanish vegetables in their most honest form: harvested raw, processed gently, and without additives. The family business from the Ribera de Navarra has specialized in two things that are rarely missing from any Spanish kitchen: cold gazpacho vegetable soup and roasted Pimientos del Piquillo. You can find both in our shop, and both come from the same small factory on the edge of Cadreita.
Cadreita, a couple with a vegetable garden
Benito Prat and his wife Carmen Preciado founded Anko in 1959 in the Ebro Valley, where Navarre's vegetable gardens have always been among the most productive in Spain.
What began as a small family business remained a family business even after it was handed over to the next generation: in 1988, Benito and Carmen's children took over the company under the name Anko, S.L. and continued their parents' recipes unchanged. The founders' ambition was simple but clear: healthy, natural, and balanced nutrition, as Mediterranean cuisine has dictated for generations.
In 2017, Anko moved from its old premises in the town center to a new 18,000-square-meter production facility in the Las Navas industrial estate – a major step for a family business that has since reached markets that were previously out of reach.
Gazpacho and Pimientos del Piquillo from us
From Anko's wide range, which also includes creams, marmalades, and vegetable mousses, we carry two classics: the cold gazpacho and the roasted Pimientos del Piquillo.
The gazpacho comes in a 500-milliliter bottle, raw-pureed from tomato, bell pepper, cucumber, and garlic, rounded off with a dash of olive oil – ready for the fridge, ready for a hot day. The Pimientos del Piquillo come in a 235-gram tin, whole pods 8 to 10 centimeters long, roasted over beech wood and peeled by hand, with about 215 grams drained weight of firm, deep-red flesh.
Both products share the same origin and the same method: raw vegetables from the region, processed without additives, and packed in small batches instead of on an assembly line.
Craftsmanship instead of mass-produced goods
Anko avoids dyes, preservatives, and flavorings in all its products – a decision the family made back in the founding days and has maintained to this day.
The vegetables come from their own cultivation and from small farms in the region; the harvest is determined by the season, not by demand. Both products are gluten-free and suitable for vegetarians. Because of this artisanal processing, Anko is permitted to carry the "Alimentos Artesanos" seal of the Navarre region, which the regional government reserves exclusively for genuine food crafts – not a quality seal you can buy, but one you earn through your methods.
Even after the move to the new production facility in 2017, this standard remained: more space and more modern technology, but the same recipes as in the days of Benito and Carmen.
Pioneer of Spanish vegetable soup
With more than 30 varieties of soup, Anko is one of the pioneers of artisanal vegetable soup in Spain – the gazpacho is just one of many, but the best known outside of Spain.
At the Salón de Gourmets trade fair in Madrid, one of Spain's largest delicatessen fairs, Anko regularly presents itself to an international specialist audience – most recently with the slogan "Taste the difference," which refers to the over 60-year family tradition. Anko does not keep its own list of awards, but it does have a quality seal that not every manufacturer in Navarre is allowed to carry, and a reputation that has been passed down from generation to generation for six decades.
Two Spanish preserves for a small menu
Together, gazpacho and Pimientos del Piquillo make a small Spanish menu without a stove: cold soup for an appetizer, roasted peppers as a tapa or side dish.
For the whole tapas spread, olives and sherry vinegar from Capirete, organic olive oil from Azada to refine the gazpacho, or sardines from Conservas Ortiz as a third preserve on the table go well. Three small Spanish producers, three different regions, one common ambition: to process vegetables and fish in such a way that you can still taste where they come from.
