Beyond D.O. products, there are very many "official" Catalan products that are known throughout Spain called Indicació Geogràfica Protegida (Geography Protected Indicator) products. The IGP stamp is placed on products to designate that a food is truly from a certain geographical area of Catalunya, which assures the consumer of its quality.

Here are a few of the more popular IGP products that every serious food traveler to the region should make a point of sampling.

Ratafia Catalana

Ratafia Catalana is a liqueur made from nuts and aromatic plants like anise, chamomile, oregano or cinnamon via hydraulic maceration. The finished product goes through and aging process of 3 months in a wooden barrel, after which the liqueur is bottled in a glass container.

Calçots de Valls

Once a white onion has been replanted in soil, big green onion stalks will emerge, which in Catalan are called Calçots (the name comes from the word "calçar", which is the act of burying the onion into the soil so that the white part stays that way -- since that's the part that is meant to be eaten). These green stalks grow widely in the comarcas of l´Alt y Baix Camp, el Tarragonés y el Baix Penedés. In Tarragona they are honored every January with a celebration in the town of Valls: la Calçotada.

The Catalan people have a curious saying to help remember when it's the right season to eat Calçots:

Calçots are cooked over an open fire and eaten with a Romesco sauce.

Chicken and capon "del Prat"

This type of chicken is characterized by its reddish color, blue feet and its crest. It has almost no fat and the meat is extremely tender. The El Prat chicken produced pink colored eggs which weigh about an 1/8 lb. each. Chickens are raised until they reach 77 days, while capons are left to live until 182 days after birth.

These chickens are served year round, and the areas where they are raised (and therefore easier to find in restaurants) are: Prat son Castelldefels, Cornellà de Llobregat, el Prat de Llobregat (where the Barcelona airport is located), Gavà, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Sant Climent de Llobregat, Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Viladecans i Santa Coloma de Cervelló.