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“La Vasca,” is a young Company, family owned, that emerged from a kitchen in Argentina where the Basque customs are their daily bread.  From the town of Los Toldos in the province of Buenos Aires, Yanina Luberriaga, whose great grandpa was from Ezpeleta, Lapurdi uses a recipe that never fails: a perfect dose of “work, family and values.” 

Los Toldos, Argentina.   The “La Vasca” project started a year ago when Yanina Luberriaga saw the possibility of working from home, near her children.  During the year, her workshop was her kitchen, where she prepared, and packaged her products, and where the family would gather to share in the daily experiences.

Yanina told EuskalKultura.com that her first marmalades emerged from the heart of her family along with liquor and chutneys with which she won a spot in the city.  In regards to her marmalades, they are classics, “with the perfect balance between sweet and sour,” she says; the B,C Line (reduced calorie), that includes 70% fruit and 30% sugar, and the Light, are for diabetics.  In addition to sweets “La Vasca” also produces lemon liquor (lemoncello) as well as orange (narancello); and apple, raspberry and raisin chutneys to accompany meats.

Dulce de leche will be coming soon as well as a line of marmalades that are 100% fruit with no sugar added.  “This type of marmalade is sweetened with grape juice in order to avoid adding sugar, whose excessive use is harming the health of several generations.  It’s not appropriate for diabetic, but it is lower in calories since it is 100% fruit,” she explains.

With this expansion of her products, “La Vasca” now has a new workshop.  Even if she continues to work from home, the new locale has the capacity to accommodate 1,200 jars a month, a quantity that she strives for next year. 

“La Vasca” from Basque Roots

Even if “La Vasca,” emerged from Yanina’s need to work from home, it is not a coincidence that she works in the field of food, nor the name she chose.  In fact, her father, Juan Luberriaga, is the grandson of Manuel Luberriaga, who is from the Ipharra farmhouse in Ezpeleta, Lapurdi.  In the words of Yanina, “My father, Juan Luberriaga, is a master cheese-maker, humbly…one of the best.  I always participated in the activity.  Besides cheese, we also make homemade sweet milk.  I lived in the country practically my entire life.  When I was 11 I went to the school of the Sisters of San Jose where I was a student and I would come home on the weekend.  When I was 17 I studied in another city, but I was always missing my roots.”

“And when I talk about roots, I talk about the country but also my Basque roots.  There are things that our parents transmit to us in a very strong way.  My father taught me and I inherited two things from him: the love for making things myself, and the nickname “La Vasca,” which I am very proud of.  Currently, my daughters and I are members of the Guillermo Larregui Basque Club in Chacabuco, where my father serves as its vice-president.  I try to participate as much as I can in the tabernas and celebrations.  It is something to enjoy in family.”

“La Vasca” is located in Los Toldos, in the province of Buenos Aires, and from there she also supplies neighboring cities.  She has a website as well as a Facebook page (La Vasca) where orders can be placed. “I am 36, and am very proud of and have a great attachment to my family and its traditions. I am sure that work + family + values will provide the best heritage that we can leave to our children,” she concludes.