This is the story of Aneto, producer of the worlds best broths, and my recent tour of their Spanish headquarters. A special thanks to Aneto for partnering with me.
Chefs will tell you that the most sure-fire way to create a great meal is to start with the best ingredients. As a fundamental ingredient in so many meal, broths are among the most important things to get right. In fact, my culinary school devoted an entire semester to learning proper broth and sauce making techniques. Simply put, to create the most flavorful and delicious meals, you need to start with the most flavorful and delicious broth. While homemade is great, when time is short we all need a great boxed broth to rely on. That broth is Aneto, an all-natural broth brand based in Artes, Spain, just outside of Barcelona.
Wondering what could be so special about this product versus all of the other boxed broths you can find on grocery store shelves?
Follow me as I take you along on a tour of the Catalonian countryside with this amazing company and share a few simple reasons why you need to try their broths. 
My unlikely journey with Aneto started last fall at a food conference. The Aneto team had an exposition booth and they were passing out samples of their broth. I nearly walked right past! If you’ve ever smelled or tasted the big-name boxed broths available at U.S. supermarkets, you can surely sympathize with my thinking. Most boxed broths are jammed with fillers and preservatives and only vaguely resemble the homemade stuff. So, when I was offered a broth sample, my immediate reaction was: “Ew…boxed chicken broth is gross, I don’t want to try that!”
But then the aroma wafted over from their booth and I stopped in my tracks. This was not the off-putting smell of supermarket chicken broth. This was the smell of soup….incredible, delicious, warming, homemade-by-your-grandma, chicken soup. I wandered over and took a cup. And it tasted incredible. Even better than it smelled. And I was intrigued.
After the food conference, I started using Aneto products in my home kitchen. While still something of a specialty product in the U.S., Aneto’s distribution is expanding. Their products are worth seeking out and I did. I tried their chicken broth, their low-sodium chicken broth, their incredible tastes-like-a-garden vegetable broth, their fish stock, seafood broth and even their paella broths (more on that later). Each product impressed me more than the last.
As I said, broth making is one of the most fundamental and essential skills taught in culinary school. But Aneto’s products were so far above and beyond any other boxed broth product I’d tried. Frankly, their broths were tastier than some of my own homemade batches. What was Aneto’s secret?
To get the full answer, the Aneto team invited me to visit their headquarters in Artes, Spain, an hour outside Barcelona. So, at the beginning of June, Jon and I dropped the kids off with their grandparents, boarded a plane and flew to Spain.
After a long day of travel and a stormy cab ride through the mountains, we arrived in the Catalonian countryside. It was clear immediately that things were done differently here. It was if we’d been transported to a different time.
The Aneto team arranged for us to stay at Hotel Mon, which happens to be located directly adjacent to an ancient monastery as well as the fields where many of Aneto’s vegetables are grown. This leads me to the first reason you’re going to love Aneto.
Organic Vegetables For A Cause
We started our day with a tour of the fields, which are owned by a social cooperative that hires at-risk youths to tend the farm and learn a trade. A large portion of the vegetables Aneto uses are grown here, using organic farming techniques.
The folks at Aneto take great pride in sourcing their vegetables from this producer not only because the organic fields are located just 10 minutes from their facility but also because they provide employment opportunities for young people in their community.
Walking through these gorgeous fields, listening to the bees buzz while the farm hands toiled at the harvest, was truly beautiful. It was inspiring to see how much passion and care goes into the organic farming process and, I suspect, plays a big part in the quality of Aneto’s products.
After leaving the fields, we hopped in the truck with our friend and guide, Josep, a member of the Aneto marketing team, and made the short drive to their headquarters.
Aneto’s Total Transparency
Its worth noting that Aneto regularly invites bloggers and curious foodies to tour their facilities. Unlike most large-scale food manufacturers, they are 100 percent transparent about their process and incredibly proud of their products.
As the tour began, we were asked to don the same sterile, white, head-to-toe garments that their employees wear and walk through a sterilization system before entering the immaculate cooking area. Aneto follows a strict manufacturing schedule and each day of the week is dedicated to a different type of broth. On the day of our visit, chicken broth was being prepared and we were able to watch the process from start to finish.
We toured the gigantic refrigerators where fresh vegetables, poultry and seafood arrive daily. We chatted with the men who trim the produce by hand before placing it in enormous cauldrons along with large quantities of whole chicken. From there they add water and let the cauldron simmer for several hours. Then they vacuum seal the freshly made broth it in shelf-stable packages. And thats it. Thats the entire process! Done exactly how you’d do it at home, only on a larger scale. We were even allowed to taste the broth, hot out of the cauldron, and it was delicious. Expertly prepared and perfectly seasoned.
A Simple Secret
What struck me over and over throughout the tour was the simplicity. Simple ingredients, simple cooking techniques. Exactly how you would make broth at home, simply on a larger scale. No fillers, no additives, no preservatives. Check the ingredient list for their chicken broth and see for yourself:
Following the tour, the Aneto team invited us to join them for a traditional Catalonian lunch in their test kitchen. We tasted several delicious soups made with Aneto’s broths, served along with Spanish sausages and plates piled high with garden fresh vegetables. Unlike most American business lunches, this meal was served on actual china. We lingered for several hours, eating and chatting like old friends.
I was struck again and again by the kindness, passion, and professionalism that the entire Aneto team shared. Everyone at Aneto is committed to treating food the way it should be treated — with the highest care and quality and 100 percent natural production methods.
It turns out that Aneto’s secret isn’t such a secret after all. They make their broths the way chefs and grandmas have been making broths since the beginning of time: the right way.
My partnership with Aneto is ongoing and I will be sharing recipes using their products throughout the rest of the year, starting with the incredible paella I learned to make on our second day in Spain. More on the next month. Meanwhile, I recommend stocking up on Aneto now so you’ll be ready. You can (and should) purchase Aneto broths via Amazon and at specialty stores throughout the U.S.
Jon and I wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Josep, Nuria, Joaquim and the entire Aneto team for their kindness, generosity and hospitality. Our visit was truly one of the most heartfelt and memorable experiences of our lives.
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