50 Fun Facts About Paella

Paella originally comes from which Spanish region?

It is regarded as one of the region's identifying symbols.

Paella takes its name from what?

The word simply means frying pan in Catalan and Valencian.

How many classic versions of paella are usually distinguished?

Valenciana, mixta and de marisco; Valencians say only the first is the real thing.

Which of these is a traditional meat in paella valenciana?

Chicken, duck and snails round out the original recipe.

Which mollusc is a traditional ingredient of paella valenciana?

Poorer Valencians sometimes used snails as the only meat.

Which lagoon near Valencia is the traditional birthplace of paella?

Rice farmers are thought to have cooked the first one-pot paellas in its paddies.

On which day of the week is paella traditionally on Spanish restaurant menus?

The custom holds across Spain, not just in Valencia.

Which people began rice cultivation in Al-Andalus around the 10th century?

Rice had become a staple in Spain by the 15th century.

What is the Latin root of the word paella?

It reached Catalan via Old French paelle, and also gave Italian padella and French poele.

What is the traditional paella pan called in many Spanish-speaking regions outside Valencia?

Valencian speakers use paella for the pan and the dish alike.

Which etymologist argued paella comes from Old French paelle rather than directly from Latin?

He reasoned that a direct Latin descent would have produced 'padella'.

A disputed theory derives paella from an Arabic word meaning what?

The problem is that the word is not attested until six centuries after James I took Valencia.

What rice variety do most paella cooks use?

A Valencian cultivar called senia is the main alternative.

Which flat green bean is a traditional paella valenciana ingredient?

Artichoke hearts stand in for beans in winter.

Which herb is sometimes added to paella in whole branches?

Valencians say it should not be used if the snails in the pan have already been eating it.

What rodent was a main ingredient of early Valencian paellas?

Eel and butter beans were the other staples of the 18th-century pot.

Which novelist described Valencians eating water voles in the 1902 novel Canas y barro?

The realist novel is set among the fishermen and peasants of the Albufera.

In what year did a local newspaper first use 'paella' to mean the recipe rather than the pan?

Food historian Lynne Olver traced the usage.

Which ingredients do Valencians call 'absolutely out of the question' in paella valenciana?

Seafood belongs to paella de marisco, a separate recipe.

What does paella de marisco omit that paella valenciana includes?

The seafood is traditionally served in the shell.

Mixed paella is sometimes nicknamed what, for its riot of ingredients?

It was invented by Spaniards outside Valencia who combined seafood with land meat.

Which American author's 1959 writing after a Valencia visit helped popularise paella worldwide?

Recipes abroad soon ballooned to include sausage and many more seasonings.

What pejorative name do Valencians give paellas with chorizo and other 'wrong' ingredients?

It translates as 'rice with things'.

Which British chef's chorizo paella recipe became a famous 'rice with things' controversy?

Gordon Ramsay's recipe drew similar complaints.

Which food writer showed in El Pais that old Valencian paella did include chorizo?

Writing as 'Biscayenne', she quipped that Jamie would have to be invited to the Falles.

Which wood traditionally fuels the open fire under a Valencian paella?

Pine branches and cones are added for aromatic smoke.

How do diners traditionally eat paella in Valencia?

Some recipes also call for the pan to rest, covered, for five to ten minutes first.

What is the prized layer of scorched rice at the bottom of the pan called?

It is considered a good thing as long as it is not actually burnt.

Which restaurateur claims the 2001 paella that fed about 110,000 people?

His 1992 paella for about 100,000 is the one listed in Guinness World Records.

About how many people did Galbis's Guinness-listed 1992 paella feed?

Giant paellas are a fixture of Valencian festivals, campaigns and protests.

What is the official Unicode name of the paella emoji?

It was approved in Unicode 9.0 in June 2016.

Which company changed its paella emoji from seafood to chicken after online protests?

The original design showed paella de marisco.

What kind of rice does the Philippine version of paella use?

Filipino paelya also colours the dish with annatto, turmeric or safflower instead of saffron.

Which Louisiana dish was influenced by paella?

It also draws on the French jambalaia of Provence.

Which Dominican dish is described as a descendant of paella?

Arroz con gandules and arroz con pollo are other Latin American adaptations.

What makes arros negre black?

It is made with cuttlefish or squid and is not traditionally called a paella.

Fideua is a paella-like dish that swaps rice for what?

It is seasoned mainly with lemon and often served with allioli.

Which town is the birthplace of fideua?

Legend says a ship's cook used noodles so the rice-loving captain would leave more for the crew.

What is added to arroz con costra to give it its name?

It is a baked rice typical of Elche in the south of Valencia.

What does 'senyoret' mean in the name of the peeled-seafood rice arroz del senyoret?

The seafood is served already peeled so the diner need not dirty their hands.

Arros a banda is a humble Valencian coastal rice cooked with which two things?

Fideua is often described as even closer to arros a banda than to paella.

What do Latin American and Filipino 'arroz a la valenciana' use instead of saffron?

The method of cooking Valencian rice spread across the Spanish colonies.

Bomba rice can absorb roughly how many times its volume in water without bursting?

That is why it needs more liquid than similar grains and keeps its shape.

Which Murcian town gives its name to a Denominacion de Origen bomba rice?

Moratalla shares the DO; Pals in Catalonia is another bomba region.

Saffron comes from which part of the Crocus sativus flower?

The crimson threads are hand-picked and dried.

Roughly how many crocus flowers are needed for a kilogram of saffron?

That is about 440,000 hand-picked stigmas and forty hours of labour.

In which country did saffron originate?

It spread from the Khorasan region to Kashmir, the Mediterranean and Asia Minor.

How far from Valencia city is the lagoon where paella was born?

The lagoon has been a Ramsar wetland of international importance since 1990.

Which food historian said paella unites the Roman utensil and the Arab grain?

She called rice 'the basic food of humanity for centuries'.

Which Valencian drink, made from tigernuts, is traditionally dipped with fartons?

Orxata de xufa is produced only around Alboraya, just north of Valencia.