50 Fun Facts About Spanish Food

Spain is the world's largest producer of which cooking staple?

It forms the base of the vegetable sauces known as sofritos.

What are the Spanish vegetable sauce bases used across the cuisine called?

Parsley, oregano, rosemary and thyme are the most common herbs.

Which two ingredients of paella were probably popularised in the Al-Andalus period?

The Byzantines are believed to have introduced rice in the 6th century before the Arabs expanded it.

Escabeche, introduced by the Moors, preserves food using what?

The Moors also laid the basis for Spanish pastry-making.

The medieval cookbooks Sent Soví and Llibre de Coch were written in which language?

Sent Soví dates from 1324 and Ruperto de Nola's Llibre de Coch from 1520.

Adafina, a Sephardic Jewish stew of medieval Spain, is a local version of which dish?

Jewish cooks observing kashrut drained meat of blood and avoided pork.

Spain was the first place chocolate was mixed with what to tame its bitterness?

Cocoa arrived with tomatoes, potatoes, maize and peppers after 1492.

The Spanish potato omelette depends on an ingredient that arrived from where?

Gazpacho, salmorejo and pan con tomate likewise rely on American tomatoes.

Madame d'Aulnoy reported 17th-century Spanish butter arriving preserved in what?

Foreigners sneered at Spain's preference for olive oil and lard.

Dr. Thebussem proposed which rustic stew be served at royal banquets as a national dish?

The move was a step away from the French paradigm that dominated 19th-century Europe.

Simone Ortega's 1080 recetas is Spain's third best-selling book after which two?

First published in 1972, it also included French recipes.

Spain's first televised cooking show, Con las manos en la masa, began in which year?

Its title means 'with hands in the dough'.

What is the Spanish word for the leisurely table talk that follows lunch?

Lunch usually starts around 2 or 2:30 p.m.

La merienda, Spain's afternoon snack, typically happens at about what time?

Dinner, la cena, is eaten between 8:30 and 11:00 p.m.

Which ingredient divides Spanish opinion over the 'correct' tortilla de patatas?

Views on either side are described as highly opinionated.

Ensaladilla rusa, a Spanish staple, is better known internationally as what?

Croquetas, paella, gazpacho and tortilla are the other nationwide staples.

Which region uses the most olive oil of any in Spain?

Its most famous export is gazpacho, the cold tomato-and-pepper soup.

Andalusian caldillo de perro is a fish soup flavoured with what?

Its name literally means 'little dog broth'.

Asado de ternasco, a signature Aragonese dish, is a roast of which meat?

It is cooked with garlic, olive oil, laurel, thyme and parsley.

Melocotón con vino, from Aragon, infuses which fruit in red wine?

The Calanda peach is the regional variety used.

Fabada asturiana is a stew built around which ingredient?

Chorizo, morcilla and pork complete the traditional recipe.

Cachopo, an Asturian favourite, is a crumb-coated steak of which meat?

Carne gobernada, roasted veal, is another regional meat dish.

Cabrales, a pungent blue cheese, comes from near which mountain range?

It is typically eaten with Asturian cider.

Why is Asturian cider poured from a great height?

The drink 'breaks' in the glass and is drunk straight away in tiny shots.

Sobrassada and ensaïmada come from which Spanish archipelago?

The islands also claim Mahón cheese, Menorcan gin and mayonnaise.

Bacalao al pil pil is a Basque preparation of which fish?

Bacalao a la vizcaína is another classic Basque cod dish.

Basque changurro is a dish of stuffed what?

Fig leaf quail and marinated goose are among the region's meat dishes.

Txakoli, the Basque staple wine, is notable for what?

It is produced in Álava, Guipúzcoa and Biscay.

Gofio, still eaten in the Canaries, was a staple of which aboriginal people?

It is a flour made of various toasted grains.

Canarian green mojo for fish is made from which herb?

The red mojo picón for meat uses chilli peppers.

Which Canarian wine is the only one to have gained international recognition?

Papas arrugadas and almogrote are among the islands' classic dishes.

Cocido montañés, the 'highlander stew', comes from which region?

It combines beans, cabbage and pork; sobaos are the region's pastries.

Morteruelo, a kind of foie gras, is typical of which region?

Garlic dominates the region's cooking, as in ajoarriero and ajo mataero.

Cochinillo asado, a Castile and León classic, is roast what?

Lechazo, roast lamb, and chuletón de Ávila are its companions.

Jamón de Guijuelo is a cured ham from which province?

Rueda whites and Ribera del Duero reds are the region's major wines.

Which thin cured sausage comes from the town of Vic?

Botifarra, white and black, is the other cured-pork staple.

Calçots and escalivada, from Catalonia, are dishes based on what?

Calçots are grilled onions; escalivada is roasted vegetables.

Extremaduran ajoblanco differs from the Andalusian version by lacking what?

It instead contains egg yolk in the emulsion and vegetables.

Pimentón de la Vera, prized across Spain, is what kind of spice?

It comes from the La Vera comarca of Extremadura.

Extremadura's torta cheeses are curdled with an infusion of which plant?

The tortas of La Serena and El Casar both hold protected designations.

Pilgrims arriving in Santiago de Compostela traditionally ate what?

The scallop shell remains the symbol of the Camino.

Galician queimada is a flambéed ritual drink based on which spirit?

Citrus peel, sugar or coffee beans go into the burning pot.

Which Madrid establishment is the world's oldest continuously operating restaurant?

Madrid had no distinct culinary identity until Philip II made it capital in 1561.

Murcian paparajotes are a dessert made from what unusual ingredient?

Pastel de Cierva, both sweet and savoury, is another Murcian speciality.

Pacharán, a typical liqueur, belongs to which region's cuisine?

Chorizo de Pamplona and Idiazabal cheese come from the same region.

Paella was originally topped with which two meats?

It is cooked in a circular pan and hails from Valencia.

All i pebre, a Valencian fish stew, is typical of which wetland?

Fideuá and arròs negre are other Valencian rice-and-noodle classics.

Christmas nougat, turrón, is traditionally made in Alicante and which other town?

Horchata and arnadí are Valencian sweets of Muslim origin.

El Celler de Can Roca, named world's best restaurant in 2013, is in which province?

It is run by the three Roca brothers: Joan, Jordi and Josep.

Which Spanish chef hosts Made in Spain on PBS and runs Minibar in Washington, D.C.?

He trained under Ferran Adrià before moving to the United States.