Whether fried, broiled, or chopped, food is an important part of any one persons’ diet. Food does not solely satisfy ones hunger, but it also aids the development of a countries culture and traditions. This fact is proven by the numerous recipes and eating habits found all over the world.
I, like most Americans, love food. I not only love eating its scrumptiousness, but I love cooking it as well. Growing up, our family occasions and gatherings have always been accompanied by great food. My grandma and aunt are both fabulous chefs and over the years have helped me develop my own cooking skills. With this appreciation for food, I become easily fascinated with food, especially foreign food. With my upcoming excursion to Spain, I believed it a perfect chance to deepen my knowledge for food and research Spanish cuisine.
Before the class, I couldn’t have told you anything about Spanish cuisine. Here in America we have an endless supply of restaurants that showcase many different cultural foods, such as Mexican, Chinese, Indian or Japanese. Yet, I have never been to a Spanish restaurant, therefore I really had no knowledge of food commonly eaten in Spain. It was during the class that I was able to learn a few facts about Spanish cuisine. I learned that meat is a staple in any Spanish diet. The most popular meat is ham; little did I know how true of a fact this was. I was also told that tapas are a must to try. Some of the tapas that were introduced beforehand included patatas bravas, tortilla, churros con chocolate, and chroquetas. After only seeing a few pictures of these tapas, I began to feel the excitement of soon getting the chance to taste these new foods for myself.
Once I had arrived in Spain, it didn’t take very long for me to notice the differences between American and Spanish food. The most prevalent difference is the amount of ham Spaniards do in fact consume. Personally, I don’t eat ham that often. My family will prepare a honey ham for Easter Sunday and that’s it. Throw in some morning brunches with bacon, a few ham sandwiches and the Easter ham and that will sum up my ham consumption for the year. Overall, I would say I eat more beef and chicken. In Spain, it is the opposite. Ham is most definitely the highlight, while beef and chicken take a back seat. I was surprised to find how many different slices and salamis they had. All of them were delicious, but I believe I consumed my normal years’ worth of ham in my only two week stay.
In America, our cuisine can be different depending on the region that you are visiting, the same is true in Spain. While we were in some of the northern cities such as Oviedo and Santiago de Compostela, some of my friends and I were able to taste their delicious seafood. It was in these cities where seafood is the highlight of any tourist visit. Here the seafood is fresh and cooked to perfection. In Oviedo, a few of us went to a restaurant for dinner and shared a seafood platter. Seeing shrimp with their heads still attached, open mussels, and a cooked full-bodied Sebastian (aka crab) can be intimidating. Thankfully we were all willing to be daring and thoroughly enjoyed the fresh and simplistic seafood. In Santiago de Compostela we dined at a “ritzy” restaurant. Here we shared raciones, which are big appetizers. My life was changed during this dinner. We ordered calamari. Yes, I have tried calamari before in the states, but this dish was different. It was cooked to perfection and the squid was so fresh; I still have cravings. It was easily my most favorite dish that I partook of in Spain.
Tapas are another must to try and the highlight of any Spanish snack or light lunch. Tapas are small appetizers which allow the consumer to taste the numerous varieties of tapas. These tapas can range from Tortilla Espana, Chroquetas, Patatas Bravas, Calamari, Ham and cheese; the list is never ending. At first I didn’t enjoy the tapas. In my mind, they were tiny bites that were very expensive and left me still hungry. Yet after being in Spain for a week, tapas began to grow on me. I enjoyed that there were the staple tapas that many restaurants served, but there were also variations in each city. While we were in Barcelona, Dr. GN treated us to a dinner. We were served tapas including spring rolls, Dorito nachos, and salad. In sense they weren’t your traditional tapas, but they were small portions and absolutely delicious.
Overall, Spain’s cuisine is amazing. It is fresh, like none other, and true to its roots. I enjoyed that there are traditions not only in the Spanish culture but also in its cuisine. There were several aspects that surprised and/or shocked me, like seeing so many American fast food joints, eating lunch and dinner so late in the day, and the never ending supply of ham, but I still enjoyed almost every meal. I will never forget that delicious calamari and thank Spain for expanding my knowledge of delectable food.
Si frito, a la parrilla, or picado, comida es un parte importante en la cocina de Espana. Los alimentos no solamente satisfacer nuestra hambre, pero tambien desarrollar a la cultura y las tradiciones de Espana. Este hecho se desmuestra por las muchas recetas y habitos alimentos encontrado en el mundo.
Me encanta comida. No solemente comer comida deliciosa pero tambien cocinar la. Al crecer, occasiones con la familia y reuniones siempre tienen muchos alimentos. Mi abuela, tia, y mama son cocineras fabulosas y me han ayudada en la cocina. Con esta apreciacion para la comida, estoy facinada por la comida, especialmente la comida extranjera. Con mi viaje a Espana, yo creia que seria una oportunidad perfecta para aprender la cocina de Espana.
Antes de la clase de Espana, no sabia mucho de la cocina de Espana. Aqui en Norte America, nosotros tenemos muchas restaurantes que muestran las comidas culturas, incluyendo la comida de Mexico, China, Japon, y India. Sin embargo, nunca he visto una restaurante Espanola en Norte America. Fue durante la clase de Epana, aprendi los hechos de la cocina de Espana. Aprendi que carne es muy importante por la dieta espanola. El carne mas importante es el jamon; yo no creia este hecho era verdad. Aprendi tapas son populares en Espana tambien y tiene muchas tapas diferentes. Algunas tapas que he descubierto incluyen patatas bravas, tortilla espanola, churros con chocolate, y croquetas. Despues cuando vi las fotos de tapas, me senti emocionada y feliz probar las comidas nuevas.
Al llegar a Espana, note las diferencias de la comida Americana y Espanola rapidamente. La diferencia mas importante es la cantidad del jamon las personas espanolas comen. Personalmente, yo no como jamon normalmente. Cada ano, mi familia cocina un jamon para Semana Santa. Incluyendo los desayunos con el tocino, los sandwiches con jamon, y el jamon para Semana Santa, y es todo que como para el ano. En general, diria yo como mas carne de res y pollo. En Espana, este es el opuesto. El jamon es mas popular que la carne de res y pollo. Estaba sorprendida encontrar muchas cortes y salamis diferentes. Eran deliciosos, pero creo que comi demasiado jamon en las dos semanas.
En Norte America, nuestra cocina puede ser diferente dependiendo de la region que esta visitando, este es verdad en Espana tambien. Cuando nosotros visitamos las ciudades nortes como Oviedo y Santiago de Compostela, mis amigas y yo pudimos comer el marisco delicioso. En estas ciudades, comiendo los platos del marisco es un experiencia inolvidable para las turistas. Aqui el marisco es fresco y cocinado a la perfecion. En Oviedo, mis amigas y yo visitemos una restauranta para cenar y compartimos un plato de mariscos. Vimos camarones con sus cabezas, mejilones abierto y Sebastian (aka cangrejos) y eramos asustadas. Comimos y nos encantaba el marisco fresco y simplistico. En Santiago de Compostela, nosotros visitamos una restaurante cara. Aqui nosotros compartimos los raciones. Raciones son platos grandes con comida para muchas personas. Mi vida fue cambiada durante esta cena. Nosotros comimos el calamar. Yo comi calamar en los Estados Unidos, pero este calamar fue fresco y fantastico. Yo quiero comer el calamar ahora. Ese calamar era la mejor comida que comi en Espana.
Tapas son la comida mas popular para botanas espanol o almuerza pequena. Tapas son aperitivos pequenos. Tapas se permiten comer muchas tipos porque son pequenas. Los tipos incluyen tortilla espanol, croquestas, patatas bravas, calamar, jamon con queso, y mas! Al principio, no me gustan tapas. Pensaba que tapas eran pequenas, caras, y yo tenia hambre despues de comerlas. Despues de una semana, me empeze a gustar a las tapas. Me gustaban todos los tipos diferentes en las restaurantes. Por ejemplo, en Barcelona, Dr. GN compro cena por su coro. Comimos tapas diferentes, incluyendo rollos de primaver, nachos con doritos, y ensalada. Yo nunca comi tapas como estas porque no estaban tradicional, pero estas eran mis favoritas.
En todo, la cocina en Espana es fantastica. Su comida es fresca, es diferente, y es muy tradicional. Me encantan las tradiciones culturales y las tradiciones en la cocina tambien. Yo estaba soprendida por algunas cosas, como los restaurantes de la comida rapido, comiendo almuerza y cena muy tarde, y el jamon que termina nunca, pero me encanta cada comida. Yo quiero comer ese calamar un vez mas y agradezco a Espana ensenarme sobre la comida mas deliciosa.
Spain has very strong gastronomic tradition and culture. Each region has its own staples and dishes thanks to the country’s diverse resources: seafood from the costal areas, rice from Valencia’s flat lands, ham from the inland regions, and fresh fruits and vegetables. The Spanish enjoy a light breakfast at 8-10 a.m., a heavy lunch around 2-3 in the afternoon, and a light dinner around 10 p.m.
My first experience with Spanish food with breakfast was at El Museo de Jamón (“The Museum of Ham”, a name I found summarized Spanish food rather well). Breakfast consisted of a buffet of meats, cheese, bread, and pastries, accompanied by coffee and orange, pineapple, or apricot juice. Spanish breakfast foods tend to cater to the sweet and savory (a donut and black coffee, cured meats and toast with tomatoes), whereas Americans view breakfast as “the most important meal of the day” and typically start off with something filling and loaded with carbohydrates to provide energy to start the day, such as pancakes or French toast. Spanish breakfast, I find, is more wholesome and healthy, and frankly a better start to the day than a breakfast full of sugar.
Lunch in Spain is much closer to breakfast in the US. There are many dishes with potatoes, eggs, and sausage, substantial enough to get you through the day with a single meal. My first experience with this was in Madrid. I went to a restaurant that sold lunch and tapas. I chose the best of both worlds: a lunch portion of a tortilla española, essentially a potato pancake served with sour cream. What I didn’t consider was that a “lunch portion” would be approximately the size of my head and an inch and a half thick. It was far too much to eat in one sitting, but delicious nonetheless.
Dinner is typically a healthy serving of meat (typically fish or ham), potatoes, and grilled vegetables. Nothing too flashy, and not too different from dinner back home.
Finally, any conversation about Spanish food would be incomplete without tapas. Tapas (or “pintxos” in Pays Vasco) are a unique part of Spanish cuisine, consumed as an appetizer or mid-day snack. Everywhere we went, city streets were riddled with tapas bars, quaint diner-like settings with a bar full of tortillas, gambas, croquetas, patatas, pulpo, chorizo, etc.. We had to go off the beaten path a bit to get away from the tourist-diluted tapas bars, but the genuine article was definitely worth it.
All in all, I didn’t miss American food in the slightest. Spanish food was healthier, more natural, and more substantial. The diversity of flavors and ingredients made for a new experience with every meal.
During my two-week journey to Spain, I made a lot of observations about different aspects within Spanish culture. The main aspect I chose to research more in depth was Spanish cuisine. I chose to research Spanish Cuisine because I wanted to push myself to try new things, and I felt as though if I chose this topic, I would be more likely to do so.
The first thing we did when we got to Madrid was sit down for a large, buffet style breakfast. Right off the bat I saw that bread and ham were the two most popular dishes on the buffet table. These two components were found at every single breakfast buffet we ate at throughout the entire trip. I also noticed a tomato paste that is used on toast. This was a new dish that I had never seen before this trip, but once I tried it, I found out how delicious it actually was.
While in Spain, I was very curious about what foods they were known for, or which ingredients were most found in their dishes. I decided to research this information and from close observations, I noticed a few ingredients were present at every meal we had. The most reoccurring item was ham. There was ham offered at every single meal. Another popular food in Spain is Chorizo. Chorizo is a spicy and smokey sausage. This food can be served at breakfast, lunch, and even dinner. From my research I found that almost all of the food in Spain is served at anytime of day. It’s not only served for a specific meal.
Spain’s eating habits differ very much from the United States eating habits. I noticed that everything in Spain seemed much more fresh and less processed. Especially at breakfast, there was always a wide variety of foods to choose from. Most, if not all of the food groups were included on the buffet table. Another difference I noticed was the timing of each meal. Breakfast is served normally, but lunch is not usually served until two o’clock in the afternoon. Lunch is also considered to be Spain’s biggest meal. They will usually begin with a salad, then have a main course, and finally end with some type of dessert. Our tour guide, Isabelle, made a funny comment saying that “your fork will be in one hand, and you’ll have a piece of bread in the other.” This meaning that bread is an essential for every meal. Dinner time is usually anywhere between nine and eleven o’clock at night. Dinner is also a much lighter affair, they usually just each tapas or pinchos, which are Spanish appetizers.
Personally, I loved the lifestyle of Spain. I think it’s completely different from the U.S.’s lifestyle, but in a good way. They seem to eat much healthier than we do in the U.S. and their portion sizes are about half in comparison. My biggest culture shock in Spain, was going out to a restaurant and realizing that water is not free, refills are not free, and often times beer is cheaper than water and soda. This bothered most people, but personally I think it’s a great thing because it teaches people not to over indulge. Not having endless refills on things like soda, taught me to enjoy my beverage, rather than gulping copious amounts down in a matter of seconds. This trip made me realize that I would one day like to live in a foreign country.
This topic interested me simply because I love food. I may not be a master chef, but I can appreciate a good meal. Before leaving for Spain, I knew Spanish food would vary from American food in quantity and the time of day when food is served, although I did not recognize the extreme difference until living in the culture for a few days. I was aware of what the Spanish call "tapas," or in San Sebastian "pintxos." They are small appetizers served at restaurants and bars, although I learned that the tradition is to eat a small amount of these appetizers with a drink and then go to another bar to taste their selection of tapas.
There are also many traditional Spanish food that is practically required to taste when one travels there. Some being chocolate con churros, paella, seafood, and a vast variety of ham.
Authentic chocolate con churros is served as you see here, with a hot cup of melted chocolate. The churros are a rich pastry that is meant to be dunked into the cup of chocolate. This combo makes an undeniably delicious snack for any time of the day.
Paella is a very famous Spanish rice dish. It usually comes with seafood, but it can also be vegetable, meat, or a mixture of the three. In the city of Barcelona I had the pleasure of enjoying authentic paella that was made to share with friends. This particular paella consists of seafood and meat. As one can see, there are shellfish decorating the top, along with prawns and baby lobsters that still have their heads and shells on. Unlike in America, this practice is extremely common in Spain. After peeling the prawns and lobsters, the paella was ready to be enjoyed and it was an experience that I am happy to have had. The food was delicious and to me, this dinner showed Spanish culture at its finest.
Seafood is a major staple in a Spaniard's life, especially in the cities along the coast. In the city of Santiago de Compostela, octopus, or "pulpo," is a very popular thing to eat. Above is a picture of one variety of pulpo. I had thought it would resemble something similar to calamari, but I was mistaken. Even with this misconception, if you have the courage to try, it was very tasty.
HAM. From our class prior to traveling to Spain, I knew ham was very important to the Spaniards, but I never thought it would be to the extent that I experienced. There was hardly a meal I ate that did not include ham. Whether the ham was sliced with bread, cooked into tapas, or the main entree, it was almost always present in some way. By the end of the trip, one could hear the choir pleading "¡No mas jamon!" At one point, I ordered a hamburger and to my surprise, I received a burger literally made out of ham! I do have to admit, I myself was tired of eating ham by the end of the trip, but it was all very tasty and a cultural experience I am happy to have.
Overall, I learned a lot about Spanish culture just from eating their food. I only knew a small portion about their culinary lifestyle, but after eating it for two weeks, I have learned to both love and appreciate it. Being back in the United States, I have to say I will miss the tapas. Some of the best food I ate were these small appetizer sized dishes. Tapas are an ingenious way of having the ability to taste and enjoy an array of food at one meal. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to experience authentic Spanish food and culture. There is so much I learned over the short course of two weeks and I will not forget any of it soon. Although to some, my report just may be about food, but food alone has the power to demonstrate a culture and inspire innovation, and I truly believe that the traditional food of Spain accomplishes these two things and more.