Tapas are a fundamental way of life in Spain.
These tasty small dishes are found in every bar, cafe, restaurant and home throughout Spain. There are many variations of tapas. Meaning you can always find something delicious for everyone.
Some of the more popular tapas dishes is a range of Spanish sausages such as chorizo or salchichon and sliced jamon serrano. As well as assorted spanish cheeses, tortilla espanola and a wide variety of seafood, just to name a few.The history of tapas is somewhat uncertain. One of the more popular theories is that of King Alfonso X.
He was known as the Wise King of Caste and Leon, but was chronically fatigued. His chef would feed him various small portions of food throughout the day to combat his exhaustion due to hunger.
Another less appetizing and hygienic theory was that slices of ham and cheese would be used to cover the cups of wine in order to keep the flies out. You see the phrase “to cover” translated into Spanish is “tapar”. Hence the word tapas.
In any case, tapas are a tradition that are here to stay. Fortunately for Spanish food lovers, authentic Spanish ingredients are now easily available throughout the world.
Here in the United States. Amazon offers a wide variety of Spanish foods online to help you create your own authentic tapas…flies excluded of course.
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Jorge Garcia is the founder of AmigoFoods, where he has spent over 20 years helping readers discover authentic Latin American and Spanish cuisine. Raised in a Cuban-American household, Jorge learned to cook at the hands of his mother and grandmother, carrying forward generations of family recipes. That heritage, backed by his family’s four-generation history in the Latin food industry, inspired him to launch AmigoFoods in 2003. With more than 1,000 published articles on recipes, ingredients, and food culture, Jorge’s mission is simple: make authentic Latin cooking approachable for home cooks everywhere while honoring the traditions behind every dish.