Four Spanish gastronomic curiosities that you should know When we travel to another country, especially if we plan to live in that place for a while, food is one of the most important factors. Knowing the gastronomic customs can help us better integrate into that culture. po
When we travel to another country, especially if we plan to live there for a while, food is one of the most important factors. Knowing the gastronomic customs can help us better integrate into that culture. Therefore, today I want to talk to you about four Spanish gastronomic curiosities that you should know before coming.
We Spaniards are incapable of eating without bread, it is a fact. For us it is an indispensable and perfect accompaniment to any meal. In addition, we are experts in sandwiches, so much so that there are bars that have a menu of more than 5 pages with different types of sandwiches. My favorite is the chivito. Have you tried it yet? It is a sandwich that has: loin, lettuce, tomato, a fried egg, bacon, cheese, onion and mayonnaise. A truly delicious bomb!
In fact, we Spaniards like bread so much that we have the expression
“Being better than bread”
to say that a person is really good, kind. And being better than bread is something really difficult.
Unlike other countries that only have three meals a day, we Spaniards have five different ones. Do you know what they are?
1- Breakfast → It is the first meal of the day and they say it is the most important. Coffee with milk, fruit, toast or cereals are the most common foods that Spaniards have for breakfast.
2- Lunch →mid-morning, we begin to hear our belly growl and since mealtime doesn't arrive until two in the afternoon, we usually eat a toast with tomato and a coffee with milk.
3- The food → As we have said, it arrives around two in the afternoon. If it is Sunday, we Spaniards usually eat as a family. In the case of Valencia, Sunday paella is one of the most special moments of the week. And after eating, after dinner. This is something that usually surprises foreigners when they visit us: we are capable of spending hours and hours talking, drinking coffee or the odd sweet during the after-dinner meal.
4- The snack → between five and six in the afternoon a small snack is taken: a piece of fruit or some pastries is the most common. But the best snacks are those for children. I still remember the incredible nutella sandwiches that my mother prepared for me. Unforgettable!
5- Dinner → Around nine or ten at night, it's time for dinner. It is very common for this meal to be eaten while the family is watching the news of the day on television.
And you? Would you be able to eat five times a day without exploding like a Spaniard?
This delicious culinary duo is very famous in our country. It is tradition for young people to end their nights out having a good chocolate and churros with their friends. Also, if you come to Valencia during the popular festival of Failures, you will see that the streets are full of mobile stalls where you can recharge your batteries by tasting this sweet.
Do you know any expression related to chocolate? I'll show you a very famous one:
“Clear things and thick chocolate”
This is an expression that serves to express that we must take everything for what it really is, speaking clearly, without beating around the bush or hiding information. This is because when chocolate arrived in Spain, it was marketed in two forms, watery or thick, but the Spanish opted for the latter option; raising it as the only possible and authentic way of doing something. Therefore, when you want to make your ideas clear or when you want to call out someone who is trying to deceive you, you can use this expression to put them in their place.
These are small portions of food that are used to accompany drinks in bars.
One of the most surprising things is that, in many bars in Spain, they will serve you free with your drink.
It is said that this tradition began as a result of the ancient custom of using a piece of bread to cover the glass of drink and thus prevent flies from entering it.
Do you know the most famous Spanish tapas? I give you a small list with my eight favorite tapas:
Potato omelette
bravas potatoes
Galician-style octopus
Croquettes
Russian salad
Garlic Prawns
broken eggs
manchegox cheese
Which is your favorite?
I hope this article has made you really want to come to Valencia to visit us, if so, come and see our spanish courses to Hispania, Spanish school.
Article written by Rita Rodríguez Varela for Hispania, Spanish school.