Delicious Spanish Foods With The Various Styles

Spain continues to lead the list of popular destinations owing to its splendid weather, fascinating culture and mouthwatering food. Some delicacies are still prepared in a conventional way. Spanish food is popular due to the unusual combination of ingredients and the aroma. The emphasis is always more on the taste and the flavor than the garnishing and presentation of the food. Like any other cuisine, t Spanish cuisine is also subjected to experimentation, and the resulting combination is a blend of traditional dishes and contemporary styles. Some of the ingredients used by others such as Roman, Moorish, and Greek, are now included in Spanish cooking. Typically, Spanish food is spicy and richly flavored, and a lot of dishes are prepared using tomatoes, potatoes, chilli, citrus fruit and beans.

To some extent, cuisines from other regions also influence the Spanish cuisine. Similar to the Arabic cuisine, the Spanish cuisine makes use of honey and cumin generously. Some Spanish dishes that combine meat and chocolate bear striking resemblance with those from the American cuisine.

Some of the most popular Spanish dishes include Bacalao (salted cod), Butifarra (white sausage) and Chorizo (sausage). Chicken and Shellfish delicacies are also very popular in Spain. Many rice dishes flavored with saffron are relished in Spain.

Tourists make it a point to visit a Tapas bar to get a complete dining experience. Tapas comprise of small dishes or starters such as dips, vegetable dishes and cheese. Typically, the Spanish dining experience cannot be complete without tasting the Spanish wine. In Spain, food is usually accompanied with alcohol. Tapas bars serve some of the best Tapas, along with the finest Spanish wine.

Modern Spanish food would not be the same without tomatoes, potatoes, peppers or beans; ingredients sourced from South America during the Spanish colonial era. Indeed it is the Latin American touch which differentiates Spanish dishes from the Mediterranean norm. Spain is responsible for some 44 percent of the world's olive oil production, so it is not surprising that olive oil is a vital ingredient in Spanish food.

Across the country traditional Spanish food is still made by hand using fresh ingredients bought from the market. These ingredients can be purchased in Spanish food shops around the world, or you can pick them out from a selection of grocery stores. Handmade home cooked food, fresh from the market is less commonplace in the urban centres, such as Madrid; however the rural areas are lucky enough to enjoy the open air markets which give a cultural flavour to the region. The food is often cooked outside over a fire, many times in a brick or clay oven.

Another cultural convention in Spain is to provide snacks whenever a drink is served, the snacks are known as tapas, and can come in the form of olives, cheese or pork. In many bars tapasare included in the price of wine, sherry or beer.

For the sweeter tooth there is a traditional favourite, the churro, a fried pastry dough snack which is served with hot chocolate to dip it in.

Although there is very much varieties within Spanish food, the following character traits generally run across the board:

1) Olive oil is used to cook in, but can also be used in its raw state.

2) Sofrito- a mix of garlic, onion and tomato cooked in olive oil - is often used as a point of departure in preparing a meal.

3) Garlic and onions are the two most popular seasonings.

4) Drinking wine during a meal is a cultural norm in Spain.

5) Bread is served with almost all meals.

6) Salads are extremely popular, especially in the summer months.

7) For dessert the Spanish will often serve a dairy product or a piece of fruit, keeping cakes or tarts for special events or occasions.