Tapas

What is Tapas?

Tapas are savouries and appetizers originating in Spain. An individual portion or item is known as a tapa. These foods range from unheated tavern nibbles to intricate, modern culinary creations. Cold offerings often feature assortments of olives or cured cheese. Hot varieties include items such as chopitos, which are tiny squid dipped in batter and fried, and patatas bravas, which are spiced potato bites. Several tapas can be ordered together to assemble a complete dinner. Because the ingredients and recipes vary so widely, flavours can be salty, piquantly spiced, rich, or light.

Where does Tapas come from?

The name comes from the Spanish verb tapar, which translates as covering or placing a lid over something. Several stories account for the custom. One tale attributes it to King Alfonso X, who drank wine alongside small bites while recovering from illness and subsequently required taverns to pair wine with food. Another story claims a waiter in windy Cádiz placed sliced ham across King Alfonso XIII's wine glass to block beach sand. Others suggest tavern keepers placed ham or chorizo slices over glasses to stop fruit flies from entering sherry. Another theory suggests innkeepers showed pot lids holding dish samples to travellers who could not read written menus.

How is Tapas made?

Preparation depends on the specific item being served. Simple cold tapas require only assembling cheeses, sliced cured meats like ham or chorizo, or seasoned olives. Hot selections demand cooking shortly before serving. For chopitos, very young squid are dredged in batter and deep-fried until crisp. Potatoes are cooked and seasoned with spicy condiments to make patatas bravas. Spanish food incorporated olives and irrigation techniques after Roman forces entered the peninsula. Centuried later, crops introduced from the Americas, such as tomatoes, potatoes, sweet peppers, maize, and hot peppers, enriched the range of everyday recipes.

How and when is Tapas eaten?

People eat tapas in bars, taverns, and dining rooms across Spain and abroad. Patrons order single plates to accompany a drink or select a broad assortment to build a substantial lunch or evening meal. Salty bites such as cured pork were historically paired with glasses of sherry or table wine, since the saltiness encouraged further drinking. Tapas suit informal social gatherings, standing counter service, and sit-down dining.

Kinds of Tapas

Regional customs offer distinct interpretations of these small bites. In Central America, similar tavern snacks are referred to as bocas. In parts of Mexico, comparable plates carry the name botanas. Within Spain itself, styles range from traditional, unadorned rustic bar foods like plain cheeses or cured meats to highly elaborate culinary creations designed by modern professional chefs.

What Tapas means

Tapas hold a prominent place in Spanish social customs and international culinary contests. Since 2005, the city of Valladolid in northwestern Spain has hosted a national tapas contest each November. In 2017, this event expanded to include the World Tapas Competition, bringing sixteen professional chefs together from around the globe to compete for cash awards.

Questions people ask about Tapas

Good reading and sources

• Encyclopaedia BritannicaArticle
• BBC Four - Blood and Gold: The Making of Spain with Simon Sebag Montefiore, ReconquestBBC, Article

• Tapas on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos
• Wikidata recordOpen data