The Culinary History of Spain
Spanish food is known for being simple, comforting but most importantly, fresh. The ingredients are always of premium quality and each dish is made with love, passion and cultural pride. Spain’s cuisine is reflective of a country that was both conquered, and also has a long history of colonization.
When North African Moors arrived in Spain in 711 CE, they shook things up on the culinary scene. Alcohol was banned for well over 345 years, which meant that wine production halted. However, olive oil production exploded with innovative techniques and irrigation technology brought over by the Moors. Olives may have arrived in Spain thousands of years earlier, but it was the Moors that introduced olive oil in cooking, a method that is a fixture in Spanish cuisine today.
New World Influences
It was 1492 CE that marked the end of Islamic rule on the Iberian peninsula, and it was also the year the Spanish made their foray into the New World. Their empire stretched from the Caribbean, parts of North America to Central, and South America. Along the way, they discovered local crops, varieties of fruits and vegetables, and culinary methods that they later brought back to Spain. By the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries, Mesoamerican crops like pumpkin, chilis, tomatoes, cacao, papaya, and avocado had been incorporated into Spanish cuisine.
Regional Cuisine
Like just about every other nation on earth, Spain was invaded by multiple empires and ethnic groups. The Romans, Phoenicians, and late descendants of the Berber peoples, just to name a few. Because of this, feudal villages and kingdoms existed throughout the country, and they were run with their own cultural practices, languages, currency and cuisine. While there are distinctive regional culinary differences, there are two ingredients that can be found across the country; olive oil and garlic.
When North African Moors arrived in Spain in 711 CE, they shook things up on the culinary scene. Alcohol was banned for well over 345 years, which meant that wine production halted. However, olive oil production exploded with innovative techniques and irrigation technology brought over by the Moors. Olives may have arrived in Spain thousands of years earlier, but it was the Moors that introduced olive oil in cooking, a method that is a fixture in Spanish cuisine today.
New World Influences
It was 1492 CE that marked the end of Islamic rule on the Iberian peninsula, and it was also the year the Spanish made their foray into the New World. Their empire stretched from the Caribbean, parts of North America to Central, and South America. Along the way, they discovered local crops, varieties of fruits and vegetables, and culinary methods that they later brought back to Spain. By the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries, Mesoamerican crops like pumpkin, chilis, tomatoes, cacao, papaya, and avocado had been incorporated into Spanish cuisine.
Regional Cuisine
Like just about every other nation on earth, Spain was invaded by multiple empires and ethnic groups. The Romans, Phoenicians, and late descendants of the Berber peoples, just to name a few. Because of this, feudal villages and kingdoms existed throughout the country, and they were run with their own cultural practices, languages, currency and cuisine. While there are distinctive regional culinary differences, there are two ingredients that can be found across the country; olive oil and garlic.