Spanish cuisine
Spanish cuisine blends regional traditions with Mediterranean and Atlantic influences.
Spanish cuisine (Spanish: cocina española) consists of the traditions and practices of Spanish cooking. It features considerable regional diversity, with significant differences in different parts of the country. The different culinary traditions in the Iberian Peninsula can be roughly categorized within the Mediterranean diet or the Atlantic diet. Olive oil (of which Spain is the world's largest producer) is extensively used in Spanish cuisine, forming the base of many vegetable sauces (sofritos). Tapas and pinchos are snacks and appetizers commonly served in bars and cafes.
- field
- Cuisine
- nationality
- Spanish
- known_for
- Regional diversity, olive oil, tapas, paella
- key_ingredients
- Olive oil, garlic, parsley, oregano, rosemary, thyme, chicken, pork, lamb, veal, fish, seafood
- historical_influences
- Roman, Visigothic, Byzantine, Moorish, Jewish, Columbian Exchange
Lore & Background
Authors such as Strabo wrote about the aboriginal people of Spain using nuts and acorns as staple foods. The extension of vineyards along the Mediterranean seemed to be due to the colonization of Greeks and Phoenicians, who also introduced the production of olive oil. The growing of crops of the so-called tríada mediterránea (wheat, grapes, and olives) underpinned the staple meal products for the inhabitants of the south of the Iberian Peninsula during the Roman Era (bread, wine and oil). The Visigoths' limited but lasting contributions included the consumption of fermented milk products. Rice was introduced in the 6th century by the Byzantines, and after the Muslim conquest in the 8th century, rice cultivation was expanded by the Arabs, along with new irrigation techniques and crops such as sugar cane, watermelon, lemon, oranges, sorghum, spinach, eggplant, peach, apricot, and saffron. The Moors also developed the basis for pastry-making and introduced escabeche, a food preservation technique relying on vinegar.
Reader's Guide
Spain was where chocolate was first mixed with sugar to temper its natural bitterness. By the 18th century, many American ingredients, such as peppers and tomatoes, had been fully incorporated into Spanish cuisine. Spain was the bridge for the Columbian exchange between the rest of Europe and the New World. Many traditional Spanish dishes such as tortilla de patata, gazpacho, salmorejo, and pan con tomate would not be possible without the Columbian exchange. Modern Spanish cuisine was gestated in the late-19th to early-20th century, with gastronomes such as Mariano Pardo de Figueroa (Dr. Thebussem), who proposed the olla podrida as a national dish in an effort to stray away from the French cooking paradigm.
Did You Know?
- Spain is the world's largest producer of olive oil.
- The most famous Spanish dish, paella, uses rice and saffron, both popularized during the Al-Andalus period.
More in World Cuisines 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record