The cuisines of Spain, oddly, took up more space in Alexandre Dumas's Grand Dictionnaire de cuisine (1873) than those of any other country except France. But, despite devoting so many pages to the subject, this illustrious writer did not try to convey the complexity and interrelationships of these cuisines; nor did he offer any analysis of their origins. Indeed, the task would have been difficult, if only because Spain includes within its frontiers two other cuisines, for all of which see Spanish regional cookery.
Any notion that there is a shortage of published material about Spanish food and cookery will be at once dispelled by turning to Spanish cookery books, where it will be seen that the Spaniards themselves have produced outstanding gastronomic literature and have been pioneers in food history studies.
However, foreign observers have also played a part. A quarter of a century before Dumas's book was published, the English traveller Richard Ford had included in his book about travelling in Spain (best known in the version called Gatherings from Spain, 1846) a whole chapter and much besides about food. Much of what he wrote on the subject reads like commentaries on paintings by Velázquez, Murillo, and others (Spanish painting of the 16th and 17th centuries was extraordinarily rich in food scenes and still lifes of food). However, he offers many interesting historical insights, describing the enormously strong Spanish tradition of hospitality as ‘an Oriental trait’ inherited from the long centuries of Arab occupation, from the 8th to the 15th centuries. Scores of countries around the world lay claim to ‘legendary’ hospitality, but Spain is among those with a strong claim and Ford may have been right about its origin.
However, in looking for the roots of Spanish food traditions one must go back to the Phoenicians, who founded the city now called Cadiz in 1100 bc; the ancient Greeks, and the Carthaginians (who may have been responsible for starting wine production in Spain); and, more important, the Romans who used Spain as a major source of food, especially wheat and olive oil. Extensive planting of olive trees by the Romans laid the foundation for Spain's present position as a leading producer of both olives and olive oil.
Introductions by the Arabs were also of fundamental importance for Spain's future. They are particularly associated with the use of almonds (the essential ingredient for so many Spanish desserts, baked goods, and confectionery items); with the introduction of citrus fruits (including the lemon and the bitter (Seville) orange, without which British marmalade would never have been born); sugar cane and the process of refining sugar from its juice; many vegetables, among which the aubergine was outstanding; and numerous spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, sesame, coriander, aniseed, etc.
The Arabs introduced rice to the tidal flatlands in what is now Valencia. Although, when the Arabs were driven out in the 13th century, rice production petered out and was only resumed in the late 19th century, this area is now under very intensive cultivation. Paella, which set out from its own territory, Valencia, to become Spain's most internationally famous dish, must be made with the local rice, which has special characteristics, if it is to be authentic. The use of saffron in paella is also something which stems from an Arab introduction.
In the period of Arab rule, a large Jewish community prospered, enjoying a sort of ‘golden age’ for activity in philosophy, science, and medicine. They called their country Sepharad, so they were the Sephardi Jews who were dispersed elsewhere when expelled by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492 and who have been responsible wherever they have gone for maintaining and developing the most attractive branch of Jewish cookery. The same year saw the famous voyage by Columbus to the New World, opening the way for the Spanish Conquest of much of C. and S. America and the extension of Spanish cookery traditions throughout that vast area (plus parts of N. America and the Philippines). Thus in the field of culinary exchanges Spain has been a major recipient and a major donor. All these matters have been treated in his monumental Historia de la gastronomía española by Manuel Martinez Llopis (1981).
Spain has two long coastlines and seafood, as one would expect, is prominent, in the coastal areas and the big cities. Like neighbouring Portugal, Spain displays great enthusiasm for and expertise with salt cod. Another speciality is percebes (goose-necked barnacle), which appears often in tapas bars (but not normally in the proliferating tapas bars outside Spain, since these creatures are difficult to obtain elsewhere).
Another favourite tapas item is jamón serrano, mountain ham. The best hams are made in mountain regions, where the salt-curing is aided by a combination of cold winters and hot summers, and are served raw, sliced very thin. If made from the wild black Iberian pig, they qualify to be called jamón Ibérico, or pata negra (black hoof). Prize hams come from Andalusia and Extremadura, where Montánches is the ham capital and people talk, as did Richard Ford long ago, of a certain Duke of Arcos who fattened his pigs by shutting them up in places where they could eat an abundance of vipers. This may have given the pigs a special flavour, but it is normally considered that feeding on acorns in oak forests produces unsurpassed results. See also serrano ham.
The mountains and central plateau of Spain are an arid area, most of which is sparsely populated. Foods here are simple, hearty, and completely geared to the seasons. Jane Grigson (1983) may well have had in mind this part of Spain, among others, when she recorded her impression that Spanish foodways still had a medieval feel to them. This was a compliment. It reflects the high degree of continuity which has in fact persisted up to the present time from the Middle Ages. Changes are taking place, but against a background of stability and eating patterns which represent a natural evolution over long periods of time. Witness the description by Janet Mendel (1996) of the breakfasts eaten in contemporary Spain (see box).
If any one thing can serve as the symbol for the cuisines of Spain, it is probably the olla, the earthenware pot in which so many one-pot dishes, especially cocido and olla podrida (cf. olio), are made. Richard Ford put it nicely: ‘Into this olla it may be affirmed that the whole culinary genius of Spain is condensed, as the mighty Jinn was into a gallipot, according to the Arabian Night tales.’
See also Balearic islands; Canary islands; escabeche; gazpacho; omelette (for tortilla); sausages of Spain and Portugal; Spanish cheeses.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Aris, Pepita (1992), The Spanishwoman's Kitchen, London: Cassell.
Grigson, Jane (1983), The Observer Guide to European Cookery, London: Michael Joseph.
MacMiadhachain, Anna (1976), Spanish Regional Cookery, London: Penguin.
Medina, F. Xavier (2005), Food Culture in Spain, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.
Mendel, Janet (1996), Traditional Spanish Cooking, Reading: Garnet Publishing.
Rios, Alicia and March, Lourdes (1993), The Heritage of Spanish Cooking, London: Limited Editions.
Sevilla, Maria José (1992), Spain on a Plate, London, BBC Books.
