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‘Wars have been started over less’: Spain reacts brilliantly to UK supermarket’s cheesy churros

As if things aren’t tense enough between Britain and Spain at the moment as the perennial thorny issue of Gibraltar threatens to derail Theresa May’s Brexit deal, but then someone in Britain had the nerve to mess with a Spanish culinary classic.

Published: 23 November 2018 11:12 CET
‘Wars have been started over less’: Spain reacts brilliantly to UK supermarket's cheesy churros
The cheesy churros creation that has so offended Spain. Photo: Morrisons

Who can forget the dangers of innovation when it comes to Spanish cuisine? Jamie Olivier brought the two nations almost to the brink of war when he added chorizo to a recipe for paella.

And now British supermarket Morrisons has included its take on a traditional treat, cherished by the Spanish nation: The churro.

While Spaniards eat the sweet dough sticks as breakfast treat, tipped in a cup of thick rich chocolate, or as a pick-me-up after a night out on the town, Morrisons dared to come up with a new  concept entirely.

Savoury churros filled with melted cheese for dipping in a tomato and red pepper salsa with a dry cheese sprinkle.

I had a feeling this wouldn’t sit well with the Spanish. So I turned to Twitter to find out.

 

Spain didn’t disappoint.

Hundreds have commented on the post sharing their horror with humour. There’s been a few declarations of war, some very disparaging statements about Briitish food in general and quite a few mentions of Gibraltar.

Brexit has also reared its ugly head, with the general opinion being that in light of crimes against Spanish food, it can’t happen soon enough.

Here are some of the best responses.

“Wars have been declared over less,” replied @espball

“Keep Gibraltar but don't do this please,” wrote @bastaluek.

“'British cooking', nice oxymoron,” said @ckd_Haven.

“I'm Valenciano and I want to denounce this for cultural appropriation,” posted @jorgealvarzpedr

“A Brit cooking is like God creating the Platypus. Just stop with the 'Mode random on'” wrote @laratainfecta.

“We will strike back with fish & chips layered over maple syrup and sprouts. No survivors there,” warned @GLDdP.

 

A few comments made reference to another activity Brits are infamous for in Spain, that of falling off balconies during their holidays.

 

There were plenty of memes showing true revulsion at the idea of cheesy churros. 

 

 

 

And memes suggesting declarations of war.

 

 

 

 

Some thought it was evidence that Brexit should happen as soon as possible. 

 

And others just perplexed that such a thing could be brought into existence. 

 

 

 

Some took offence that the creations – which are made of potato and not the sweet dough of traditional variety – could even be called 'churros' at all, 

“The worst part is that these are made of POTATO. These are bloomin' fried gnocchi, nothing to do with churros!” pointed out @milkwasabad.

One wit even blamed Morrisons for the current stand-off between the Spanish Prime Minister and Theresa May over the Brexit deal.

 

The one thing that was made abundantly clear was “Never ever mess with churros”: 

 

 

READ ALSO: Ten things NEVER to do when dining in Spain 

FOOD AND DRINK

Why do they pour cider like that in Spain’s Asturias?

The green northern region’s drink of choice is cider but it’s the method waiters have of pouring it from a great height that catches the attention of ‘out-ciders’.

Published: 29 February 2024 15:40 CET
Why do they pour cider like that in Spain's Asturias?

They say Asturian blood is 50 percent water and 50 percent cider, and given the 40 million bottles produced every year in the region, it doesn’t seem too hard to believe.

However, it’s the method of serving cider in Asturias which really captures the imagination. 

The bottle will either come attached to a contraption which sucks up the cider and splurts it into a wide but thin-rimmed glass.

Or the waiter will come out every few minutes to grab your bottle and glass, lift the former high up with one arm and the latter down low around waist height before pouring some of the cider into the glass from at an arm’s length. 

There’s even a verb for this action – escanciar – to decant.  

The objective is for the cider to be shaken and aerated so that its natural carbon dioxide ‘awakens’.

When it is poured from above and hits the glass, carbon dioxide bubbles are produced that make the aroma of the cider come alive.

It’s good and normal for there to be splashback when pouring Asturian cider, but the aim is still to get most of it in the glass. (Photo by MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP)

These bubbles go away quickly so once served, the customer should quickly drink the culín (small bottom) up in one swig. 

The action of escanciar imitates how cider would be traditionally served when it went directly from big oak barrels to the glass, as cider has been the drink of choice in Asturians since before Roman times. 

READ ALSO: Why Spaniards’ habit of drinking alcohol every day is surprisingly healthy

This is after all natural cider which doesn’t come with the sugar, additives and pre-carbonated mixes of brands such as Strongbow, Magners or Kopparberg.

“It took me some time to get the hang of pouring cider, I missed the mark a lot, and my arm used to get very tired at first,” a Latin American waitress at a bar in Gijón told The Local Spain. 

Many sidrerías (cider houses) and restaurants have cylindrical tubes on wheels where escanciadores (the waiters in charge of pouring cider) can put the glass in to avoid making a mess on the floor or splashing customers, as there is always some splatter even if they don’t completely miss the mark. 

A waiter pours cider for customers at a cider bar in the northern Spanish city of Oviedo (Photo by RAFA RIVAS / AFP)

The more old-school chigres (cider house in Asturian) prefer to have sawdust all over the floor to absorb the spilt cider.

To pour, tirar (throw) or escanciar (decant) cider like an Asturian, you should tilt the bottle slowly from above and aim for the cider to hit the top part of the inside side of the glass, which has to be held at a 45-degree angle. It’s this that brings out the effervescence out in la sidra natural.  

So when you visit the beautiful region of Asturias and you tuck into their famously ample servings of fabada asturiana (Asturian bean stew) or cachopo (meat, cheese and ham all together in breadcrumbs), washed down with one or two bottles of sidra, now you’ll understand what’s behind this eye-catching tradition.

READ ALSO: Eight fascinating facts about Spain’s Asturias region

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