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CHRISTMAS

Ten traditional delights that make a real Spanish Christmas feast

Spain has its own traditions when it comes to sweet and savoury festive fare. The Local explores ten of the most delicious.

Published: 22 December 2019 09:35 CET
Updated: 23 December 2020 09:35 CET
Ten traditional delights that make a real Spanish Christmas feast
Spain has its own Christmas traditional fare.

Turrón 


Photo: Lablascovegmenu / Flickr Creative Commons.

This sweet nougat made of honey, sugar and toasted almonds is a popular Christmas treat across the Iberian peninsula. From the hard Alicante style to the softer version from Jijona.

Seafood


Photo: emivel2003 / Flickr Creative Commons.

Mariscos are likely to be served for Noche Buena -Christmas Eve and the focus of festivites. Expect anything from fish soup, lobster, prawns to langostinos, as pictured above.

This year, Spain's health authorities have issued a warning in an attempt to discourage diners from sucking out the juices from the heads.

READ MORE:  'Don’t suck prawn heads': Spain issues health warning over Christmas dinner delicacy

Suckling pig / Milk-fed lamb

 
Photo: Leslie / Flickr
 
Either cochinillo (roast suckling pig) or cordero lechal asado (roast milk-fed lamb) are likely to make an appearance on traditional Spanish tables over Christmas. Cooked slowly until the skin is transformed into delicious crackling and usually served with potatoes, it's a favourite in Castilla y Leon.
 
4. Roscón de Reyes


Photo: Secret Tenerife / Flickr Creative Commons.

This “king cake” in Spanish-speaking countries is traditionally eaten on January 6th to celebrate Epiphany when the three kings brought gifts to baby Jesus. The ring-shaped cake typically has a hidden figure inside and whoever gets the slice with the figure inside “wins” – though some make the winner buy next year's cake.

READ MORE: #Navidad: Spain's festive cake brings the promise of big prizes

5. Polvorones and mantecados


Mantecados. Photo: Javier Lastras / Flickr Creative Commons.

These crumbly cakes are another traditional Christmas shortbread dessert. Mantecados are distinct in that they are prepared with pig fat – manteca – while polvorones are named because they crumble into powder – polvo.

6. Yema


Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

These little cakes, a specialty of Ávila, are made of mainly egg yolk and often covered in sugar or icing. 

7. Marzipan


Photo: Chris / Flickr

Yet more treats for those with a sweet tooth, the best marzapan – as it is known in Spanish – can be found in the region of Toledo where the almond flavoured delicacies are crafted into intricate shapes.

8. Jamón 


Photo: Boca Dorada / Wikimedia Commons.

Because when is it NOT the right time of year for jamón? In Spain, it's always time for jamón. But especially at Christmas when many families receive an entire ham leg as a Christmas gift.

READ MORE: The ultimate guide to buying a leg of 'jamón' in Spain at Christmas

9 Galets


Photo: FrikJan / Flickr

Galets soup is a stable at Christmas in Catalonia which is comprised of large pasta shells stuffed with mince meat floating in a rich tasty broth. 

10. Cava


Photo by Maria Petersson on Unsplash

No celebration over Christmas and New Year would be complete without lashings of cava, Spain's go to alternative to champagne, the majority of which is produced in the vineyards of Catalonia.

 

READ ALSO Festive cheer: Seven great Spanish tipples to enjoy over the holidays 

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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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