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TAPAS

The stats that explain Spain’s love affair with tapas

To mark the momentous occasion of World Tapas Day, The Local explores statistics that reveal Spain’s passion for food.

Published: 28 January 2020 08:44 CET
The stats that explain Spain's love affair with tapas
Photo: Despositphotos

While we’re sure that, like us, you won’t let your tapas consumption be limited to just one day of the year, on Thursday June 20th, annual World Tapas Day, you will have a great excuse to head to your local tapas bar an gorge on tortilla, croquettes, queso manchego or whichever miniature dish makes your mouth water the most.

To keep you going until then, here’s a run-down of the figures that outline Spain’s relationship with tapas.

Spaniards spend around €1,900 in bars and restaurants per year on average, and honestly, the temptation is understandable when you consider that there are around 260,000 bars in Spain, that’s one for every 175 people, according to stats released by Acierto insurance company to mark World Tapas Day.

More than half of Spaniards prefer tapas to other dining options  such as going to a conventional restaurant or fast food joint and 70 percent of people prefer tapas to anything else when they are on holiday.

Spanish mealtimes can be a bit of a struggle to get used to, but if you’re trying to blend in with the locals, it’s interesting to note that round 9 out of 10 people think tapas is best enjoyed in the evening or at the weekend.

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Photo: Despositphotos

Although there are gourmet options for all you tapas connoisseurs out there, filling up on the mini dishes doesn’t have to break the bank. In fact, almost 3 in 5 bars offer a free tapa with the purchase of drinks.

This tradition comes from the origins of the word tapas,derived from tapar (to cover). Legend has it that to stop the flies getting into their drinks, Spaniards of yore used wedges of bread, topped with various tasty morsels to cover their beer and wine glasses, hence the word tapa (lid) and the tapas tradition was born.  

Unfortunately, many bars across Spain no longer offer free tapas, but 53 percent of Spaniards think a free tapa with a drink is an important factor when choosing which bar to head to. The friendliness of the staff and the quality of the beer is also highly valued.

But here’s the big question: which tapas is the ultimate favourite?

Unsurprising, considering 46.5 percent of Spaniards say it is their favourite food, tortilla is the number one choice of tapas amongst Spaniards, followed by patatas bravas, jamón serrano, croquettes and Russian salad.

Other best-loved tapas include calamari and Manchego cheese. 7 out of 10 people enjoy an alcoholic drink with their tapas, with 26 percent opting for wine and the rest choosing other beverages.

Tortilla is Spain's all-time favourite dish. Photo: Depositphotos

Now for the eternal debate: should tortilla be cooked with or without onion? Well, according to data from Acierto, almost 60 percent of Spaniards are sure that onion has a rightful place in tortilla. 20 percent disagree, and prefer it without, but another 20 percent can appreciate it both ways.

Spaniards respect that good food isn’t confined to one area, with 3 out of 4 being happy to travel to different areas of the country in order to eat well. Spending on gastronomic tourism has increased by 17 percent in the past year, and around €12,000 million is spent on food experiences by both international and national tourists per year. The most popular destinations for food-lovers are Andalusia, Galicia, the Basque Country and Asturias.

By Alice Huseyinoglu

 

Quiz: How well do you know your Spanish food?

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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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