| The History of tapas |
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| Written by maria | |
| zondag, 15 juli 2007 | |
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The History
of Tapas. The Tapas
became an essential part of the Spanish culinary art. Exactly it
is not know where the origin lies from the tapas, but there are different
theories which are possible explanations of it s origin and present influence
on the Spanish traditional kitchen Some people say that King Alfonso X ( El Sabio ) predetermined that always should be served something to eat when drinking wine. Preventing the wine would make the people drunk too fast.
In the
beginning one placed the tapa on top of the edge of the jug or glass of milk
which was served. Like this they prevented that the flies, very abundant
present where ever food was present like the boarding houses and tavern, fell
in the wine or the beer. In this way they Tapa (covered) the glass and with
this started the word Tapas. In those
days a tapa consisted of a piece of ham or chorizo or other meat, sometimes a
piece of cheese. Nevertheless,
some claim that the origin of tapas started with the following story: King Alfonso XIII was for an official trip in the province of Cadiz and when he passed the tavern called Ventorillo del Chato ( present not existing ) they stopped there to rest. The king ordered a glass of wine ( Vino de Jerez ). At that moment a gust of wind entered the tavern. To prevent that the king would have sand in his glass of wine the waiter had the idea to cover the glass with a piece of ham. The King asked him why he did that. The waiter answered that he wanted to prevent that there would be sand in the Kings glass. The King considered it as an excellent idea and ordered another glass but now with the same tapa. Since the King ordered , everybody present ordered the same.
This story
is similar as the first one but with a different King. Different
stories but all have the following 3 variations: - The necessity to eat something little to
be able to continue working until the main dish. - The necessity to eat something to prevent
the influence of wine - The necessity to protect the wine for
insects. We notice
that not only the aperitif (France) but also fast food a part of there origin
have similar as the Spanish Tapa. In Spain they use different names for tapa
: alifara in Aragon and Navarra en poteo in Bask
country. Nowadays,
besides the typical olives and nuts, appear small portions of the main dish as
tapa - small portion of paella, stew etc. Important characteristics
of the Tapa : 1 - Never the
tapa is sweet. 2 -They are
little portions. When served in a bigger portion they are called ‘ration’. 3 - It is
NO Fast Food but SLOW Food. 4 - It is
considered as something informal which eaten with friends or workmates. 5 - One
eats tapa in between or as a survival snack to help the body survive until the
main dish. It is very
important to report that the tapa in the beginning was not something typical
from the south or north. During time
more tapas are added to the traditional ones which consist of ham or other
meat, olives or nuts. Next a list
of traditional tapas which one will find in all Andalusian bars:
Added to
these tapas nowadays one can add the Paella, stew and many more which before
where a main dish as mentioned before. Finally it
is very important to emphasize that NOT the food is the most important, but the
stories, the being together with friends is more important when eating Tapas. Therefore
the best way to eat tapas is standing that one is free to move within friends
and speak with all. The fact
that tapas still is not a universal phenomenon probably finds it s cause in the
reason that is needed plenty of time for a break to eat tapas with the
Andalusian elegance. Very Important:
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| Last Updated ( vrijdag, 28 september 2007 ) |
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