The horchata (or horchata de chufa) is a sweet and refreshing drink, very characteristic of the city of Valencia. People have it all year round, but it is without a doubt one of the favourite drinks of the citizens and students in the Spanish schools in Valencia to cool down during the hot summer months.
It is made with water, sugar and tiger nuts, small tubers obtained from the roots of a plant named juncia avellanada.
A glass of horchata and fartons
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With the Holy Week in Spain comes one of the typical products from the Spanish gastronomy for this time, the Mona de Pascua (Easter Cake). This sweet is very common in the Valencian Community and Catalonia, and its presence has been growing in many other cities over the last years, so, if you are undertaking a basic Spanish course in Spain you can buy it in many bakeries.
Its name comes from the arabic munna, which means “provision for the mouth”, and it is a present that the Moorish made to their masters. Nowadays, it symbolises the end of Lent and the Holy Week.
Traditional Mona de Pascua
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Be it to dip bread, to put on toast, to season a salad or to fry in the pan, there is nothing better than using the Spanish liquid gold, the olive oil. Together with iberian ham and wine, it is one of the favourite products of Spanish, tourists and students from the Spanish schools in Spain.
Also, it is not only a basic ingredient for many dishes of the Spanish gastronomy, but also experts state it is very beneficial for the health and prevents illnesses. So, if you are undertaking a course in a Spanish school in Spain do no hesitate to use it in all your recipes.
A toast with olive oil
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When we talk about Spanish gastronomy we all think about the paella, the tortilla de patatas and the jamón (ham), but there is another traditional dish from the Spanish food, internationally known: the gazpacho. A sort of cold soup made with a mixture of vegetables (cucumber, tomato and pepper), and with old bread, olive oil, salt, garlic and vinegar. Students from the Spanish schools in Spain usually love it.
There are different varieties for this dish but the most famous one is the one named gazpacho andaluz, as it is from Andalusia and it is most consumed over there. It is one of the tourists’ favourite dishes in the south of Spain, mainly for its great flavour and for its ingredients from the Mediterranean cuisine.
A dish of Gazpacho Andaluz
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Spanish is a language that can be practised in many different ways, by reading books, watching films in Spanish, listening to songs… but one of the most enjoyable and entertaining ways to learn Spanish in Spain is to do so while you cook a typical dish from the Spanish cuisine.
This activity is very common in Spanish schools, and many have it as a special section in the course program. This type of exercise is very important for students to be able to learn Spanish and the Spanish culture outside school classes, by doing it in a more enjoyable way: by cooking.
Two Spanish students in a cooking course
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Some days ago we were talking to you about the turrón , the typical sweet for Christmas in Spain, we will now do the same with another traditional sweet from the Spanish gastronomy for Christmas, the roscón de Reyes, one of the products that have to be on the table when you stay in Spain to learn Spanish.
As its name states, this sweet is typically eaten on the 6th of January, day of the Reyes Magos, but it is more and more usual to have it during all festivities, always with a cup of hot chocolate. You should definitely not miss out on this mixture if you are learning Spanish in Spain.
Roscón de Reyes
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Polvorones, mazapanes, mantecados, peladillas…many typical sweets for Christmas, but only one stands out, the turrón. It is one of the sweets from the Spanish gastronomy that is never missing in a house around these dates and all Spanish students staying in Spain to learn Spanish have probably already tried it.
This food is made from almond and honey, a mixture that was already used by the Arabs in the ancient Al-Andalus. Nevertheless, the turrón as we know it now started to be made in the XV century in Jijona, a town near the city of Alicante. The two most famous turrones in Spainare made there, the Turrón de Jijona (soft, the almonds are ground to form a dough) and the Turrón de Alicante (hard, it has whole almonds). If you are staying in our country to learn Spanish in Alicante, you cannot miss out on trying some of these turrones.
Turrón de Alicante y Turrón de Jijona
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It is a traditional liquor and it is very consumed in the Navarre region, as well as in some parts of Spain, it was already known and drunk by citizens from the area in the middle ages. It is a drink many students undertaking Spanish classes in Navarre areas, Aragón, La Rioja or the Basque country decide to try.
The pacharán, mainly produced in Navarre, is a drink derived from natural alcohols obtained through sloe maceration into anisette, which has an alcohol content of between a 25% and 30% of the volume. It has a bouquet and fruity taste, sweet and pleasant taste, is red or intense rosé and has an attractive aspect.
Bottle of pacharán
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It is the city’s dish of excellence, it has its own festivity and last 12th of November, the potato tortilla of Betanzos became the best one in all of Spain, so none of the students undertaking a basic Spanish course in the city can leave without trying it.
This prize was awarded thanks to the Galician Alberto García Ponte, who resulted to be the winner of Spain’s XIII Potato Tortilla Championship which took place in Elcheas part of the competition ‘Lo Mejor de la Gastronomía’ (The best of gastronomy).
La tortilla de patatas de Betanzos
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Walking through the old town streets, seeing its main monuments and ending up with your friends in the bars of the town centre to have some pinchos is one of the best things students undertaking Spanish courses in San Sebastian, Bilbao or Vitoria can do.
A pincho, as conceived, is a slice of bread with, a portion of food on top. Food is now eaten with and without bread. The most usual ingredients are the typical Basque ones, such as hake, cod, Spanish omelette, stuffed peppers, mushrooms, etc. In the Basque country it is very typical to have it with a chiquito, a glass of red wine, or a zurito, which is a small glass of beer.
Unos platos con diversos pinchos
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It is one of the traditional dishes from the Spanish cuisine, mainly when it gets cold and we have to warm up in the morning before going out, or to enjoy a sweet treat in the afternoon. Hot chocolate with churros is one of these Spanish habits that any foreign student coming to learn Spanish in a Spanish school in Spain does usually enjoy during his stay.
It is a tradition which is closely linked to Madrid, the Spanish city where it is consumed most, where having churros and hot chocolate for breakfast goes back to the XIXth century. History says that this tradition first started in Cataluña, or that the Arabs brought it to the peninsula, but in reality nobody really knows when and where this pair got popular for breakfast, in Spain.
Hot chocolate with churros
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The Spanish product by excellence, the best delicacy for the palate, the king of Spanish gastronomy, beneficial for the health…is the Iberian ham. It is possibly one of the most consumed products in Spain and the most searched for by tourists coming to our country.
To understand the differences between hams is not easy and one of the first things to know is to differentiate jamón ibérico and jamón serrano. The jamón ibérico or dry-cured ham is the one made from native swine from the Iberian Peninsula and it has a minimum content of 50% pure Iberian pork, while the Serrano ham refers to meat from a white race of swine, which is cured in a cold and dry climate. When you go to eat out in a restaurant after your Spanish class in the Spanish school, do not get confused when ordering the ham, which can be identified by its dark skin and its black foot (pata negra).
Iberian acorn ham
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Spain is a country with many traditions, from which we highlight one, the aperitivo. The Royal Spanish Academy defines it as the drink and food taken before a main meal and that opens the appetite, an acceptable definition but one that does not explain its meaning.
The aperitivo is more than just a drink and something to eat. It is a way to get together with friends, as a couple or with family before the meal and have a chat, to have a laugh and have a good time, leaving problems and the week’s stress aside for a moment. Also, for students undertaking a Spanish course in Spain it is a way to learn Spanish outside the classroom.
Typical snack in Spain
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A student visiting or staying in Spain to undertake a course to learn Spanish, cannot get back to his country without trying one of Spanish’ most typical and representative dishes of the Spanish gastronomy on an international level: the paella. There are several variants of this dish within the national territory, but our country’s cuisine’s best and most varied paella and the one we recommend to all who come to study Spanish, is the paella from Valencia.
To learn how to cook this dish is one of students’ most practised activities in Spanish schools. The paella is not easy to prepare, as you need to know the steps to follow to prepare it and have great care while preparing it, but with a little practice any Spanish student will be able to cook a paella and be proud of it.
A paella valenciana in the fire
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Cooking a potatoes omelette is a very common activity practiced by students who are studying Spanish in Spain. It is one of the most popular where families often cook it to eat in their own homes, although it also appears in the menu of the best restaurants. Anyway, it´s often eaten as a tapa or as appetizer in bars to accompany a caña (glass of beer) or glass of wine.
Pincho de tortilla
It is prepared in about 30 minutes, including preparation and cooking. The ingredients are simply eggs, potatoes and onions, to fry in a pan with oil, preferably olive oil, and a little salt. The popularity of the ingredients and resources facilitates the practice as an activity in the schools of Spanish for students learning Spanish in Spain.
Cut the transverse potatoes in thin circles, although somewhat thicker than the potato chips, and the onion into small pieces. Fry the potatoes and onion into the pan, once heated the oil is heated. The time of frying to fry the potatoes can be used to prepare the eggs and beat them in a dish or bowl. Both beaten eggs as potatoes and onions are often put some salt, independently.
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