Spanish Cuisine - A Reflection of History and Heritage of Spain - By: IC

Spain is a beautiful country which is better known for its arts, its rich culture and of course who can forget about the rich cooking and delicious recipes which reflect the history and heritage of this country. Even though Spain is a Mediterranean country it incorporates and brings several elements from the New World and other places where their colonies were located, such ingredients are currently used during the preparation of their delicious food, they include tomatoes, beans, potatoes, peppers and many others.

Spanish cuisine is also influenced by the vast amount of seafood available to this country, not only combines the richness of Mediterranean ingredients but it is also diversified in literally hundreds to thousands of recipes and flavors. Due to the fact that this country has been influenced by many other cultures such as the Jewish culture and the Moors for hundreds of years at the time, several traces of this cultures can still be found in Spanish cuisine.

Some of the ingredients which are very popular when it comes to this type of cuisine are the olive, garlic, onions, rice and other vegetables and meats. One of the ingredients which is definitely worth mentioning is pork meat, this ingredient was started to be consumed during the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Islamics.

Today, Spanish cuisine gathers all of this historical factors and brings them into a mix which characterizes the flavors of the region, Spanish dishes are usually complemented with drinks such as wine, beers and other alcoholic beverages. Besides meats and rich beverages, Spanish cuisine is also complemented by a wide assortment of salads which are also prepared in many different ways, a few examples are: the Gula and salmon salad, the Lizarran salad, the three cheese salad and many others. Spanish cuisine also uses a lot of spices order to enhance the flavor of cured meats such as the Iberian cured ham, the cured beef carpaccio, chorizo, etc. One particularly well-known Spanish custom is the serving of small appetizers -- Tapas -- with drinks, these are usually very tasty dishes which serve as an entrée for what's to come.

Restaurants which have been built using Spanish themes, styles and foods also feature a different atmosphere using different items and music which are very characteristic of Spain and Spanish people, those who do not know what characterizes Spanish music will be pleased to learn that the main instrument used is the guitar, this instrument brings a different atmosphere and help people adapt to the Mediterranean style.

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Spanish cuisine, as good as it is, is even better in the right spanish atmosphere. So snack on some tapas (spanish appetizers) and enjoy your meal!

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