Tapas 101

• • Tips and Tricks

Tapas 101 – Complete Tapas Guide

• ByGala
• June 3, 2020

There are a lot of different types of tapas. Every region in Spain has its own serving traditions and specific local food. Because of that, it would be hard and unfair to call some tapas THE BEST and not neglect another.

I personally know that feeling when you read an article on the most important or popular tapas in Spain, and it doesn’t even mansion your favorite; I mean, HOW?! It is the most delicious tapas, and the writer forgot it!? Wow, what a disappointment!

My favorite tapas dishes in Spain

So, because of that, I am not going to write about the best or the most popular tapas. For now, I am simply going to tell you about MY favorite tapas. I will give you a piece of personal advice on what you should try but remember there is a lot more out there.

For example, one of the most popular tapas are croquets, but I am not a huge fan. So, for now, I will leave it aside, and focus on the ones I cannot get enough of. It may not be to your taste, but don’t worry, this is most certainly not my last tapas list!

👉 While you are waiting for our next list, you can explore more dishes in this awesome book with more than 60 tapas recipes.

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But first, you can check my personal favorites! It will mostly be Andalusian because there is where I lived.

Although, to be honest, I sure hope to expand my list with some northern dishes very soon. It’s a trip waiting in line!

So, here is a list of my top 5 Andalusian tapas.

Olives (Aceitunas)

Alright, it’s time for a miniature geography lesson. Spain is THE largest producer of olives in the world, therefore with over 200 varieties, this is the place everybody can find a perfect olive match.

Don’t like olives? Well, leave that self behind, because you are going to change your mind.

Olives are the most basic tapas dish, so prepare to eat them daily.

Yes, you could just skip them, but then you would miss the magic that happens when you mix this salty and spicy taste with your favorite beer or wine. I do not recommend skipping!

If you don’t like one type, give a chance to another, mix the scents, experiment, and believe me, you will eventually discover that one pearl from paradise you will later dream of.

To all that different olive sorts add all the different ways of seasoning and preparing.

Many Different types of Spanish Olives

Mostly, they are salty, sometimes bitter, and sometimes even sweet. If you prefer a more herbal taste, try that natural-looking with a little stem to them, or if you like more spicy and hot notes, you should try the reddish ones, because that is a promising paprika color.

Somebody prefers them with beer and somebody with wine, I personally love them with wine. But, of course, the type of olive and its spices is a big deal when pairing it with food.

They are mostly seasoned pretty good so you would need a sip of that cold and fresh beverage just after the bite, but then when the taste is washed off, you WILL want more of it because it was so delicious and it got every single part of your taste receptors involved. Then you would take another bite and another sip and so on: believe me – it is a never-ending circle.

• Tapas Serving size: a handful, but they often go as side-tapas
• Where to try it: Andalusia, or wherever in Spain

Papas aliñás (Potato salad)

These are not the most common tapas dish in Jaen or Malaga, but it is in Cadiz and Jerez de la Frontera. And they are undoubtedly my absolute favorite when it comes to potato tapas.

I tried them for the first time in Cadiz, but I later tried them wherever I could find them and even prepared them myself thousands of times because I was so obsessed. Of course, they are the best in Jerez de la Frontera, because of the special ingredient – the famous vinegar from Jerez.

So, what is this dish exactly?

It is a salad made of white potatoes, perfectly cooked, so they would be soft and firm at the same time, cut in perfect little cubes; just about the size to pop them in your mouth. The salad is chilled and covered in fresh parsley and thinly chopped spring onion to give that crisp note on your tongue and to break the mildness of the potatoes.

All that is garnished with smooth and rich Spanish olive oil that holds the herbs together and gives potatoes that greenish spark. And of course, the salad is bathed in the secret ingredient, tart and aromatic vinegar of Jerez de la Frontera that swirls the taste around together. It’s just mesmerizing.

• Tapas serving size: 2-3 tablespoons
• Where to try it: Jerez de la Frontera or Cadiz

Patatas Alioli (Potatoes with sauce)

This is another potato dish, and it is absolutely loved by the Spanish people. I would say that it is one of the most popular tapas dishes in Andalusia.

The sauce is also well-liked and can be found in every supermarket. For me, this sauce can sometimes be too much, as it contains a lot of garlic, and my stomach is not the best of pals with garlic.

But honestly, sometimes I just couldn’t resist.

This white sauce is something like mayonnaise with garlic and olive oil, sometimes mixed with lemon juice, parsley, pepper, etc. It is very creamy and very well mixed. It is not as thick as mayonnaise, but rather smooth and light.

However, it has a very specific and strong taste. The garlic isn’t dominant in taste, it is very well mixed and structured with other ingredients, but it is very present. So, if you are not a fan of garlic, it may not be the best dish for you.

I suggest trying it anyways! With beer, it goes like peas and carrots!

• Tapas Serving size: 1 -2 scoops
• Where to try it: Wherever in Spain  

Russian salad (Ensaladilla rusa)

This salad is a form of the classical Russian salad, but mostly with added olives to give it a Spanish signature. For me, it goes the best with red wine, Sangria or Tinto de Verano, but I am starting to think I just prefer wine over beer. Anyways, the salad is awesome because it is served with little crunchy breadsticks that go fantastically with it.

It is special though, at least for me. We make this salad very often in my country but the Spanish one is much creamier and thicker. I looked for recipes online to see what the difference is, but it is mostly the same. I would say not too much mayonnaise and a very creamy cheese spread. And the bread sticks, I think they play a big role.

It is sometimes made with tuna, which then makes it a tuna salad, but the ingredients are the same, so let’s call it a Russian-tuna salad. When tuna is involved, then it maybe goes better with lager beer or cava (Spanish sparkling wine)

• Tapas Serving size: 2-3 scoops 
• Where to try it: Anywhere in Spain, Malaga

Jamón Ibérico (Iberian Ham)

Jamón Ibérico is another Spanish symbol. There is no tapas bar without at least one pork leg hanging from the ceiling or sitting at a countertop. Why? Well, because it is waiting to be sliced and served with your cold drink.

Iberian ham is so popular, that even supermarkets have sections with all these prestigious hams spiced differently and, of course, a lot of pork legs just hanging from the ceiling. Of course, not all of the ham in Spain is Jamón Ibérico. There is also Serrano ham (Jamón serrano). There are some major differences between the two, but for an amateur, they could come as similar.

If you are not used to the smell of both Iberian ham and Serrano ham, you will find them very overwhelming. You would probably want to get as far away as possible from them. But once you get used to delicious taste of them, your tummy will start growling.

So, why are these hams so special?

Well, both Iberian ham and Serrano ham are special snowflakes among charcuterie (charcutería) because they come from pigs that are native only to Spain and Portugal. Also, because these pigs live their lives being free, running in the fresh mountain air and eating corns and cereals.

Their habitat is more natural, and they have a higher life quality, thus their bodies are formed naturally, and they don’t produce stress hormones as pigs kept in captivity. They are genuinely happy and fairly free, so the meat is full of good hormones and natural vitamins. Also, they are kept in small herds, so compared to hundreds of pigs in pig factories, the product must cost more.

• Tapas Serving size: 1-2 slices of ham on a piece of bread
• Where to try it: Anywhere in Spain

So, there are my 5 personal favorites, but it wasn’t an easy choice.

There are so many different ones, and the best ones are those unique and improvised sandwiches you get once and never again.

As I promised, this will not be my only tapas list so be prepared for more good food, and great places to try it!

Qué aproveche!

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Aren’t they just olives?

Well, they are, but olives are a wide category – black, green, bitter, sweet, salty, with pepper or without, big, small, etc.; You get the point. And Spanish olives are so special because they cover almost all that super-wide range.

It is said that Spanish olive oil is the world’s most quality oil alongside Italy. And I’ll say, that must be correct!

Once in Barcelona, one elderly señor recommended a bottle of olive oil to me with the words “Take this one, it’s from Andalusia, it’s premium quality.”. And you’ll bet it was cheaper than those branded ones. So, Spanish olive oil can brag about its quality because Spain has such a developed industry of olive culture and olive oil-producing.

Spain is the largest producer of olive oil in the world, with more than 200 varieties of olives grown. A wide range of Spanish olives is certainly a big boost to their olive oil industry!

Not only it’s the largest exporter of olive oil in the world, but among those 200 varieties of olives are some of the healthiest olives, rich in antioxidants.

If you don’t like olive oil or olives, I bet you would find your match in Spain, because Spanish olives have something for everybody. All the people I know that didn’t like olives, started to like them in Spain. So, that is why Spanish olives are a special category!

How much olive oil does Spain produce?

Spain is not just the largest producer of olive oil, but also the largest exporter of olive oil in the world. So, how much oil does the largest producer of olive oil in the world produce?

Spain annually produces:

• Over 1 million tons of olive oil.
• That is almost enough to fill around 400 Olympic pools.
• It is almost half of the entire world’s olive oil production (around 45%).

Out of those 200 varieties of olives, there are about 25 that are regularly used in making olive oil.

The largest exporter of olive oil in the world is, however, not also the largest consumer of it. Greece is the biggest consumer of olive oil in the world, and in Spain, an average person annually consumes around 9 and a half liters of olive oil.

Can you imagine?

When do they harvest olives in Spain?

The olive harvest season in Spain starts in November and lasts until February.

It covers a bit of autumn and early spring, but we can say that olive harvest happens in winter.

Harvesting olives in Spain is a big deal. In the harvest season, you can see a ton of workers and olive harvesting machines doing their jobs.

The different harvest time brings different results, for example, the early olives are used to make extra virgin top quality Spanish oil.  Once the olives are harvested, they are ground in an oil mill. Then the pulp of ground olives is pressed and passed through a decanter which extracts the final product – rich extra virgin Spanish olive oil.

What region in Spain is famous for olive oil?

The most important olive towns in Andalusia are situated in 5 large provinces:

• Jaén (with around 38% of olive production)
• Córdoba (23%)
• Seville, and Granada (around 12,5 %)
• Málaga (8 %)

So – where is olive oil produced in Spain?

The main sources of olive production in Spain come from Andalusia, Castilla La Mancha, Extremadura, and Valencia, but, without a doubt, the most important olive region in Spain is Andalusia.

Olive capital of the world – Jaen

The world’s capital of olive oil is Jaen.

Jaen is:

• The largest producer of olive oil in the world.
• Producing more olive oil than Italy.
• The second most producing ”country” of olive oil after Spain.

Jaen olive oil is considered to be one of the finest oils there is, and the city hosts many olive-related events. The most important event is the International fair of olive oil and related industry, which is one of the biggest and most important events in the industry of olive products.

How much olive oil does Jaen produce?

• Jaen produces around 40 % of all olive products in Spain.
• 20 % of the whole world’s olive oil!
• It has more than 500 thousand hectares of olive tree fields.
• With around 60 million olive trees.

Annually the province of Jaen produces more than 600 thousand tons of olive oil. Jaen olives are premium quality, and there are around 8 million daily wages represented on olive harvest in a regular campaign.

This is why for Andalusia olive oil plays a big part in its economic strategy.

How many olive trees in Spain exist?

Spanish olive tree is considered to be one of the symbols of Spain.

Olive tree fields are not to be missed when traveling around Spain, especially between Jaen and Granada or Jaen and Cordoba. The fields of olive trees seem never-ending as an ocean seems from the shore.

Just in the province of Jaen, there are 60.000.000 olive trees spread out throughout 550.000 hectares of fields.

Olive farms in the Jaen area take up to 80 % of total farming areas, making olive production an unbeatable number one priority.

In Spain, there are around 300 million olive trees over 2,5 million hectares of olive tree fields. To emphasize this amount, many say that the number of Spanish olive trees is almost as big as the total population of the United States.

How much does olive oil cost in Spain?

Olive oil prices in Spain range from cheap to very expensive. As the country produces a lot of olive oil, the price is somewhat cheaper than in the countries that import it from other countries.

Extra virgin olive oil prices in Spain go from 3 euros a liter to a couple of hundreds of euros. The good thing is that in Spain you can find cheap, but quality oils, because the olive prices in Spain are lower due to national production.

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Thank you for reading our content and following our journey! We are working towards becoming full-time content creators and being able to share stories with you even more frequently. If you’d like to support us to be one step closer to that goal, you can do it through Ko-Fi! 👇🏽

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The post Spanish Olives 101 – Aceitunas españolas appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.