Tapas are snacks, canapés or finger foods that originated in Spain. A platter can vary from town to town
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According to a legend, King Alfonso 10th, The Wise King of Spain, had once been stricken with a serious illness which only allowed him to take in small portions of food with small amounts of wine. After recovering from his illness, the king issued a decree that no wine should be served at inns unless it was served with food. Other historians believe tapas may have originated with farmers and field workers who consumed small meals accompanied by wine throughout the workday to provide much-needed energy between meals.
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Tapas can be practically anything from a chunk of tuna, cocktail onion and an olive skewered on a long toothpick to piping hot meat with sauce served in a miniature clay dish — or anything in between.
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They are small plates of food that are served between meals and often accompanied by alcohol. They may be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as chopitos, which are battered, fried baby squids).
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There are no tapas restaurants — only tapas bars. They are never served at home or in restaurants. Spaniards, when not enjoying a home cooked meal, will leave their homes as evening descends to spend a night out with their friends. They meet first at tapas bars, where they may bar hop — eating and drinking different tapas before finally deciding to settle into their restaurant for the evening.
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Tapas can be grouped into three main categories, according to how easy they are to eat: cosas de picar (meaning things to nibble), cazuelas (meaning little dishes) and pinchos. If a utensil (like banderillas, decorated toothpicks that get their name because they look like the darts used in a bullfight) is required to eat the food, the tapa is called pinchos.
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All regions of Spain have tapas, although Catalonians have not traditionally eaten tapas and do so now only because of the unification of modern Spain.
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The most important thing about ‘tapeo’ (the art of eating tapas) is the gathering of people to socialise as they drink and eat. In Spain, tapas bars are lively environments filled with much conversation and laughter.
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The word tapa means lid. It was thought that the plate acted like a lid on top of the mug or glass (to keep out dirt, dust, and insects) in bars that originally offered food, probably to attract customers.
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Tapas have evolved through Spanish history by incorporating ingredients and influences from many different cultures and countries. Most of the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Romans, who introduced the olive and irrigation methods.
The invasion of the North African Moors in the eighth century brought almonds, citrus fruits and fragrant spices. The discovery of the New World brought the introduction of tomatoes, sweet and chilli peppers, corn and potatoes. These were readily accepted and easily grown in Spain’s micro climates.
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It is very common for a bar or a small local restaurant to have eight to 12 different kinds of tapas in warming trays with glass partitions covering the food. They are often very strongly flavoured with garlic, chilies or paprika, cumin, salt, pepper, saffron and sometimes in plentiful amounts of olive oil. Often, one or more of the choices is seafood (mariscos), often including anchovies, sardines or mackerel in olive oil, squid or others in a tomato-based sauce, sometimes with the addition of red or green peppers or other seasonings. It is rare to see a tapas selection not include one or more types of olives, such as manzanillo or arbequina olives.
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There are many tapas competitions throughout Spain. There is only one national tapas competition, which is celebrated every year in November. Since 2008, the city of Valladolid and the International School of Culinary Arts have been celebrating the international tapas competition for culinary schools.