Different cultures' impact on Spanish cuisine
Different cultures found their way on the Iberian Peninsula and here they impacted so much on the Spanish culture. Some of the aspects of culture that were affected include the language, food, music, art, and architecture. The outcome especially when it comes to food was perfect since many refer to Spanish cuisines as the best food. The geographical situation of Spain has so much to do with the Spanish food (Ingram, Rebecca NP). The country is surrounded by waters and hence there are plenty of seafood available in the country. Besides this, the country is a diverse terrain that contains mountains, fertile farm grounds and extensive coastlines that together ensures there are a lot of fresh products like vegetables and fresh fruits.
Influence of different cultures on Spanish food
The cultures that passed through and some of them settled in the country had so much influence on the Spanish food. For example, the Greeks are known to have introduced the wonders of olive oil in the country while the Phoenicians introduced sauces (Smith, Jennifer NP). These among others came up with different types of cuisines that together resulted in the popular Spanish cuisine known today. The fact is that without the different cultures that came to Spain, the typical Spanish cuisine known today would not be there. Besides the cultures, the discovery of the Americans led to an increase in the elements that made up the Spanish cuisine. Some of the products that were introduced in the country include tomatoes, potatoes, various beans, and vanilla.
Varieties of Spanish foods
There are many varieties of Spanish foods and most of their recipes were written in the fourteenth century. The cuisine was enriched by many different groups of people, for instance, the Greeks, Jews, Italians, and the Arabs. There are many different flavors and recipes present that make up the Spanish cuisines (Ingram, Rebecca NP). Some very popular dishes associated with Spain are instance the potato omelet, jamon, cheese, beans, and sausages. When it comes to Spanish cakes and desserts, the most popular include the rice puddings, custards, flans, and the churros which refer to fried doughnuts that have been dipped in some chocolate sauce.
Influence on Spanish cuisine and differences with American cuisine
The fact is that I did not have any background information before investigating the topic. However, it is after researching on the topic I came learn that most of the aspects of the Hispanic culture were influenced by other cultures that came into the country. This is for instance with the Spanish Cuisine that was influenced by the different cultures who came into the country and introduced different ingredients that were not present before (Smith, Jennifer NP). These different products introduced are what later developed the very popular Spanish cuisines. Besides, I also learned that by the fact that Spain is surrounded by water and besides has a fertile land, this also played a key role in the development of the Spanish cuisine since it made all the require farm products available.
From the study, I learned that there are is so much difference between the American and the Spanish Cuisines. The main difference is that in Spain, lunch usually consists of all the five food groups while in America it is only one. Hence, people in Spain eat so much during lunch but very few during breakfast and dinner. What surprised me the most is the fact that was it not for the different cultures that came to Spain, then what is referred to as the Spanish cuisine would be a totally different thing altogether. Having learned and clearly understood the Spanish language, this helped me during the investigations since I could understand some of the terms that are not in English but in Spanish. Learning about the topic prepared me for class since am at least more informed about the Spanish Culture.
Work Cited
Ingram, Rebecca. "Mapping and Mocking: Spanish Cuisine and Ramón Gómez de la Serna's" El primer map gastronómico de España"." Cincinnati Romance Review 33 (2012).
Smith, Jennifer. "Cooking Up the Nation: Spanish Culinary Texts and Culinary Nationalization in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century by Lara Anderson." Anales Galdosianos. Vol. 51. No. 1. Asociación Internacional de Galdosistas, 2016.
