Spanish Club Blog

Spanish food, wine and drinks basics

In this blog we will do our best to try to explain the basic information needed for anyone seeking to understand and appreciate the best food, wine and drinks made in Spain. ... So you too will be able to understand the products, its qualities and even have informed conversations with natives of Spain.

We will also provide in this blog recipes to help you prepare yourself the most typical dishes and drinks of Spain.
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In this blog we will do our best to try to explain the basic information needed for anyone seeking to understand and appreciate the best food, wine and drinks made in Spain. So you too will be able to understand the products, its qualities and even have informed conversations with natives of Spain.

We will also provide in this blog recipes to help you prepare yourself the most typical dishes and drinks of Spain.

Classification of Spanish Wines By Quality Label

Classification of Spanish Wines By Quality Label

Spanish wines can be classified in different ways, such as by type, by grape variety, by age, by vinification, and also by their quality label. In Spain, wines are categorized in 6 quality levels of Protected Designation of Origin (Denominación de Origen Protegida – DOP). There are 97 wines with DOP, which are subdivided into […]

Continue reading
Chorizo: The Superstar Among Spanish Tapas

Chorizo: The Superstar Among Spanish Tapas

Spanish chorizo is the most popular pork charcuterie in Spain and is a must in any Spanish kitchen and restaurant. A sausage to be considered as chorizo needs to be made with garlic and paprika, cured in the open air or smoked, contain minced pork as the main base, and be marinated with spices such […]

Continue reading
Horchata de Chufa (Tiger Nut): The Famous Summer Drink from Valencia

Horchata de Chufa (Tiger Nut): The Famous Summer Drink from Valencia

A symbol of Valencian gastronomy, Horchata Valenciana, also known as Orxata de Xufa (in Valenciano) or Horchata de chufa, is a very popular, delicious, milky-looking, and refreshing summer drink consumed throughout Spain during the hot summer months. This highly refreshing and delicately flavored drink is part of the Valencian culture and has been consumed there […]

Continue reading
Pimentón de La Vera: The King of Spanish Kitchens

Pimentón de La Vera: The King of Spanish Kitchens

Pimentón de la Vera is presumably the best paprika in the world. It comes from the region of La Vera, in the north of Caceres (Extremadura, Spain). This is a product that should not be missing in any kitchen. Pimentón ranks among the most popular ingredients in Spanish cooking, competing with saffron for spice shelf […]

Continue reading
Fuet: The Most Popular Sausage of Catalonia

Fuet: The Most Popular Sausage of Catalonia

Fuet, also called Espetec, is arguably Catalonia´s most popular cured sausage, and also quite popular throughout Spain. This thin, soft and tender sausage is made from lean pork seasoned with salt, pepper, and other spices and finely minced fat. It is stuffed into a thin pork casing with a caliber of 34 – 36 mm. […]

Continue reading
Tetilla Cheese: Galicia’s Most Famous Cheese

Tetilla Cheese: Galicia’s Most Famous Cheese

Tetilla cheese (Queso Tetilla / Queixo Tetilla) is the most characteristic and internationally renowned Galician cheese, easily recognizable by its shape and its smooth, thin, straw-yellow rind. The word ‘tetilla’ clearly defines the traditional conical, concave-convex, pear-like shape, with a slight “nipple”, more or less pointed top at its apex, which is the reason why […]

Continue reading
Cabrales: The Prince Cheese of Spain

Cabrales: The Prince Cheese of Spain

Cabrales cheese, also known as Quesu Cabrales, Queso de Cabrales, or Cabraliego, is a highly-prized cheese and the most international food of the Spanish northern region of Asturias, with an intense, persistent and slightly spicy flavor. In 2020, Guinness World Records awarded Cabrales the record of the most expensive cheese in the world when a […]

Continue reading
Manchego Cheese: All About It

Manchego Cheese: All About It

Manchego, easily the most well-known Spanish cheese throughout the world, is beloved for its rich, buttery taste and compact consistency. Manchego sheep’s cheese is usually made from pasteurized milk and needs to be matured for a minimum of 30 days to a maximum of 2 years. The milk of this Spanish cheese does not contain […]

Continue reading
Most Popular Charcuterie / Sausages (Embutidos) in Spain

Most Popular Charcuterie / Sausages (Embutidos) in Spain

Spain is a true kingdom of sausages (embutidos), which emerged as a way of extending the shelf life of meats, but nowadays, beyond a method of preservation, they are a delicious way of consuming pork. These are the most popular: 1. Chorizo Chorizo is the most popular pork charcuterie in Spain and is a must […]

Continue reading
Tapas Culture in Spain

Tapas Culture in Spain

Eating tapas has become one of the most typical Spanish customs, which has now been exported all around the world, and locally adopted and adjusted to the local taste and needs. If Italy made pizza popular all over the globe, Spain is doing now the same with tapas. But, what is a tapa? A tapa […]

Continue reading
Different Types of Olives and EVOO in Spain

Different Types of Olives and EVOO in Spain

In Spain, there are more than 260 varieties of oil. Of all of them, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is the most renowned for its high quality. Depending on the production process, we can distinguish two large groups. On the one hand, coupage extra virgin olive oil, which is made from different types of olives […]

Continue reading
Most Famous Spanish Cheeses

Most Famous Spanish Cheeses

In Spain there are more than 100 varieties of cheeses made by artisans. Of these 100 varieties, 26 have Protected Designation of Origin (DOP) and 3 more have Protected Geographical Indications (IGP), a seal of quality that indicates quality and characteristics that are only possible thanks to the environment in which they are produced and […]

Continue reading
Different Types of Quality of Spanish Ham / Jamón

Different Types of Quality of Spanish Ham / Jamón

Jamón Ibérico (Ibérico ham), Serrano ham, pata negra ham, acorn-fed ham, cebo ham, bodge ham (cellar), Gran Reserva ham (Great Reserve), recebo ham, country ham… All these terms are used to define the typology of the different qualities of ham available in Spain. This terminology is not easily assimilated and understood by the end consumer. […]

Continue reading
...

Classification of Spanish Wines By Quality Label

Spanish wines can be classified in different ways, such as by type, by grape variety, by age, by vinification, and also by their quality label. In Spain, wines are categorized in 6 quality levels of Protected Designation of Origin (Denominación de Origen Protegida – DOP). There are 97 wines with DOP, which are subdivided into […]

...

Chorizo: The Superstar Among Spanish Tapas

Spanish chorizo is the most popular pork charcuterie in Spain and is a must in any Spanish kitchen and restaurant. A sausage to be considered as chorizo needs to be made with garlic and paprika, cured in the open air or smoked, contain minced pork as the main base, and be marinated with spices such […]

...

Horchata de Chufa (Tiger Nut): The Famous Summer Drink from Valencia

A symbol of Valencian gastronomy, Horchata Valenciana, also known as Orxata de Xufa (in Valenciano) or Horchata de chufa, is a very popular, delicious, milky-looking, and refreshing summer drink consumed throughout Spain during the hot summer months. This highly refreshing and delicately flavored drink is part of the Valencian culture and has been consumed there […]

...

Pimentón de La Vera: The King of Spanish Kitchens

Pimentón de la Vera is presumably the best paprika in the world. It comes from the region of La Vera, in the north of Caceres (Extremadura, Spain). This is a product that should not be missing in any kitchen. Pimentón ranks among the most popular ingredients in Spanish cooking, competing with saffron for spice shelf […]

...

Fuet: The Most Popular Sausage of Catalonia

Fuet, also called Espetec, is arguably Catalonia´s most popular cured sausage, and also quite popular throughout Spain. This thin, soft and tender sausage is made from lean pork seasoned with salt, pepper, and other spices and finely minced fat. It is stuffed into a thin pork casing with a caliber of 34 – 36 mm. […]

...

Tetilla Cheese: Galicia’s Most Famous Cheese

Tetilla cheese (Queso Tetilla / Queixo Tetilla) is the most characteristic and internationally renowned Galician cheese, easily recognizable by its shape and its smooth, thin, straw-yellow rind. The word ‘tetilla’ clearly defines the traditional conical, concave-convex, pear-like shape, with a slight “nipple”, more or less pointed top at its apex, which is the reason why […]

...

Cabrales: The Prince Cheese of Spain

Cabrales cheese, also known as Quesu Cabrales, Queso de Cabrales, or Cabraliego, is a highly-prized cheese and the most international food of the Spanish northern region of Asturias, with an intense, persistent and slightly spicy flavor. In 2020, Guinness World Records awarded Cabrales the record of the most expensive cheese in the world when a […]

...

Manchego Cheese: All About It

Manchego, easily the most well-known Spanish cheese throughout the world, is beloved for its rich, buttery taste and compact consistency. Manchego sheep’s cheese is usually made from pasteurized milk and needs to be matured for a minimum of 30 days to a maximum of 2 years. The milk of this Spanish cheese does not contain […]

...

Most Popular Charcuterie / Sausages (Embutidos) in Spain

Spain is a true kingdom of sausages (embutidos), which emerged as a way of extending the shelf life of meats, but nowadays, beyond a method of preservation, they are a delicious way of consuming pork. These are the most popular: 1. Chorizo Chorizo is the most popular pork charcuterie in Spain and is a must […]

...

Tapas Culture in Spain

Eating tapas has become one of the most typical Spanish customs, which has now been exported all around the world, and locally adopted and adjusted to the local taste and needs. If Italy made pizza popular all over the globe, Spain is doing now the same with tapas. But, what is a tapa? A tapa […]

...

Different Types of Olives and EVOO in Spain

In Spain, there are more than 260 varieties of oil. Of all of them, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is the most renowned for its high quality. Depending on the production process, we can distinguish two large groups. On the one hand, coupage extra virgin olive oil, which is made from different types of olives […]

...

Most Famous Spanish Cheeses

In Spain there are more than 100 varieties of cheeses made by artisans. Of these 100 varieties, 26 have Protected Designation of Origin (DOP) and 3 more have Protected Geographical Indications (IGP), a seal of quality that indicates quality and characteristics that are only possible thanks to the environment in which they are produced and […]

...

Different Types of Quality of Spanish Ham / Jamón

Jamón Ibérico (Ibérico ham), Serrano ham, pata negra ham, acorn-fed ham, cebo ham, bodge ham (cellar), Gran Reserva ham (Great Reserve), recebo ham, country ham… All these terms are used to define the typology of the different qualities of ham available in Spain. This terminology is not easily assimilated and understood by the end consumer. […]