Meals and the Culture of Spain

By Lisa & Tony Sierra, About.com

Spaniards love their food! In fact, the typical Spaniard probably puts away more food
than any one of us in the USA, but Spaniards spread their meals throughout the day
and walk between meals. Below is a brief description of a day of Spanish meals, when
they are eaten and sample menus.

El Desayuno – Breakfast
* The Smallest Meal of the Day
* Continental Breakfast
A typical breakfast might include café con leche - strong coffee with hot, frothy milk,
bollos (sweet rolls) with jam, or toast with jam or mild cheese.
Tapas - Little Spanish Meals

Tapas are eaten well after breakfast, but before lunch, the large mid-afternoon meal!
* Tapas-time includes bar-hopping to wine-taste and chat
* A Different Tapa at each stop
Spanish love tapas so much, they made a verb out of it. The phrase Vamos a tapear!
means “Let’s go eat tapas!” A few of the most popular tapas are:
* Tortilla Española - Spanish Omelet
* Patatas Bravas - Potatoes with Spicey Brava Sauce
* Gambas al Ajillo - Shrimp in Garlic

La Comida – Lunch

The midday meal, la comida as it is called in Spain is the largest meal of the day. It is
definitely a large meal, usually with multiple courses. Traditionally, Spaniards have a
2-3 hour break from work or school in order to enjoy la comida and take a nap or
siesta and the entire country closes up shop from about 2:00pm to 4:30 or 5:00pm.
The siesta is a tradition that goes back centuries. When most people worked in
agriculture and air conditioning did not exist, it is easy to understand why folks
needed a large meal and a rest from the hot Spanish sun before returning to work
outside. Everyone in Spain enjoyed this afternoon break, from school kids to shop
workers and government officials. Most Spanish still enjoy the break and large meal,
but life is slowly changing. Many people spend over an hour commuting to and from
their work, making it impossible to go home for a meal and siesta. Because of this,
Spanish government employees in Madrid now work a standard eight-hour day with a
one-hour lunch break. Many large supermarket and retail chains in large cities no
longer close for lunch either. Still, in most of the country folks close up shop and enjoy
their meal and break.
* The Largest Meal of the Day
* Multiple Courses
* Eaten between 1:30 and 3:30 pm
Below is a sample meal that you might find on a menu at a restaurant or if you were
invited to someone’s home for lunch:
* Vegetable or Seafood Soup
* Fresh Fish or Seafood, Roast Chicken or Lamb, Fried Potatoes, Rabbit Stew, etc.
* Green Salad or Vegetables
* Dessert - Flan, light pastry, fresh fruit or ice cream
 * Coffee, Brandy and a Cigar

Bread is ALWAYS on the Spanish table. It is plentiful and fresh and used to mop up
sauces. Spanish lunches are always large! Courses come one at a time, so pace
yourself!

Since Spaniards love eggs and dairy foods, you will find that many desserts are made
from fresh milk or cream. Fresh fruit is typical to see on the dessert menu, and may be
served with a soft cheese. Don’t forget the coffee – You’ll probably need that after the
big lunch!
La Merienda - Snack

The late-afternoon snack in Spain is called la merienda and is necessary since lunch is
done by 3:30pm, but dinner isn't usually eaten for another five to six hours. La
Merienda is especially important to children, who always seem to have lots of energy
and play soccer in the streets, etc. La Merienda can be anything from a piece of
French-style bread with a piece of chocolate on top, to bread with chorizo, ham or
salami. La Merienda is eaten around 4:30 or 5:00pm and since dinner isn't served for
at least another 3-4 hours, nobody worries that this snack will ruin the appetite for
dinner!
La Cena – Dinner

* Smaller than Lunch

* Eaten between 9:00 pm and Midnight

A dinner might include fresh fish or seafood, roast chicken or lamb, fried potatoes or
rice. A simple and quick dish, commonly eaten at dinner is arroz cubano, which is a
mound of white rice, topped with tomato sauce and a fried egg. Green salad and/or a
vegetable dish are standard at lunch and dinner. A lighter dessert of fresh fruit or flan
(Spanish vanilla custard) may also be eaten.
After Dinner

Spaniards are night owls. The typical Spaniard does not eat dinner until at least 9
o’clock in the evening and probably does not get to bed until close to midnight. On the
weekends, on holidays and during the summer months, it wouldn’t be unusual for a
Spanish family to turn in round 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning. So, after the late-night
dinner, Spaniards continue their socializing in their neighborhood cafés and taverns or
go out to a nightclub or disco-pub.

The last stop on the way home from an evening of fun might be to a churreria or a
churro stand. Churros are fried pastries that look something like huge fried potatoes,
though they have nothing to do with potatoes. The closest thing that we have in the
USA would be fritters or donuts. However, fresh churros, bought from a street vendor
or sidewalk café, served hot and sprinkled with sugar are delicious and very light.

To accompany your churros, hot chocolate is the drink of choice! Chocolate in Spain is
NOT like the chocolate that you may have had in the USA. It´s not like Mexican
chocolate either, which has cinnamon and other flavors in it. Spanish chocolate is
made hot and very thick. It is usually made from fresh, whole milk, not a "just add
water" chocolate packet. It’s sweet and so thick that you can practically stand a spoon
in it!