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CHRISTMAS 2015

CHRISTMAS

Seven tasty traditional dishes to devour at Christmas in Spain

Spain has its own traditions when it comes to sweet and savoury festive fare. The Local explores seven of the most delicious.

Published: 20 December 2016 09:18 CET

Seven tasty traditional dishes to devour at Christmas in Spain

Mantecados. Photo: Javier Lastras / Flickr Creative Commons.

1. Turrón

Photo: Lablascovegmenu / Flickr Creative Commons.

This sweet nougat made of honey, sugar and toasted almonds is a popular Christmas treat across the Iberian peninsula. From the hard Alicante style to the softer version from Jijona.

2. Turkey

Photo: Annie / Flickr Creative Commons.

The bird that most Americans associate with November and Thanksgiving often makes an appearance on Spaniards' tables for Christmas.

3. Seafood

Photo: emivel2003 / Flickr Creative Commons.

Mariscos are quite popular to eat for Christmas meals, anything from fish soup, lobster, prawns to langostinos, as pictured above.

4. Roscón de Reyes

Photo: Secret Tenerife / Flickr Creative Commons.

This “king cake” in Spanish-speaking countries is traditionally eaten on January 6th to celebrate Epiphany when the three kings brought gifts to baby Jesus. The ring-shaped cake typically has a hidden figure inside and whoever gets the slice with the figure inside “wins” – though some make the winner buy next year's cake.

5. Polvorones and mantecados

Mantecados. Photo: Javier Lastras / Flickr Creative Commons.

These crumbly cakes are another traditional Christmas shortbread dessert. Mantecados are distinct in that they are prepared with pig fat – manteca – while polvorones are named because they crumble into powder – polvo.

6. Yema

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

These little cakes, a specialty of Ávila, are made of mainly egg yolk and often covered in sugar or icing.

7. Jamón

Photo: Boca Dorada / Wikimedia Commons.

Because when is it NOT the right time of year for jamón? In Spain, it's always time for jamón.

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Why don't Spaniards use kettles?

The British are known the world around for being big tea drinkers. In fact, the UK Tea & Infusions Association (UKTIA) says 84 percent of the UK population drinks tea every day. In Ireland, the average person drinks six to seven cups a day, whereas Australians also love a brew or two but are big coffee drinkers as well.

Logically, tea-drinking foreigners coming on holiday to Spain or even moving here will more than likely want to keep up the same habits.

I’ve lived in Spain a long time, so I’ve swapped my morning tea for a coffee. As a Brit however, I’ll still have at least three teas throughout the day while I’m working. A kettle is still an essential piece of kitchen equipment for me.

It’s not just that Spanish people don’t have kettles in their kitchens, there aren’t very many used anywhere. It’s rare that hotel rooms will have kettles here, even in luxury five-star ones.

Coffeemakers on the other hand are very common. And what’s even more strange is that many hotels will provide tea bags, but no kettle to make the tea with, perhaps expecting you to use heated water from the coffee maker instead. Not ideal as the tea will often have a faint taste of coffee too!

READ ALSO: 14 unusual foods you won’t believe are eaten in Spain

My parents-in-law have even specifically booked hotels on the basis that they’ve stated on their website that they have ‘tea and coffee making facilities’, only to be very miffed and disappointed when they arrive and find no kettle in the room.

This is a fact that very much annoys other friends and family who come to visit too. In fact, it’s been so much of an issue that we’ve now bought a separate travel kettle for guests to take to hotels with them and make their morning tea.

If you’re working in Spain, it’s unlikely that your office or co-working space will have a kettle either. I’m lucky that I work from home and have regular access to a kettle, particularly in winter when we drink several cups a day and use it to fill our hot water bottles at night.

The debate about kettles in Spain has come to light once again because of an Australian guy who went viral on TikTok after he posted a video asking Spaniards why nowhere ever has a kettle, saying that he has to boil his water as if he lived in 1488.

While that’s a strong exaggeration, the point still stands that not many Spaniards have kettles. If they do need to heat water, then they will do so either in the microwave or on the stove top.

While it clearly bothers Brits, Irish and Australians, it’s likely that it doesn’t concern The Local Spain’s American readers, who are used not having electric kettles back home. Stove-top kettles are more common there or they simply go without.

Many Spaniards don’t see the need for having a kettle to boil water faster when they already have a microwave or kitchen hobs. Photo: Jsme MILA / Pexels

Tepid water heated up in the microwave just doesn’t cut it, and also has a completely different taste to water boiled in a kettle. Boiling it on the stove is a better option, but it takes so long compared to just flicking a switch on a kettle.

The general consensus online for the lack of kettles in Spain is that Spaniards aren’t big tea drinkers and simply don’t have the need to boil water on a regular basis.

Instead, coffee is the breakfast drink of choice. According to a survey by Spanish franchise chain Café & Té, 63 percent of Spaniards over the age of 15 have at least one coffee a day.

Spaniards may not have a kettle, but it’s very rare to find one that doesn’t have some type of cafetera or coffeemaker.

READ ALSO: Why do many Spanish apartments not have balconies?

In Spain, tea is something that’s drunk perhaps as a digestive after dinner, it’s not really something that’s consumed in the morning or even throughout the day.

And the teas Spaniards do drink here are different to the strong black English breakfast or builders style tea we have in the UK. The most typical here are herbal or Chinese style teas, which are actually referred to as infusiones (infusions) rather than teas or té.

While black teas, as well as some British brands such as PG Tips and Tetley’s are available in Spanish supermarkets, they’re often a bit watery and tasteless – most Brits I know try to stuff a few boxes into their suitcases when they come back from visiting the UK.

Many big cities in Spain do in fact have a handful of specialised tea shops where you can find a great selection, but again they will mostly be herbal teas and blends with added dried fruits and spices. The Andalusian city of Granada is in fact full of them – left over from its strong Moorish heritage. It even has many Moroccan-style tea rooms.

It’s worth noting that kettles are actually readily available in many stores in Spain, it’s just that not many people buy them.

You can purchase them at many places including El Corte Inglés, Mediamarkt, Hipercor and Carrefour, as well as Amazon online. They’re known as teteras eléctricas or hervidores de agua in Spanish.

Tea is actually becoming increasingly popular in recent years in Spain – albeit – mostly the herbal kind.

Recent data shows that the consumption of infusions and teas in Spain in hotels and restaurants rose after the pandemic to 91 million cups per year. And one in three Spaniards between ages 15 and 75 say that this is their preferred drink.

I very much doubt that tea will surpass coffee as Spaniards’ morning drink of choice, but if it is indeed becoming more popular, there may be hope for kettle-lovers yet.

While it may still take a while before you find a kettle in your Spanish hotel room, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that more Spaniards see the benefits of having a handy hervidor de agua at home.

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