What are tapas??

Question

What do they taste like, where do they come from....

Answer 1

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Tapas are small quantities of food sold (or given for free) with a drink in Spain. They can be taken as a snack or combined to make up a full meal. In some areas of Spain, mainly in León and Granada, they are often included in the price of drinks (beer, wine, not soft drinks or spirits) served in bars. In this case, they can amount to as little as a few olives, a piece of cheese, or something more substantial like a pork stew. However, the city of Almería is said to serve the biggest "tapas" in Spain, and they are always included in the price of alcoholic drinks and grape juice.


Puntillitas, battered and fried baby squid
Olives, an example of tapasIn Andalusia, tapas can be "upgraded" to bigger portions, equivalent to half a dish (media ración) or a whole one (ración). This is generally more economical when a tapa is being ordered by more than one person. The portions are usually shared by diners, and a meal made up of raciones resembles a Middle Eastern mezze or Chinese dim sum.

Spaniards usually have dinner sometime between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., and often go "bar hopping" (Spanish: Ir de tapas) and eating tapas in the time between finishing work and having a full meal or as a social activity instead of dining at home.

Tapa means "cover" in Spanish. There are several explanations for the etymology of "tapa":

A commonly cited explanation is that an item, be it bread or a flat card, etc., would often be placed on top of a drink to protect it from fruit flies; at some point it became a habit to top this "cover" with a snack.
Some experts believe that the name originated sometime round the 16th century when tavern owners from Castilla-La Mancha found out that the strong taste and smell of mature cheese could help disguise that of bad wine, thus "covering" it, and started offering free cheese when serving cheap wine.
In the Philippines, this “cover” evolved to become a thin strip of beef which is nowadays eaten, along with rice, as a full meal, usually for breakfast. In the northern Spanish city of León, in Asturias, and in parts of Andalusia, when you go to a bar and order a drink, you get a tapa for free. This happens mostly in the province of Jaén, Granada and Córdoba but it is not very common in the rest of Andalusia, where you generally have to pay for both the drink and the tapa. Sometimes, especially in Northern Spain, they are also called pinchos (often spelled pintxos in the Basque Country), because many of them have a pincho, or toothpick through them. This is used to keep whatever the snack is made of from falling off the bread it has been attached to. Another name for them is banderillas (diminutive of bandera "flag"), in part because some of them resemble the colorful skewers used in bullfighting.

It is very common for a bar or a small local restaurant to have 6-8 different kinds of tapas in warming trays with glass partitions covering the food. They are often very strongly flavored with garlic, chillis or paprika, and sometimes swimming in olive oil. Often one or more of the choices is seafood or mariscos, often including anchovies, sardines or mackerel in olive oil or squid or others in a tomato based sauce, sometimes with the addition of red or green peppers or other seasoning. It is rare to see a tapas selection not include one or more types of olives, such as manzanilla or arbequina olives. One or more types of bread are usually available to eat with any of the sauce-based tapas.

Upscale tapas restaurants are common in the United States and the United Kingdom, where a series of tapas are typically served as a main course. Such places have little in common with the Spanish original but the name.

Not to be confused with 'montaditos', a type of sandwich made of small traditional breadpieces and varied filling, hot or cold. It is sometimes served as an open top sandwich using sliced french bread.

Such is the diversity of tapas that in bars all over Spain and the world you can now order virtually anything that takes your fancy; from an exotically-spicy Moorish dish to a simple bowl of olives.

Tapas have evolved throughout the country's long history and through the incorporation of many ingredients and influences from different cultures and countries. The east coast was invaded by the Romans, who introduced the olive and irrigation methods. The invasion of the north-African Moors in the 8th century also brought olives to the south, as well as almonds, citrus fruits and fragrant spices. The influences of their 700 year occupation remain today, especially in Andalucia. The discovery of the New World brought with it the introduction of tomatoes, sweet peppers (capiscums), chilli peppers, beans and potatoes. These were readily accepted and easily grown in Spain's ideal micro-climates.

Tapas, are essentially hearty and unpretentious. They are based on the imaginative use of seasonal vegetables and local ingredients. Flavours are robust and recipes, preparation and presentation are generally very straightforward. Tapas can be made with almost any ingredients. Although to fully experience Spanish tapas at its best one should try a few of the common dishes like tortilla (omelette), albondigas (meatballs) and calamares (squid). These are the classic tapas dishes and they bring to one’s plate the real essence of Spanish life and culture.

Answer 2

Tapas is spanish, a fairly accurate description is in the link supplied...
They can be almost anything edible within reason, you would be surprised what gets served up! great fun.

Answer 3

Small amounts of food which could be sold or given to customers with a drink, like an appetizer. It could be made out of herbed goat cheese and shrimp or chicken, or anything from Spain.

O'hock

Answer 4

Spanish 'bits & bobs' often included in the price of an alcoholic drink at many bars.
All kinds of things like Olives, Squid, tomatoes, bread etc

Answer 5

It's like finger food during Happy Hour.

Answer 6

Spanish food in small piecese served as an entrée or with drinks.