Go Back

Food in Spain

A schoolgirl eating breakfast

Like people all over the world, many Spanish children start their day with eating cereal for breakfast. Between breakfast and lunch, many people have a snack called almuerzo, which usually consists of a bocadillo - a crusty roll with perhaps a ham or cheese filling. Lunch is the main meal of the day in, served much later than in other European countries at about 2.30pm, sometimes with a few glasses of wine. Businesses and shops usually close for a few of hours to allow the siesta (a rest or sleep) to take place.

Evening meals are light and eaten later still at 10pm. Before dinner, people are likely to have a drink and eat tapas, a selection of light snacks and sweetmeats. They might be things like ham or mussels on cocktail sticks, or stuffed anchovy olives or octopus. There are also lots of dips and sauces that accompany each mouthful. Toast rubbed with garlic, topped with tuna and roasted peppers and dripping with olive oil is just one example. Or you might have a piece of cheese or baby-octopus, dipped in bean oil with chilli. Vegetables can be chopped and covered in mayonnaise. Thin slices of ham and chunks of cheese can be served with dried bread or biscuits.

Spain is famous for the quality of its food. Food is very important to the Spanish, and garlic and olives are favourite ingredients. Flavoured cheeses, cured hams, and sausages are a Spanish speciality. Spanish food is traditional and varied and differs greatly from region to region. In the North there is a lot of fish and sea food.