Spanish cuisine consists of a numerous variety of dishes, which stems for the prevalent differences in geography, culture, and the climates of different areas within the country. The cuisine is renowned for seafood as a result of its coastal cities and accessibility to the ocean, and also portrays the deep maritime roots of the country. Two cities that have great food opportunities and famous markets that this blog will focus on are Barcelona and Valencia. The rich Catalan history and unique culture serve to feed both Barcelonian’s pride of their identity and Valencian’s confidence in their agricultural sectors.
On our visit to Valencia, we all had been educated that we must try paella, the Valencian rice dish that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century. Before ever visiting the port-city with deep agricultural roots, I was unfamiliar with the dish and its cultural history. I always associated rice dishes with the entire nation; however, paella is in fact a regional dish, which is used as an identifying symbol of Valencia. There are three kinds of paella: Valencian paella, seafood paella, and mixed paella. However, in our group experience we were exposed to paella that went against most of our food limitations. We were served rabbit in our paella, and squid ink paella that most people either nervously tried, or turned the noses up with horror at such a cruel cultural difference. Personally, I knew that I would be unable to handle anything that had a seafood base, so took my chances and deeply analyzed the mixed chicken and rabbit paella. I desperately tried to distinguish the meat between the chicken and the rabbit, however it was impossible. Both small pieces of meat were grilled to perfection over the Spanish rice, and I shockingly ate the meat pretending it was completely normal. Paella is one of the
many dishes that one should try as you venture to the port-city. It captures the deep agricultural heritage dating back to the 15th century when Spanish Catholics expelled the Muslims.Valencia is also famous for its plethora of markets, especially the Central Market. In this market you can find fresh fish, meat and fruits. The market is in the city center in front of the Market Square (Placa del Mercat). However, one cannot lie that when you venture into the building that was finished being built in 1928, the aroma that spreads through your nostrils does not scream desirability. The first thing I saw to the left was a large fish stand, where heads were being chopped off and fish laid over ice in preservation. Then to my right, I was shocked to see pigs that still had their heads, differing from anything I had ever seen in a standard American grocery store.
The mixed smells between the fish, meat, and fruits and vegetables made for an extremely surprising experience. The region is very famous for fruits and vegetables and much of the crop is exported. The famous fruit that Valencia exports are the oranges, which stems for the region’s excellent climate for citrus fruits. I personally tasted one of the oranges and the rumors are true, Valencia’s were by far the most succulent citrus fruit I had ever experienced. Brian Guarnieri gave an excellent portrayal of his experiences at the Central Market in his blog, “This is No Publix” he explains:
“I began to realize how important this market is to the people of Valencia and how it perfectly embodies their culture and who they are. Since Valencia is located on the water, has the perfect climate to grow citrus fruits and vegetables, and is irrigated extremely well, agriculture has been extremely important to the city of Valencia for hundreds of years and is one of the main reasons for their growth and success.”
arkets are where loyal people do their shopping and actually form relationships with their vendors who they visit continuously over and over again. It is a cultural difference not to buy in bulk, but rather make more frequent trips to the market and buy as you are in need, rather than stock your fridges for the next depression.
Barcelona’s cuisine can often be surpassed by the rich tourism that takes place in the heart of the city. Walking down Las Ramblas, the heightened tourist street of the city, you see globalized food chains, street vendors, and mass crowds of people looking at the shops and people attempting to make money in anyway possible. However, Barcelona is renown for La escudella i carn d’olla or a rice stew made of rice, noodles, ground pork, potatoes, and vegetables. Fuet is Catalonia’s slender-shape regional sausages, but the region is best known for botifarra, or spicy sausages served with white beans (http://www.barcelonatravelinfo.com/food.htm). I however did not have the opportunity to try either dishes, because as a college student, the city of Barcelona targets people at our age for the beach scene and nightlife that one has to go out of their way to experience foods that are culturally significant in the party town. As advice to future MUDEC students or other college students who venture to Barcelona, you really have to plan wisely because it is so easy to be overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the city. Our group was lucky to have organized events visiting significant places of the city, because it would have been the preference to most students to sleep on the beach and stay up all night experiencing the city’s infamous club life.
Overall, the cuisine of Spain, in our experience was the regional tastes of Catalan culture. We experienced the port city of Valencia where agriculture was a key influence in the economy and seafood where seafood was accessible and eaten by most citizens and tourists venturing to the Mediterranean cities. Rice, fresh fruits and vegetables were things that all of us were given the opportunity to experience, allowing us to see the political identity associated with the markets and tastes of the food. Both places had excellent food that every traveler should experience!
To read more about Valencian markets visit Brian Guarnieri's, "This is no Publix".
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