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Tapas
Tapas () are appetisers or snacks in Spanish cuisine. They can be combined to make a full meal and are served cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as , which are battered, fried baby squid; or , spicy potatoes). In some bars and restaurants in Spain and across the globe, tapas have evolved into a sophisticated cuisine. In some Central American countries, such snacks are known as . In parts of Mexico, similar dishes are called ''botanas''. An individual appetizer (or single order of an item) is a . History The word "''tapas''", a plural, is derived from the Spanish verb ''tapar'', "to cover", a cognate of the English "top". Multiple theories for the term's use for appetizers exist. One theory holds that in pre-19th-century Spain few innkeepers at ''posadas'', '' albergues'' or ''bodegas'' offering meals and rooms for travellers could write and few travellers read, so guests were offered a sample of the dishes available on a "tapa" (“pot cover” in Sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spanish Cuisine
Spanish cuisine () consists of the traditions and practices of Spanish cooking. It features considerable regional diversity, with significant differences among the traditions of each of Spain's regional cuisines. Olive oil (of which Spain is the world's largest producer) is extensively used in Spanish cuisine. It forms the base of many vegetable sauces (known in Spanish as Sofrito, ''sofritos''). Herbs most commonly used include parsley, oregano, rosemary and thyme. The use of garlic has been noted as common in Spanish cooking. The most-used meats in Spanish cuisine include Chicken as food, chicken, pork, Lamb and mutton, lamb and veal. Fish as food, Fish and seafood are also consumed on a regular basis. Tapas and pinchos are snacks and appetizers commonly served in bars and cafes. History Antiquity Authors such as Strabo wrote about the aboriginal people of Spain using nuts and acorns as staple foods. The extension of vineyards along the Mediterranean seemed to be du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hors D'oeuvre
An hors d'oeuvre ( ; ), appetiser, appetizer or starter is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the meal, or they may be served before seating, such as at a reception or cocktail party. Formerly, hors d'oeuvres were also served between courses.''Oxford English Dictionary'', First Edition, 189''s.v.'' Typically smaller than a main dish, an hors d'oeuvre is often designed to be eaten by hand. Hors d'oeuvre are typically served at parties as a small "snack" before a main course. Etymology in French literally means 'outside the work', that is "not part of the ordinary set of courses in a meal". In practice, it is a dish which stands on its own as a snack or supports the main course. The French spelling is the same for singular and plural usage. In English, the typographic ligature is usually replaced by the digraph and two plural forms are ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patatas Bravas
''Patatas bravas'' (, also called ''patatas a la brava'' or ''papas bravas'', all meaning "spicy potatoes") is a dish native to Spain. It typically consists of white potatoes that have been cut into cubes, then fried in oil and served warm with a spicy "brava" sauce. The brava sauce is primarily sweet or smoked paprika (using high-quality Spanish pimentón de la Vera) and olive oil based, often thickened with cornstarch. Some regions call for the addition of tomato paste, although there can be many variations. The dish is commonly served in restaurants and bars throughout Spain as a variety of tapas. Consumption ''Patatas bravas'' are served in bars in servings that contain approximately a quarter kilo of potato. It is frequently consumed as part of tapas. The sauce for patatas bravas is also sometimes served over mussels. This dish is known as ''mejillones en salsa brava''. See also * French fries * Potato chip Potato chips (North American English and Aus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squid As Food
Squid is eaten in many cuisines; in English, the culinary name calamari is often used for squid dishes.''Oxford English Dictionary'', 3rd edition, 2002''s.v.''/ref> There are many ways to prepare and cook squid. Fried squid is common Mediterranean cuisine, in the Mediterranean. In New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Canada, and South Africa, it is sold in fish and chips, fish and chip shops and in steakhouses. In Britain, it can be found in Mediterranean "calamari" or Asian "salt and pepper fried squid" forms in various establishments, often served as a bar snack, street food, or starter. Squid can be prepared for consumption in a number of other ways. In Korea and Japan, it is sometimes served raw, and elsewhere it is used as sushi, sashimi and tempura items, grilled, stuffed, covered in batter, stewed in gravy and served in stir-fries, rice, and noodle dishes. Dried shredded squid is a common snack in some Asian regions, including East Asia. Use The body (Mantle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within city limits,Barcelona: Población por municipios y sexo – Instituto Nacional de Estadística. (National Statistics Institute) its urban area extends to numerous neighbouring municipalities within the province of Barcelona and is home to around 5.3 million people, making it the fifth most populous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maize
Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native Americans planted it alongside beans and squashes in the Three Sisters polyculture. The leafy stalk of the plant gives rise to male inflorescences or tassels which produce pollen, and female inflorescences called ears. The ears yield grain, known as kernels or seeds. In modern commercial varieties, these are usually yellow or white; other varieties can be of many colors. Maize relies on humans for its propagation. Since the Columbian exchange, it has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with the total production of maize surpassing that of wheat and rice. Much maize is used for animal feed, whether as grain or as the whole plant, which can either be baled or made into the more palatable silage. Sugar-rich varieties called sw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New World
The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 33: "[16c: from the feminine of ''Americus'', the Latinized first name of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512). The name ''America'' first appeared on a map in 1507 by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, referring to the area now called Brazil]. Since the 16th century, the term "New World" has been used to describe the Western Hemisphere, often referred to as the Americas. Since the 18th century, it has come to represent the United States, which was initially colonial British America until it established independence following the American Revolutionary War. The second sense is now primary in English: ... However, the term is open to uncertainties: ..." The term arose in the early 16th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tomato
The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originated from and was domesticated in western South America. It was introduced to the Old World by the Spanish in the Columbian exchange in the 16th century. Tomato plants are vines, largely Annual plant, annual and vulnerable to frost, though sometimes living longer in greenhouses. The flowers are able to self-fertilise. Modern varieties have been bred to ripen uniformly red, in a process that has impaired the fruit's sweetness and flavor. There are thousands of cultivars, varying in size, color, shape, and flavor. Tomatoes are attacked by many insect pests and nematodes, and are subject to diseases caused by viruses and by mildew and blight fungi. The tomato has a strong savoury umami flavor, and is an important ingredient in cuisines around ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capsicum
''Capsicum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the Solanum, nightshade family Solanaceae, native to the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their edible fruit, which are generally known as "peppers" or "capsicum". Chili peppers grow on five species of ''Capsicum''. Bell peppers, Sweet or bell peppers and some chili peppers are ''Capsicum annuum'', making it the most cultivated species in the genus. History ''Capsicum'' is native to South America and Central America. These plants have been evolving for 17 million years. It was domesticated and Mesoamerican agriculture, cultivated at least since 3000 BC, as evidenced by remains of chili peppers found in pottery from Puebla and Oaxaca. Etymology and names The generic name may come from Latin , meaning 'box', presumably alluding to the pods; or possibly from the Greek language, Greek word , , 'to gulp'. The name ''pepper'' comes from the similarity of piquance (spiciness or "heat") of the flavor to that of black pepper, ''Piper ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microclimate
A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square meters or smaller (for example a raised-bed gardening, garden bed, underneath a rock, or a cave) or as large as many square kilometers. Because climate is statistics, statistical, which implies Spatial analysis, spatial and temporal variation of the mean values of the describing parameters, microclimates are identified as statistically distinct conditions which occur and/or persist within a region. Microclimates can be found in most places but are most pronounced in topographically dynamic zones such as mountainous areas, islands, and coastal areas. Microclimates exist, for example, near bodies of water which may cool the local atmosphere, or in heavy urban areas where brick, concrete, and Asphalt concrete, asphalt absorb the sun's energy, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Potato
The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United States to southern Chile. Genetic studies show that the cultivated potato has a single origin, in the area of present-day southern Peru and extreme northwestern Bolivia. Potatoes were domesticated there about 7,000–10,000 years ago from a species in the '' S. brevicaule'' complex. Many varieties of the potato are cultivated in the Andes region of South America, where the species is indigenous. The Spanish introduced potatoes to Europe in the second half of the 16th century from the Americas. They are a staple food in many parts of the world and an integral part of much of the world's food supply. Following millennia of selective breeding, there are now over 5 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (50927 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC476 AD) until the fall of the western empire. Ancient Rome began as an Italic peoples, Italic settlement, traditionally dated to 753 BC, beside the River Tiber in the Italian peninsula. The settlement grew into the city and polity of Rome, and came to control its neighbours through a combination of treaties and military strength. It eventually controlled the Italian Peninsula, assimilating the Greece, Greek culture of southern Italy (Magna Graecia) and the Etruscans, Etruscan culture, and then became the dominant power in the Mediterranean region and parts of Europe. At its hei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
