Hey everyone! For those of you who may not have noticed yet, I have changed the location of my blog. For the new blog, where all future posts will be posted, please go to:
http://lapommeespagnole.com/
Hope you like the new design!
June 13, 2010
April 16, 2010
Jamón
After a week of being sick, I'm finally up out of bed, ready to write about some yummy goodness!
If there is one food that Spaniards are really really really proud of, it's their jamón. Jamón is the spanish word for ham. However, do not mistake this as plain old deli meat that you'd put in your kid's ham and cheese sandwhich. This is no regular ham that you would buy in a North American grocery store. The Spanish jamón is a dry-cured ham which tastes absolutely delicious. I suppose you could compare it to the Italian prosciutto, but any Spaniard would die if they heard that. The Spanish version is much saltier and has a very different texture. It also has a very unique, and much more intense, flavour than prosciutto.
Jamón is bought by the leg. What leg? The leg of a pig of course! While you can find sliced jamón in grocery stores, and you can even buy a few yummy slices at a market, the traditional thing to do is to buy the entire leg. It even comes with the hoof and the little tiny hairs on the ankle. You are all saying "ew" right now aren't you? That's ok, the first time I entered by boyfriend's parents' house and saw the giant pig's leg sitting in the kitchen, I let out a little yelp. Then I refused to enter the kitchen again. Buuut once I'd been given a few slices of that jamón, and realized how amazing it was, I agreed to go back into the kitchen and take a look at it. It wasn't so bad. Actually, it's quite impressive. This large piece of meat sits in a special stand on the counter for months, and just keeps getting better as time goes on. Although I do not recomend buying this if you don't have a large family to feed (it's quite a bit of food) it is traditional in Spain to buy one for the christmas season and share it with the friends and family who stop by.
Jamón serrano comes from the regular everyday pink (or white) porc. There is a difference, but its hard to describe. I'd say the most notable thing is the texture. It's closer to proscuitto in the sense that its got a bit more fat, but I honestly have not been able to taste a big difference. Maybe that's because I've never had the best of the best jamón yet. Maybe one day a rich man will offer me a leg of first grade jamón iberico. Until then, I'm going to have to settle for my slices of plain old jamón. Not that that's settling at all, this stuff is amazing!! And to top it all off, spaniards say that the fat from the jamon is the good kind of fat (whatever that means) and Spanish grandmothers swear that is actually a very healthy thing to eat! Hooray!
If there is one food that Spaniards are really really really proud of, it's their jamón. Jamón is the spanish word for ham. However, do not mistake this as plain old deli meat that you'd put in your kid's ham and cheese sandwhich. This is no regular ham that you would buy in a North American grocery store. The Spanish jamón is a dry-cured ham which tastes absolutely delicious. I suppose you could compare it to the Italian prosciutto, but any Spaniard would die if they heard that. The Spanish version is much saltier and has a very different texture. It also has a very unique, and much more intense, flavour than prosciutto.
Jamón is bought by the leg. What leg? The leg of a pig of course! While you can find sliced jamón in grocery stores, and you can even buy a few yummy slices at a market, the traditional thing to do is to buy the entire leg. It even comes with the hoof and the little tiny hairs on the ankle. You are all saying "ew" right now aren't you? That's ok, the first time I entered by boyfriend's parents' house and saw the giant pig's leg sitting in the kitchen, I let out a little yelp. Then I refused to enter the kitchen again. Buuut once I'd been given a few slices of that jamón, and realized how amazing it was, I agreed to go back into the kitchen and take a look at it. It wasn't so bad. Actually, it's quite impressive. This large piece of meat sits in a special stand on the counter for months, and just keeps getting better as time goes on. Although I do not recomend buying this if you don't have a large family to feed (it's quite a bit of food) it is traditional in Spain to buy one for the christmas season and share it with the friends and family who stop by.
Image from : spanishtaste.es
Now, there are many different kinds of jamón. Many Spaniards debate on whether the serrano or the iberico jamón are better, but it depends on preference. What makes the jamón iberico so special (and so much more expensive) is that it comes from a special breed of black Iberian pig. The quality of the jamón depends entirely on what the pig eats, and how much it exercises. The best of the best (which can cost up to 1500 euros per leg) comes from a pig who has been allowed to roam freely in a special forest of acorn trees, eating acorns (and ONLY acorns) all day. The next level down comes from a pig who has been allowed to run around a bit, but has been fed a mixture of acorns and grains. The cheapest Iberico comes from a pig who is not free, and who is only grain-fed, no acorns. Poor pig.Jamón serrano comes from the regular everyday pink (or white) porc. There is a difference, but its hard to describe. I'd say the most notable thing is the texture. It's closer to proscuitto in the sense that its got a bit more fat, but I honestly have not been able to taste a big difference. Maybe that's because I've never had the best of the best jamón yet. Maybe one day a rich man will offer me a leg of first grade jamón iberico. Until then, I'm going to have to settle for my slices of plain old jamón. Not that that's settling at all, this stuff is amazing!! And to top it all off, spaniards say that the fat from the jamon is the good kind of fat (whatever that means) and Spanish grandmothers swear that is actually a very healthy thing to eat! Hooray!
March 31, 2010
Churros con Chocolate
Ok, I'm going to start off the foodblog with one of the most typical foods of Spain: Churros.
Churros are fried dough similar to doughnuts, but made in very large spirals which are then cut into edible-sized pieces. In my opinion, while the churros themselves are very good, they wouldn't be nearly as delicious if they weren't served with the traditional "chocolate" (pronounced Choco-latte). This consists of some of Spain's best chocolate melted into a creamy warm drink that you can either eat with a spoon or use to dip your churros.
I first tasted churros in the Chocolatería San Gines. This place has been in Madrid for many many years, and rightly boasts the best chocolate in town. Some locals say you can find better churros elsewhere, but the chocolate is just so good it makes up for it. Not only is this chocolatería super cute, situated in the corner of a tiny cobblestone street, but its also very affordable. If you plan on going on a weekend though, be prepared to wait for a table. Its a pretty large place, but with a very big clientele. Saturday and Sunday mornings expect to see young people still wearing last night's party clothes having a snack before returning home after a long night out.
Once you've ordered your chocolate con churros, give the little receipt to a waiter, have a seat, and wait for him to bring the deliciousness to you. I suggest first having a spoonful of the chocolate to really appreciate its flavour and thickness all on its own, then dip a churro into it and enjoy the combination of the salty fried dough with the bitter-sweet and warm chocolate. Your tastebuds will thank you.
Churros are fried dough similar to doughnuts, but made in very large spirals which are then cut into edible-sized pieces. In my opinion, while the churros themselves are very good, they wouldn't be nearly as delicious if they weren't served with the traditional "chocolate" (pronounced Choco-latte). This consists of some of Spain's best chocolate melted into a creamy warm drink that you can either eat with a spoon or use to dip your churros.
I first tasted churros in the Chocolatería San Gines. This place has been in Madrid for many many years, and rightly boasts the best chocolate in town. Some locals say you can find better churros elsewhere, but the chocolate is just so good it makes up for it. Not only is this chocolatería super cute, situated in the corner of a tiny cobblestone street, but its also very affordable. If you plan on going on a weekend though, be prepared to wait for a table. Its a pretty large place, but with a very big clientele. Saturday and Sunday mornings expect to see young people still wearing last night's party clothes having a snack before returning home after a long night out.
Once you've ordered your chocolate con churros, give the little receipt to a waiter, have a seat, and wait for him to bring the deliciousness to you. I suggest first having a spoonful of the chocolate to really appreciate its flavour and thickness all on its own, then dip a churro into it and enjoy the combination of the salty fried dough with the bitter-sweet and warm chocolate. Your tastebuds will thank you.
March 30, 2010
Here it goes...
Ok, I've been putting off this first blog entry for long enough. I've now been living in Spain for almost 7 months... its time to get started! This blog will be about food. Why? Because food is my life. People who know me know that not only do I love to cook, eat and look at food, but that I am truly obsessed with just the thought of food! My other passion in life is traveling, and I combine both of my loves by visiting local markets and searching out yummy local food in every city I visit.
As I am now living in Madrid, I thought it would be interesting to document the interesting Spanish food that I encounter here. Spanish food not being easily available in Canada, I didn't really know what to expect. Since my arrival, I have absolutely fallen in love with Spanish cuisine. Its fantastic! It's simple, easy to eat, and has amazing flavours. Each region of Spain has very different flavours and styles of cooking. Lucky for me, I live in Madrid where, thanks to its central location, I have access to traditional dishes from all over the country.
So this is my blog. Read it, don't read it. I just want to be able to have some kind of reference to remember in 10 years what I saw, smelled and tasted during my stay in beautiful ESPAÑA¡
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