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 chopitos, which are battered, fried baby squid; or patatas bravas, 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 bocas. In parts of Mexico, similar dishes are called botanas. An individual appetizer (or single order of an item) is a tapa.
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 Spanish).
In another theory, offered by the Joy of Cooking, the original tapas were thin slices of bread or meat which sherry drinkers in Andalusian taverns used to cover their glasses between sips. This was a practical measure meant to prevent fruit flies from hovering over the sweet sherry (see below for more explanations). The meat used to cover the sherry was normally ham or chorizo, which are both very salty and activate thirst. Because of this, bartenders and restaurant owners created a variety of snacks to serve with sherry, thus increasing their alcohol sales. The tapas eventually became as important as the sherry.
Tapas have evolved through Spanish history by incorporating new ingredients and influences. Most of the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Romans in 218 B.C., who introduced more extensive cultivation of the olive and irrigation methods following their arrival. The discovery of the New World brought the introduction of tomatoes, sweet and chili peppers, maize (corn), and potatoes, which were readily accepted and easily grown in Spain’s microclimates.
It has also been claimed that tapas originated in the south of Spain during the time of the Spanish Inquisition as a means of publicly identifying conversos, Jews who had converted to Christianity. Since tapas often consist in part of ham or other non-kosher foodstuffs, the reluctance of the conversos to eat whatever tapas dish was offered to them could be taken as a tacit admission that they had not abandoned their Jewish faith, thus tapas were a tool of the Spanish Inquisition.
There are many tapas competitions throughout Spain. Beginning in 2005 the city of Valladolid in Northwest Spain has hosted a national tapas competition each November.Interest in this event outside of Spain spurred the International School of Culinary Arts to hold an International Tapas Competition for Culinary Schools, starting in 2009. Various schools from around the world come to Spain annually to compete in it for the best tapa concept.
