All About The Most Popular Spanish Tapas

If you visit Spain, you will find that Spanish ceramics are an important component of Spanish cuisine.  Throughout Spain, you will find that tapas are served in many restaurant bars.  Since I live and work in Spain, several people have asked me ..”What exactly are tapas?”  The simplest answer is that it is a size or portion of food that is like an appetizer.  In the States, restaurants serve large dishes of appetizers.  For example, a couple may share an appetizer of calamari over drinks, before eating dinner.

Fruit Bowls

In Spain, the portions of appetizers are much smaller usually.  So, you might be out in the evening with friends, and stop off in several bar restaurants.  In each of the places, beer (usually) is ordered, along with a tapa or two.  People share the tapas.  Forks, crackers or bread is provided.  While chatting, people drink beer or wine and snack on tapas.

Many times olives are served as an “attention” (free from the bar).  Normally, the olives are produced locally and have pits.  So it is necessary to have a special dish that holds the olives, but also leaves a space to put the pits.  In many instances these olive dishes are Spanish pottery produced in Andalusia.  Tapa dishes come in many sizes and shapes.  Typically, it is Spanish ceramics that measure approximately six inches across.  Some dishes are rectangular, some round and some square.

Many bar restaurants will develop a reputation for certain types of tapas.  Traditional tapas are serrano or Iberic ham, manchego cheese and olives.  Some restaurants will offer a variety of pork specialties, other will provide a range of vegetable based tapas, some offer only cold tapas, and other a mix of hot and cold.

In addition to tapas, many restaurants offer half and full portions.  So, when groups go out to eat and party together, many times 3 or 4 full portions are requested, which offer the group the equivalent of 1 tapa each of the different dishes.

If you visit Sevilla in Andalusia, - the province where a large portion of the most colorful Spanish ceramics are produced, you will find yourself in a historic city famous for the most bar restaurants per capita, in all of Spain.  There are a lot of bar restaurants!  The small, cobblestone streets are squeezed by outdoor cafes, with the tables and chairs spread out.  Many sites offer shade and even water misters during the hottest summer months.  In Sevilla, tapas are intertwined with life.  A typical day can involve a mid-morning breakfast at a cafe, then a tapa or two with a couple of beers after work before going home to a late supper and the family.

Along with olive and tapa dishes from the region, you can find many other tabletop pieces that are Spanish pottery.  Cruets, used for the olive oil and vinegar is an example.  Olive oil is used much like butter is in the States.  It is the first choice for toast, and it can be used just like butter on vegetables and cereal grain delights. 

Please consider Cactus Canyon Ceramics your source for wholesale Spanish ceramics.  We work directly with factories throughout Andalusia and Castilla de la Mancha.  We can match the factory with your requirements, and provide boots on the ground for quality control, production scheduling, shipping and invoicing.  We are your direct source for Spanish pottery.