8 thcentury
The Moors cultivated plants such as apricots, carob, quinces, almonds and pistachios.
Words such asnaranja(orange) andzanahoria(carrot) have Arabic roots.
1324
The first Spanish cookbooks came from Catalonia and were written in Catalan.
In 1324Libre de Sent Soviwas written, containing an assortment of Catalan recipes
as well as cooking techniques.
1519
Hernán Cortés conquered Mexico: chocolate, tomatoes, vanilla, turkey and chillies
were introduced to Europe.
1520
Rupert de Nola produced the first printed cookbook:Libre del cochis filled with
Mediterranean-style recipes.
19 thcentury
Olive oil, promoted in cookery books like Angel Muro’s famousEl Practicón(1894),
began to replace lard as the dominant cooking fat around Spain.
Second half 20thcentury
Spain developed the DO system of classification, notching up more than 100 protected
foodstuffs.
1970s and 80s
Basque chefs influenced by Frenchnouvelle cuisinecreatednueva cocina vasca,a
lighter version of stout peasant food. Within a few years the rest of Spain has
followed suit.
2007
Ferran Adrià’s visionary cooking earns el Bulli the Best Restaurant in the World title
for a third year.
Spanish food: key dates
267
- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
“HE’S DOING THE
MOST EXCITING
THINGS IN OUR
PROFESSION
TODAY.”
French gastro god Paul
Bocuse ponders the
talents of Ferran Adrià
The good book
The accepted bible of
Spanish food is 1080 ,
a name which hints at
the number of recipes
contained within. Over a
million copies have been
sold since it first found
print 30 years ago. The
book was translated into
English for the first time
in 2007.
