Appetite for Spain growing, encouraged by great food and wonderful wines

MARINA ON THE COSTA BLANCA - DUSK IN AUGUST

The popularity of Spanish food and wines is on the up and up!

Surreptitiously Spanish food products have been taking up residence on the supermarket shelf. On a recent trip to my Irish supermarket I noticed a few new products nestling amongst the curry sauces and fajita mixes; paella seasoning, alioli, smoked paprika and patatas bravas sauce have made an appearance. Whilst olives and chorizo are now commonplace in the supermarket aisles we are definitely becoming more adventurous with our tastes and demanding products that five years ago would only have been available only at specialist delis.

Manchego cheese, quince paste, jamon Serrano, and yellow fin tuna are no longer on the hard to find list; Argos now stock paella pans. My mother-in-law makes chorizo and lentils. Our tastes have definitely changed and become increasingly more Mediterrean in style.

Benefits of Spain

Spain is still the holiday destination that most attracts us. Whilst the recession has bitten into many peoples’ holiday budgets, we still travel a whole lot more than our parents did. Spain was the number one holiday destination in 2011. Indeed, this year alone has seen almost 10% growth in visitor numbers, and is the fourth consecutive year of growth – with Spain on track to receive 57 million visitors before the end of the year.

Apart from the hours of sunshine, beautiful beaches and many attractions that Spain has to offer, the quality of life in Spain is hard to beat. A recent survey by Energy company uSwitch revealed that Spain came second in the list of countries with the highest quality of life, just beaten by France.  The UK sloped in miserably to last place! Amongst the many benefits highlighted by uSwitch were that life expectancy is higher, holidays are longer and even the alcohol is cheaper.

Spanish wine – extraordinary growth

On the topic of wine, Spain is the third largest producer worldwide and has 69 Wine Denominations of Origin, covering a surface area of 641,784 hectares. There are 165,943 wine growers and 6,355 wineries.  Impressive stuff! Not surprising then to hear that sales of Spanish wine are growing. Marks and Spencer report that sales have doubled in the last year, with Waitrose also seeing an increase of 40%. We’re definitely got the taste for the Spanish grapes and we want more.

American wine critic Robert M. Parker Jnr. predicts that Spanish wines will soon overtake French wines in popularity. His prediction is based on the fact that Spain still has many old-vine vineyards throughout the country, these valuable vines coupled with the introduction of new and modern wine making techniques is creating a formidable reputation in wine. He says that Spain will become a leader in “wine quality and creativity, combining the finest characteristics of tradition with a modern and progressive wine making philosophy” (Food and Wine Magazine, October 2004). He predicts that by 2015 the traditional areas of Spanish wine such as Rioja will be bypassed by the newcomers such as Toro, Jumilla and Priorat.

Spanish olive oil and saffron – dominant world production

Olive oil production is also big business in Spain, producing  44% of all the world’s olive oil, more than twice that of Italy and four times that of Greece. More than a quarter of Spain’s oil (10% of the total world production) comes from Jaen in the South. Another impressive fact: nearly three-quarters of the world’s saffron is grown in Spain.

Spanish cooking – celebrities and TV programmes

Perhaps another reason for our increased appetite for la comida española is the glut of Spanish cooking programmes. We’ve had Jamie Does Spain, Rick Stein’s Spain, and even Ferran Adrià (of the famous el Bulli restaurant) has released a cookbook aimed at family cooking rather than the experimental creations he is most known for. It took 3 years of research to come up with 93 family dishes, with the emphasis on good, healthy food at economical prices. It doesn’t hurt that visually those programmes are gorgeous to watch, the food is hearty and tasty whilst the scenery is awe inspiring.

Spanish food suddenly popular

One reason why Spanish food has become popular, perhaps, is the simplicity of it, compared with French cooking.  It isn’t technically complicated cooking and yet the regional variety of Spanish dishes is quite staggering. For indecisive people like me, eating tapas is heaven with an array of different dishes all at one time easily the best option.

Spain has had many different influences throughout its history. We can go back as far as the Romans to see their influence, with olives, olive oil, wine, and ham. The Moors introduced citrus fruits, eating dried fruit with meat, saffron, cinnamon and nuts, not to mention rice and paprika. No wonder the range of food is so vast and, with all of Spain’s other fine food products, it is an unbeatable recipe for success.

Health benefits of Spanish food

Not only is food in Spain tasty it is also good for your health. It has been known for many years that the Mediterranean diet is beneficial in lowering the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. It was also observed in a recent study that women who follow the diet are less likely to have problems conceiving, so it could be linked to better fertility.

And if that hasn’t convinced you, nothing will. Now excuse me whilst I just read my Spanish cook books and plan my next holiday… to Spain.

Louise Mee – Culture Spain