Tapas

Slices of jamon or capocollo
Image courtesy of Amore Cucina

Tapas are small portions of hot or cold food.
[Las tapas son pequeñas porciones de comida caliente o fría.]

Many people believe this tradition started in Andalusia (a region of Southern Spain).
[Muchas personas piensan que esta tradición se inició en Andalucía (una región del sur de España).]

In Andalusia it is customary to “cover” the wine glass with a saucer to keep the flies out.
[En Andalucía se acostumbra “cubrir” la copa de vino con un plato para mantener las moscas.]

Originally, small, free tapas were served with drinks in bars.
[En el pasado, las pequeñas tapas, libres eran servidos con bebidas en bares.]

Tapas in Spanish, hors d’oeuvre in French, maza in Lebanese, in Greek mezze and in Italian antipasti. In English we say snack or nibbles with drinks.

The direct translation for tapa is a “lid” or a “cover”.  To “put a lid on hunger until dinner time” and “put a lid on the glass”.

Covering your wine glass with your plate frees one hand to eat while at the bar.
[Cubriendo su copa de vino con su plato libera una mano para comer, mientras que en el bar.]

A small tasty morsel of food is placed on the plate that is consumed with a drink.
[Un bocado de comida sabrosa se ​​coloca en el plato que se consume con una bebida.]

Tapas are bite size and easy to eat as finger food, no cutlery so as not to interrupt conversation.
[Las tapas son el tamaño de bocado y fácil de comer como comida para picar, sin cubiertos a fin de no interrumpir la conversación.]

In many small bars they are most often a piece of sliced, cold meat, such as cured ham or chorizo, or a piece of cheese.  Sometimes it could be a bowl of nuts or a few olives!
[En varios bares que son algo así como un pedazo de carne, como el jamón o chorizo ​​curado, o un pedazo de queso. A veces puede ser un plato de frutos secos o una aceituna o más!]

The way to enjoy tapas is go to several bars during an night drink wine or beer and eat tapas.
[La manera de disfrutar de las tapas es ir a varios bares durante una noche a beber vino o cerveza y comer tapas.]

Chefs in bars compete with each other to cook more interesting tapas and consist of a variety of small plates of food which are shared throughout the evening.
[Chefs en bares compiten entre sí para cocinar tapas más interesantes y se componen de una variedad de pequeños platos de comida que se comparten en toda la noche.]

olives, cheese, salami on a white plate with a glass of red wine
Image courtesy of Amore Cucina