{{Short description|Appetiser or snack in Spanish and international cuisine}} {{About|the Spanish dish|the Filipino cured beef or pork dish|Tapa (Filipino cuisine)|the Indian religious/spiritual practice| Tapas (Indian religions)|other uses|Tapa (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox food | name = Tapas | image = TapasenBarcelona.JPG | image_size = 300px | caption = Tapas in Barcelona, Spain | alternate_name = | country = Spain | region = | creator = | course = Appetiser or snack | type = | served = Hot or cold | main_ingredient = Various | minor_ingredient = | variations = }} [[File:Madrid-Plaza Mayor-Tapas bar.jpg|thumb|right | Tapas bar and restaurant at Plaza Mayor, Madrid]]
'''Tapas''' ({{IPA|es|ˈtapa|lang}}) 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 {{lang|es|chopitos}}, which are battered, fried baby squid; or {{lang|es|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 {{lang|es|bocas}}. In parts of Mexico, similar dishes are called ''botanas''.
An individual appetizer (or single order of an item) is a {{lang|es|tapa}}.
== History == The word "''tapas''", a plural, is derived from the Spanish verb ''tapar'', "to cover".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livinglanguage.com/blog/2012/03/20/tapas-the-little-dishes-of-spain/|title=Tapas, the Little Dishes of Spain|date=20 March 2012|website=Living Language|language=en-US|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503042918/https://www.livinglanguage.com/blog/2012/03/20/tapas-the-little-dishes-of-spain/|archive-date=3 May 2018|access-date=2018-05-02}}</ref> There are multiple theories about the origin of the use of the term for appetizers.
Tapas have evolved through Spanish history by incorporating new ingredients and influences. Most of the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Romans in 218<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en/espana/historyandculture/Paginas/index.aspx#:~:text=The%20first%20modern%20humans%20settled,continue%20to%20be%20felt%20today | title=History and Culture of Spain }}</ref> B.C., who introduced more extensive cultivation of the olive and irrigation methods following their arrival.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spanish-food.org/spanish-food-history-olive-and-olive-oil.html|title=History of Olive and Olive Oil|website=Spanish Food|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201074453/http://www.spanish-food.org/spanish-food-history-olive-and-olive-oil.html|archive-date=2018-02-01|access-date=2018-01-16}}</ref> 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.{{fact|date=August 2023}}
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.concursonacionaldetapas.com|title=Concurso nacional e internacional de pinchos y tapas ciudad de Velladolid|language=es|trans-title=National and international contest of skewers and tapas city of Velladolid|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517025903/http://www.concursonacionaldetapas.com/|archive-date=17 May 2014|access-date=2019-01-02}}</ref> Interest in this event outside of Spain spurred the International School of Culinary Arts<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.internationalschoolofculinaryarts.com|title=International School of Culinary Arts|website=International School of Culinary Arts|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106021837/http://www.internationalschoolofculinaryarts.com/|archive-date=6 November 2017}}</ref> to hold an International Tapas Competition for Culinary Schools, starting in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.escuelainternacionaldecocina.com/en/noticias/concurso-internacional-de-tapas/|title=4th International Culinary Schools Tapas Competition 2012|date=25 July 2012|website=Escuela Internacional de Cocina|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120731051352/http://www.escuelainternacionaldecocina.com/en/noticias/concurso-internacional-de-tapas/|archive-date=2012-07-31|access-date=2012-08-09}}</ref> Various schools from around the world come to Spain annually to compete in it for the best tapa concept.{{Cn|date=December 2024}}
== Origin == Though the primary meaning of ''tapa'' is cover or lid, in Spain it has also become a term for this style of appetiser. The origin of this meaning and style of food is uncertain, but there are several theories purporting to explain it.
The tapas tradition may have begun when King Alfonso X of Castile (1221–1284) recovered from an illness by drinking wine with small dishes between meals. After regaining his health, the king ordered that taverns would not be allowed to serve wine to customers unless it was accompanied by a small snack or "tapa".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arrakis.es/~jols/tapas/historin.html|title=The History of Tapas|last=Fadón|first=Y.V.|date=1999|website=El mudo de las Tapas, The World of Tapas in Spain|others=Translated by Madeleine Lewis, 2005|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622060705/http://www.arrakis.es/~jols/tapas/historin.html|archive-date=2012-06-22|access-date=2012-06-24}}</ref>
Another popular and more modern explanation says that King Alfonso XIII (1886–1941) stopped by a famous tavern in Cádiz (an Andalusian city) where he ordered a glass of wine. The waiter covered the glass with a slice of cured ham before offering it to the king, in order to protect the wine from the blowing beach sand, as Cádiz is a windy place. The king, after drinking the wine and eating the ham, ordered another wine ''con la tapa'' ("with the cover").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.erroreshistoricos.com/curiosidades-historicas/origen/183-el-origen-de-las-tapas-y-alfonso-xiii.html|title=El origen de las Tapas y Alfonso XIII|website=ErroresHistoricos.com|language=es|trans-title=The origin of the Tapas and Alfonso XIII|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122204344/http://erroreshistoricos.com/curiosidades-historicas/origen/183-el-origen-de-las-tapas-y-alfonso-xiii.html|archive-date=2010-11-22|access-date=2011-01-17}}</ref> The popular American cookbook ''Joy of Cooking'' offers a similar explanation,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/joyofcooking00romb_0|title=Joy of Cooking|last1=Rombauer |first1=Irma S.|date=2006|last2=Becker |first2=Marion Rombauer |last3=Becker |first3=Ethan |others=illustrated by John Norton |isbn=0743246268|location=New York |publisher=Scribner|oclc=71800771|url-access=registration}}</ref> but in this version the meat was used by sherry drinkers in Andalusian taverns to prevent fruit flies from hovering over their sherry. The meat used 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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Casas|first=Penelope|title=Tapas : the little dishes of Spain|date=2007|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|isbn=978-0-307-26552-4|edition=Rev. & updated|location=New York|pages=xv|chapter=Introduction|oclc=70176935}}</ref> The tapas eventually became as important as the sherry.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Art of Tapas |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-art-of-tapas-real-academia-de-gastronomia-española/PgVBYxo9U4OsKg?hl=en |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=Google Arts & Culture |language=en}}</ref>
A third theory holds that in pre-19th-century Spain few innkeepers at ''posadas'', ''albergues'' or ''bodegas'' offering meals and rooms for travellers could write but few travellers could read, so guests were offered a sample of the dishes available on a "tapa" (“pot cover” in Spanish).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Plunkett-Hodge|first=Kay|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/tapas-and-beer/history-of-tapas/|title=The history of the Spanish tapas|date=1 July 2016|work=The Telegraph|access-date=2018-05-02|url-status=live|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104010149/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/tapas-and-beer/history-of-tapas/|archive-date=4 November 2018}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite episode|title=Reconquest|series=Blood and Gold: The Making of Spain with Simon Sebag Montefiore|network=BBC Four|date=15 December 2015|number=2|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06s5x0t|access-date=2018-10-15|last=Sebag Montefiore|first=Simon|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111135350/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06s5x0t|archive-date=11 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>{{better citation needed|date=May 2020}}
== See also == {{Portal|Spain|Food}} * List of tapas * List of hors d'oeuvre * Cicchetti * Meze * Pincho
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{Wiktionary}} * [http://gospain.about.com/od/fooddrink/qt/tapas.htm About.com Guide to Tapas in Spain.] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820013456/http://gospain.about.com/od/fooddrink/qt/tapas.htm |date=2011-08-20 }}) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070226122225/http://www.arrakis.es/~jols/tapas/index.html El mundo de las Tapas.] History and recipes in Spanish and English * [https://web.archive.org/web/20180308041326/http://www.mightypen.nyc/humor/tapa-tells-all Tapa Tells All]
{{Spain topics}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Tapas Category:Hors d'oeuvres Category:Drinking culture Category:Serving and dining Category:Spanish cuisine