The History of Tapas
What are tapas:
The word “tapa” is an abbreviation of the word “tapadera” which means lid and in true Andalusian style it got abbreviated to the word “tapa”.
Tapas are a Spanish tradition that originated in the Andalucía region of Spain about 400 to 500 years ago. Tapas started as a slice of bread to be put on top of the glass/bottle of wine or beer to stop flies from getting into the drink and were given for free. Over time the tapa evolved and from just being a slice of bread, it then came with a slice of cured meat or cheese. If you were a special customer you would have got a prawn. In recent times the tapa has gone through a radical transformation and has moved from just being a slice of bread to cover your glass, it has become a dish on the side of the glass which is a delicious morsel of food for the customer to enjoy with their drink at the bar.
What are raciones:
Raciones are just an enlarged portion of a tapa, that lets people share and enjoy the food experience as it becomes more of a dining experience. They are normally served in 2 different sizes media ración y ración and the reason for serving it this way is so you can share more food depending how many people are at the table.
