What to Bring Back from Spain?
Spain, a country full of passion, flamenco, sunshine and superb food specialties. Every time I come back from Spain, I bring a huge haul of local delicacies - cured jamón, chorizo, excellent Spanish cheeses or my favorite sweet cookies, polvorónes.
So what are my picks for the best food souvenirs from Spain?
Spanish Cured Ham Jamón de Cebo Ibérico
Cured ham is the most prestigious and sought-after Spanish delicacy. The label "Ibérico" refers to Iberian pigs - one of the oldest breeds in the world, with a genetic profile that lets them store large amounts of fat right in the muscle. That's the key to the characteristic flavor. The leg is then cured slowly and carefully, often for several years. The result is a tender, slightly sweet delicacy eaten in very thin slices.
This pack pairs the ham with chorizo and salchichón sausages and slices of marinated pork loin (caña lomo cebo ibérico). Products from Iberian pigs cost more, but they're worth trying at least once - the flavor really is richer and more interesting. The meat in this pack was aged for at least 24 months.
Price for a 200 g pack of mixed Iberian pork delicacies: 5.95 EUR
Spanish Cured Ham Jamón Serrano
The word "Serrano" comes from the Spanish "sierra", meaning mountain or mountain ridge. The name of Spain's best known and most affordable ham can therefore be translated as "mountain ham". It refers to the tradition of aging at high altitudes, where the cold, dry climate helps the process along.
Jamón Serrano is the most widespread type of ham in Spain. Unlike Ibérico, it's made from ordinary white pigs, ages for a shorter time and both its taste and texture are different - and still excellent. These days "Serrano" is used more as a marketing term and doesn't necessarily mean mountain aging.
Price for a 240 g pack of Jamón Serrano (aged 14 months): 3.88 EUR
Spanish Chorizo Sausage
Traditional Spanish chorizo sausage is known for its characteristic red color and bold flavor. It's one of the best known products of Spanish cuisine and it's popular all over the world. The base is pork meat and fat chopped into small pieces; the color and the spicy kick come from paprika. Other spices vary by regional recipe - this sausage follows the "chorizo Riojano" recipe from Rioja, a region best known for its wines.
Chorizo comes in many versions, from sweet to fiery. Some are meant to be eaten right away, others age for several months - aged chorizo is eaten as is, while fresh types have to be cooked. Chorizo turns up all over Spanish cooking and it's a fixture among tapas and pintxos.
Price for a whole chorizo sausage (when buying 2): 3 EUR
Price for a 100 g pack of sliced chorizo (spicy and mild alike): 1.66 EUR
Spanish Cheeses
Idiazabal is a local specialty from the Basque Country and Navarre in northern Spain. It's made from the milk of Latxa and Carranza sheep, breeds that thrive in the local mountains. Its unique flavor comes from traditional aging, during which the cheese is smoked over beech, hawthorn or cherry wood. Idiazabal cheese carries a Protected Designation of Origin (DOP), which guarantees strict standards and traditional methods. The piece I brought home had won a bronze medal at the World Cheese Awards - a delicacy I recommend trying.
Other well known Spanish cheeses include:
- Manchego: this cheese comes from La Mancha and is made from the milk of Manchega sheep. It ages for varying lengths of time, which gives it a texture anywhere from soft to brittle. Its flavor is nutty and slightly salty, and the longer it ages, the more pronounced it gets.
- Cabrales: a blue cheese from Asturias. It's made from cow's milk or a mix of cow's, sheep's and goat's milk, with a sharp, pungent flavor and a creamy texture.
- Tetilla: named after its shape, which resembles a woman's breast, this cheese comes from Galicia. It's made from cow's milk and has a mild, buttery flavor.
- Mahon: a cheese from the Balearic island of Menorca. Depending on its age, it tastes anywhere from mild to sharp, and it has a characteristic orange rind rubbed with paprika.
- Zamorano: a sheep's milk cheese from the province of Zamora, similar to Manchego but slightly crumbly and nutty - the result of a different sheep breed and a specific aging process.
- Roncal: a sheep's milk cheese from Navarre. It ages for at least 4 months, which gives it a robust flavor.
- Torta del Casar: a creamy, spreadable sheep's milk cheese from Extremadura with a slightly bitter edge.
I always bring back a few packs of sliced cheese as well. This particular one was made from a mix of cow's, sheep's and goat's milk.
Price for a 250 g pack of Idiazabal: 4.95 EUR
Price for a 300 g pack of sheep's milk cheese aged 12 months: 4.39 EUR
Price for a 330 g pack of sliced three-milk cheese: 4 EUR
Boquerones
In Spanish, "boquerones" means small fish - European anchovies, to be exact, cured in vinegar and salt and flavored with garlic and parsley. These marinated anchovies, strikingly white, are nothing like the anchovies you know from pizza or Caesar salad (compare them with the photo in the next section). In Spain, boquerones are a standard tapa.
Price for a pack of marinated boquerones: 1.99 EUR
Spanish Anchovies
Anchovies, "anchoas" in Spanish, are a symbol of Spain's rich culinary heritage and the pride of Spanish conservas. Salting and packing in oil gives them an intense flavor and a reddish-brown color, a world away from boquerones. I love anchovies, and if you feel the same, Spain is your promised land 😊 The good ones can get pricey: in the pintxos mecca of San Sebastián, two top-quality anchovies on a thin slice of white bread will set you back 4.50 EUR. An anchovy is, after all, the base of the most famous Basque pintxo of them all, the gilda.
Price for a three-pack of anchovies: 3 EUR
Pan de Higo con Almendra
Pan de Higo is a Spanish sweet made from ground dried figs, mixed with a blend of spices and sometimes given a splash of brandy or rum. It comes from Andalusia and Murcia. The "Almendra" version adds almonds for crunch. It shows up on Spanish tables mostly over the holidays, especially at Christmas, but it tastes just as good all year round. It pairs beautifully with cheese, Manchego above all. And it's a sweet that happens to be entirely vegan.
Price for a 200 g pack of Pan de Higo con Almendra: 3 EUR
Cocoa for Making Hot Chocolate
One of Spain's best known desserts is churros, fried pastry served with a cup of thick chocolate - it's also part of a typical Spanish breakfast. Spain was one of the first European countries to discover cocoa - the first beans arrived in the early 16th century after the discovery of the Americas, and the Spanish played a big part in popularizing chocolate across Europe. The hot chocolate that goes with churros has a thick, almost pudding-like consistency. So with winter evenings coming, I brought back cocoa made specifically for it.
Price for a 200 g pack of cocoa for hot chocolate: 2.69 EUR
Spanish Chocolate
The Spanish are seriously fond of chocolate, and churros are only part of the reason. This time I brought back chocolate from Valor, a Spanish chocolate maker in business since 1881. Neither bar has any added sugar - less than half a gram per 100 g, to be precise - so they'll please anyone keeping an eye on their sugar intake.
Price for a bar of Valor chocolate (both the 100 g with 85% cocoa and the 125 g with 70% cocoa): about 1.70 EUR
Spanish Mantecado Cookies
These crumbly cookies come from Andalusia in southern Spain. If you know shortbread, they'll feel familiar - the name "mantecado" comes from "manteca", Spanish for lard. Lard from Iberian pigs is the backbone of the recipe and it's what gives the cookies their uniquely fine texture. They remind me most of packed sand: press a little harder and the cookie falls apart into tiny grains, yet in your mouth it simply melts away. Mantecados are sold in beautifully decorated wrappers - and the wrapper is almost a necessity here, because these cookies really are fragile.
Price for a 190 g pack of mantecado cookies: 1.60 EUR
Spanish Polvorónes Cookies
Polvorónes are a special kind of mantecado. The name comes from the Spanish "polvo", meaning dust - and it nails exactly what these cookies are, because they fall apart at the lightest touch (I call it "sand"). Here almonds join the flour, sugar and lard, which makes polvorónes pricier than plain mantecado. Legend gives them Moorish roots - Spain's historical ties to the Muslim world are also why almonds turn up so often in Spanish sweets. The little cakes are wrapped individually in colored paper; the bright wrappers remind me of gueffus, a sweet from Sardinia. You'll run into polvorónes right by the supermarket entrance - they're often sold by weight, so you can pick exactly the flavor you like best.
What delicacies do you bring back from Spain?
