C is for...

…Café con leche and chorizo

Move aside Starbucks. Step out of the way Second Cup. There’s no room for you here in Spain (unless a tourist is looking for you and in that case, they’re not really here to experience the culture!). Café con leche literally meaning coffee with milk is definitely the drink of choice here. And don’t think that you’re given the choice to add skim, 2% or cream to your coffee. Instead you’re given the option of caliente (hot) or templada (room temperature). In fact, many households are equipped with their very own milk warmer! Costing a mere 1.20€, it’s really the best deal in town. The Spaniards love their coffee break time and we’ve certainly embraced the pastime.

Another thing that we have embraced is their love for all things chorizo. Spanish chorizo is made from coarsely chopped pork and pork fat, seasoned with smoked pimentón (paprika) and salt. It is generally classed as either picante (spicy) or dulce (mild), depending upon the type of smoked paprika used. There are hundreds of regional varieties of Spanish chorizo, both smoked and unsmoked, which may contain garlic, herbs and other ingredients. Chorizo comes in short, long, hard and soft varieties. Some of which are suited to being eaten as an appetizer or tapas, whereas others are better suited to cooking. Leaner varieties are typically better suited to tapas, eaten at room temperature, whereas fattier versions are generally used for cooking. A general rule of thumb is that long, thin chorizos are sweeter and short chorizos are spicy, although this is not always the case. After one grocery trip, we had 5 different kinds of chorizo in our fridge! I know I’m definitely going to miss it when we return back to Canada.