Something about the food

Before arriving in Spain I had the impression I would be eating the richest foods with the best flavors. I let the idea of spicy Mexican food take over and substitute what I might find in Spain. However, in Spain you will not find the same kinds of foods you do in Mexico, regardless of sharing the same language.

Now I think back to life back home and wonder to myself why I thought the food would be similar? Had I ever even eaten traditional Spanish cuisine? The answer is no, one hundred times over. I thought Mexican food had an infusion and influence of Spanish food. Now I wonder where the Mexican cuisine originates from, because I’m not finding it in Spain.

Where is the spice and the flavor of the Mexican food I love? During the 1500s when the Spanish conquistadors invaded Mexico they introduced new things into the diet like olive oil, chicken, pigs, cattle, wheat, almonds, and more. I guess I assumed with the Spanish influence over Spain, maybe that influence would go both ways?

My host mother is originally from Spain and one night we bonded over our love for Mexican food. We talked about the mole and the spicy flavors. I wasn’t about to be rude and blurt out how Spanish food has no flavor, but I have a feeling she would agree. She cooks all her food from scratch, but yet it still lacks the flavor. She tells me because of the climate spicy peppers don’t grow here; so all the peppers are sweet.

Not only the blandness shocks me, but also the amount of pork products consumed in Spain. I thought that seafood would take pertinence over ham living so close to the ocean, but that’s not the case. Living with a particular family may influence the ham in take, but in my case ham is a priority.

I don’t think I’ve ever consumed so much pork in my entire life. Yet these observations have only been made in the Basque Country of Spain. Are there spicy peppers growing in the south of Spain? Maybe seafood is more important in other places along the coast. Maybe my household is not a good representation for the flavors of Spain. I’m basing these stereotypes on food in Spain on my own experience, nothing else.