Asturian cuisine facts for kids
Asturian cuisine is all about the delicious food and drinks from Asturias, a beautiful region in northern Spain. It's known for its fresh seafood, amazing cheeses, hearty stews, and a special apple cider.
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Tasty Foods from Asturias
Asturias is famous for its fresh seafood. You can find tasty things like fresh squid, crab, shrimp, and sea bass. Salmon are caught in Asturian rivers, especially the Sella. The very first salmon caught each season is called campanu. This name comes from the word for "bell" (campana), because a bell used to be rung to announce the first catch!
Amazing Cheeses
Asturias is often called "the land of cheeses" (el pais de los quesos). This is because it makes so many different kinds of high-quality cheeses. Cabrales is one of the most famous. It's known for its strong smell and bold flavor. Other popular Asturian cheeses include:
- Afuega'l pitu
- Quesu de los Beyos
- Casín cheese
- Gamonéu cheese
- La Peral cheese
Hearty Asturian Dishes
The most famous dish from Asturias is fabada Asturiana. This is a rich and filling stew. It's made with special large white beans called fabes de la Granja. Other ingredients include pork shoulder (llacón), morcilla (a type of sausage), chorizo (another sausage), and saffron (azafrán), which gives it a lovely color and flavor.
Other popular dishes you might find are beans with clams (fabes con almejas), Asturian stew, Cachopo (a big, breaded meat dish), frixuelos (like thin pancakes), and creamy rice pudding.
Special Asturian Drinks
Asturias has many apple trees, which are used to make its traditional alcoholic drink: natural cider (sidra). This cider is quite dry. Unlike ciders from other places, Asturian cider mostly uses sour apples, not sweet ones.
Sidra is poured in a very special way by an expert server called an escanciador. They hold the bottle high above their head. This helps to add air to the cider as it pours into the glass below. This makes the cider taste even better! Only a small amount, about 120ml, is poured at a time. This small pour is called a culín. You need to drink it right away before the bubbles disappear. Any cider left in the glass is usually poured onto the floor or into a special trough.
Images for kids
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Bollos preñaos
See also
In Spanish: Gastronomía de Asturias para niños
