Cooking Spanish foods today is still very much a traditional affair. The essence of Spanish foods is simplicity and subtlety. The new Spanish cuisine is more about how ingredients and flavorings are blended than the way a meal is presented. The new cuisine is a fusion of traditional Spanish cooking and any contemporary inspiration. Of course, cuisine fusion is not a new thing. Cuisines have always been fused and developed according to the global movements of cultures.

Many ingredients now used in Spanish cooking were introduced by other cultures: Phoenician and Greek, Roman and Moorish. There are elements introduced by the Romans and, most importantly, following the discover of the New World, the Spanish cuisine was infused with potatoes, tomatoes, chocolate, beans, chilli, and citrus fruits. Spanish food is spicy and rich. At times, the Spanish cuisine reminds one of Arabia, with its rich use of cumin and honey. Other times, Spanish cuisine reminds one of the Americas, with its dishes blending meat and chocolate.

All the traditional foods of Spain are still very popular today. Spanish favorites include salted cod or Bacalao, white sausage or Butifarra, sausage with garlic and paprika or Chorizo. Paella, a saffron-flavored soup dish of rice, shellfish and chicken is a much-loved Spanish classic.

But the quintessential Spanish eating experience is the tapas bar. Tapas are small entre-like dishes, which include dips, cheese, marinated olives, vegetable dishes, and canaps brushed with tomato, and potato chunks or slices cooked with eggs in olive oil. The Mediterranean peoples always accompany their alcohol with food and so tapas are always served in bars and are the perfect accompaniments to a good dry or sweet Mediterranean wine.

Dylan Miles, journalist, and website builder, lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of www.babyandbeyond.info on which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.