----- Original Message ----
From: Mac <M...@macwolfelee.plus.com>
To: Travel Spain <travelspain@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, May 5, 2008 4:54:22 PM
Subject: [travelspain] Local Specialities

When travelling in Spain (or anywhere) I like to sample the local food
and drink specialities (sometimes against my better judgement).  The
recent trip to Asturias and Cantabria was no exception.  Here are some
impressions (with scores out of 10!).

COCIDOS (9) Various stews/thick soups.  Usually delicious.  The sort
of thing I cook at home.
FABADA (7)  Asturian bean stew.  OK if you like beans (which I do) and
your digestion is used to them.  I wouldn't like to eat it every day,
though, as presumably the poorer people used to.  The token lump of
chorizo, morcilla, or anonymous meat doen't add much to the taste.
SIDRA (3) The most famous product of Asturias, I went into a sidraría
and ordered some.  It comes in large corked bottles which are shaken
to stir up the sediment, then poured from a great height into the
glass.  This seems to be sheer flummery, and I saw as much land on the
floor as in the glass. The taste was very disappointing, and totally
unlike any English cider I have tried;  a couple from Alicante next to
me in the bar were equally underwhelmed.  However, determined to give
it a chance, I went to another sidraría and ordered another.  Just the
same.  Two bottles of different makes bought in shops were sampled
after rolling around in the back of the car for a couple of days and
just managed to get the score up from 2 to 3.
ORUJO (0)  Gut-stripping firewater.  I asked the hostess of the posada
where I was staying if there were any local licores.  She produced an
unlabelled bottled from behind the bar and declared this to be 'el
mejor' and 'lo más puro'.  One small sip, and I was forced to smuggle
it upstairs and pour it down the sink.  I discovered later that there
are dozens of variations on this, flavoured and sweetened in various
ways.  They would need to be.

The Picos area is well-known for its many local cheeses.  Here are
three I tried:
QUESO AFUEGA'L PITU (5)  A pleasant soft cheese, but I incautiously
chose the red label version, which turned out to be flavoured with
pimentón (cayenne pepper), and was at the limits of my tolerance.
QUESO DE CABRA (3)  Goat cheese.  In this case, chalk and cheese are
not so different.  Iron rations for the hills.
QUESO DE CABRALES versión fuerte. (8) Wow! One of the strongest
cheeses I have ever tasted.  Looks like (and is) a primitive organism
which has emerged from a long period underground to terrorise the
senses.  Slightly gritty, with a strangely compelling earthy taste and
a smell that I identified as the inside of my dog's ears (this is not
a criticism).  I finished it off on the forecourt of the Santander
FEVE station, not daring to take it on the train.

I'm sure other people have tried local specialities, and can add their
experiences, to encourage or forewarn us.

¡Que aproveche!

Mac

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