After living in Spain for five months, it has come to my attention that Spanish people think quite badly of English food. They all seem to know friends who have been to the UK and slated the food we eat. Well the battle is on! Let’s see who wins this food war between nations.
Round 1: Soup
Spain’s typical soup is gazpacho, a cold tomato soup made with red peppers and cucumber, blended into a smooth liquid. It’s nice on a hot day to refresh your body and drink something cool. I find it really thin though and not creamy.
It doesn’t beat a good tin of Heinz cream of tomato soup; a warm, tasty dish that is perfect for those cold winter evenings that we are experiencing right now. C’mon England!
England 1 – 0 Spain
Round 2: Fruit
English fruit is not the best, I will admit this. Due to our climate, the main fruits we are able to grow are apples and pears. There are many varieties of English apples and they are used to make cider.
Spain has a warm Mediterranean climate, perfect for growing many types of fruits. The best fresh figs, watermelons, oranges and peaches I have tasted have been grown on Spanish land. Spain, you win this round.
England 1 – 1 Spain
Round 3: Cheese
With Christmas around the corner, it’s time to get the cheese boards out and I am dying to get my teeth into some Wensleydale with cranberry. There are over 700 types of British cheese including cheddars, soft, blue and fresh cheeses. Served on top of a cream cracker, yum!
Spanish cheese is also very varied depending on the region, the most renowned being cheese from La Mancha: a hard yellow cheese with a buttery texture. The grilled white goats’ cheese from La Palma served with spicy mojo is also divine. It’s a hard decision but the English cheeses that have fruits inside them are unbeatable. Spain, try again.
England 2 – 1 Spain
Round 4: Street food
Sometimes we all fall into temptation when we see a donut van in the city centre. Warm, sweet, fried goodness covered in sugar are great for a sugar rush whilst shopping.
The Spanish counterpart is called churros: long thin sticks of fried dough that are sprinkled with sugar and served with a cup of hot chocolate. These are also great if you need a bit of sugar and the hot chocolate to dip them in puts the icing on the cake. Well done Spain!
England 2 – 2 Spain
Round 5: Sunday lunch
A Sunday roast with all the trimmings is something I haven’t eaten in way too long. Despite it being a typical dish, it has many variations as you can choose the meat, different vegetables and whether you want your potatoes roasted, mashed or boiled. Topped off with some (ahhh) Bisto gravy… you know it’s a winner!
Spain doesn’t have a typical Sunday lunch but paella is very popular, especially in Valencia where I was living in the summer. Good paella is cooked in a huge paella dish and all the family gather around with a spoon in hand to eat from the same dish. Sharing food from the same plate isn’t something English people are used to and the etiquette of eating paella isn’t clear. It is a great dish when made properly with saffron but the English roast wins this round.
England 3 – 2 Spain
Round 6: Tea
Tea is a staple in many English people’s lives; a good cuppa can help solve problems, relax our minds and warm our hands at the same time! I’m sure we all have a kettle in our homes to make brewing a cuppa easy for tea drinkers to get their fix.
In Spain, tea is a trickier subject. A kettle is not a staple object in a Spanish kitchen, so to heat water you either have to boil it in a saucepan or heat a mug of water in the microwave which takes longer and is stressful. Due to the lack of kettles, Spain you can’t win on tea.
England 4 – 2 Spain
Round 7: Coffee
A cup of coffee to wake us up in the morning is standard in both the UK and Spain. In the UK, due to our kettles we usually drink freeze dried coffee at home and some kind of fancy latte or macchiato in Starbucks (which sets you back £3 depending on the size).
In Spain, people have coffee machines in their houses, either old style that you heat over a flame or the fancy plug-in electric ones. I think it tastes much nicer than Nescafe and if you go out for coffee in Spain it is much cheaper than in the UK. My favourite coffee to have in Spain is a cortado leche leche (double milk espresso): it has condensed milk at the bottom of the glass (yes, it’s served in a mini glass!), a shot of espresso and then topped off with warmed milk. It costs a euro and ticks every box on my list.
England 4 – 3 Spain
So there you have it, England is victorious in this HerCampus food war. Long live the Sunday roast and a good cuppa!
Photos writers own.
Edited by Luisa Parnell