Tapas, pintxos or banderillas? What is the difference? I will say that pintxos and tapas are mostly the same. In the Basque Country (Euskadi), originally we called any tapa that could be skewered on bread or pastry a pintxo. Now a pintxo is anything that is bite size.
A pintxo is a spike. These spikes help keep together whatever we want to put on a piece of bread. When you go to a pintxos bar you see a long counter full of different delicacies and you just grab a plate and fill it with what you want to eat. When it gets time to pay you count the toothpicks or spikes and pay the same for each one. Let's say every pintxo is one euro and you have ten toothpicks - that will be 10 euros. The tradition in the basque country is to meet your friends and go bar hopping, eat pintxos and drink. This is known as txikiteo, from the word txiki "small" for the size of the glasses and amount of wine "txikito" or beer "zurito."
Tapa, might come from the Spanish word "Tapar" to cover. Legend says that in the posadas and taverns of Andalusia and Castilla men would drink sherry or wine. In certain months of the year because of the hot weather there were flies so the men used to cover the earthware glasses with a piece of bread between sips. There are other legends but this one really makes sense to me. In some cities in Castilla León, León, Salamanca; In Castilla la Mancha Almagro; In Madrid and in Andalusia, Granada when you order a drink they bring you a free tapa, isn't that nice?
The "Tortilla de patatas" or "Spanish omelette" can be a tapa or a pintxo.
Banderillas are the spears used in the bullfight. One end has the spear and the other ruffled paper of different colors. The banderillas in bars usually have a vegetable or fish preserved in vinaigrette or olive oil. The most famous banderilla probably is one named "Gilda" after the movie of the same name. When the movie arrived to be shown in Spain the censor considered the scene where Rita Hayworth took off her arm length glove to be very "picante" so he cut several scenes. The "Gilda" has guindilla (a hot green pepper) and a couple of anchovy stuffed olives, both preserves. Other banderillas include skewers of midget pickles, onions, red pepper, anchovies stuff olives or tuna but no bread.
A pintxo is a spike. These spikes help keep together whatever we want to put on a piece of bread. When you go to a pintxos bar you see a long counter full of different delicacies and you just grab a plate and fill it with what you want to eat. When it gets time to pay you count the toothpicks or spikes and pay the same for each one. Let's say every pintxo is one euro and you have ten toothpicks - that will be 10 euros. The tradition in the basque country is to meet your friends and go bar hopping, eat pintxos and drink. This is known as txikiteo, from the word txiki "small" for the size of the glasses and amount of wine "txikito" or beer "zurito."
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| Pintxo with the spike |
Tapa, might come from the Spanish word "Tapar" to cover. Legend says that in the posadas and taverns of Andalusia and Castilla men would drink sherry or wine. In certain months of the year because of the hot weather there were flies so the men used to cover the earthware glasses with a piece of bread between sips. There are other legends but this one really makes sense to me. In some cities in Castilla León, León, Salamanca; In Castilla la Mancha Almagro; In Madrid and in Andalusia, Granada when you order a drink they bring you a free tapa, isn't that nice?
The "Tortilla de patatas" or "Spanish omelette" can be a tapa or a pintxo.
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| Tapa over a slice of bread, with a spike becomes a pintxo |
Banderillas are the spears used in the bullfight. One end has the spear and the other ruffled paper of different colors. The banderillas in bars usually have a vegetable or fish preserved in vinaigrette or olive oil. The most famous banderilla probably is one named "Gilda" after the movie of the same name. When the movie arrived to be shown in Spain the censor considered the scene where Rita Hayworth took off her arm length glove to be very "picante" so he cut several scenes. The "Gilda" has guindilla (a hot green pepper) and a couple of anchovy stuffed olives, both preserves. Other banderillas include skewers of midget pickles, onions, red pepper, anchovies stuff olives or tuna but no bread.
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| These are the famous "Gildas" |
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