Today we will explore the Spanish gastronomy, by learning about food named after people.
Take a look at the blog of our Spanish school, El Rincón del Tándem, and discover the history and origins of some popular dishes and cakes. 😊
Today we are goign to learn more Spanish words, or, to better say some food’s name that are also people’s name.
So, let’s read together the history that lies behind these curious names.
Magdalena
The magdalena is a sort of cupcake that Spanish usually has for breakfast or in the afternoon as a snack.
There are two different stories about the origins of its name.
One version explain that the Polish King Stanislaw Leszcynski, ruling over the French city of Commercy, was delighted by this cake and named it after the young servant who made it, in 1755. The servant’s name was Madeleine Pulmier and she was a maid at the marchioness Perrotin de Beaumont’s, who used to host the King during his stay in Commercy.
The second version says the magdalenas went popular thanks to a young girl, Magdalena, that used to sell them in the Cammino de Santiago.
Galleta María
The galleta María is probably the most popular biscuit in Spani. The Marie biscuits have a round shape, they are are made of quite simple ingredients and on one side have the name Maria at the centre of a fretwork.
The Marie biscuit was produced for the very first time in London, in 1874, by James Peek and George Hender Frean. Both were pastry chefs and owners of the Peak, Frean & Co Factory in London.
Peek and Frean came up with this sweet creation to commemorate the marriage between María Alxandrovna of Russia and the Duke of Edinburgh. Therefore, the biscuit was named after the Duchess María.
Clementinas
This type of tangerine comes from common mandarin and a sweet orange. The fruit was named after Father Clément Rodier, who discovered and identify for the first time in 1890 this new fruit on a three in the garden of the orphanage he was working at, in Oran (Algeria).
Nachos
This food, maybe on the most representative of the Mexican gastronomy in the world, was named after the Mexican cook, Ignacio Anaya (Nacho) in Piedras Negra.
It is said that in 1943, some Northern American soldiers’ wives entered Nacho’s restaurant (El Moderno) to have lunch. Since the kitchen was already closed, Ignacio rustled up a dish, made of corn pancakes (tortillas de maíz), cheese and jalapeño peppers.
Since then, the popularity of this delicious food has grown steadily all over the world…
Pionono
The origins of this small sponge cakes date back to 1897 when Ceferino Isla, the owner of the patisserie Casa Isla in Santa (Granada), invented it as a tribute to Pope Pio IX.
Pio X was the Pope who promulgate the dogma of the Imacuate Conception, on the 8th of December of 1854. Since Ceferino Isla was very devoted to the Virgin, he named these cakes after the Pope.
Pepito
Pepito is a bocadillo with a fried or grilled beef fillet.
In 1933, Chef and cuisine historian Teodoro Bardají Mas explained in an article that the name of this bocadillo came from José Fornos (Pepito), one of the sons of the popular Café Fornos’s owner, in Madrid.
The story tells that the cook was asked by Pepito to prepare a hot sandwich instead of the cold one he was used to have as a snack. Since then, pepito has turned into a very popular almuerzo, especially in Madrid and Andalucia.
We hope that you enjoyed this short explanation on food named after people.
If you want to know more about the Spanish cuisine, habits or Spanish words, take a look at our previous post on Spanish typical breakfast or the one explaining the difference between Sabor vs Gusto.
Finally, we remind you that our Spanish school, El Rincón del Tándem, keeps providing Spanish lessons in a cosy and friendly space.
If you want to study Spanish in Valencia, take a look at the list of our Spanish courses 😊
¡Hasta pronto!
