The delicious little nibbles we now know as Tapas have a long history. These little dishes, usually eaten with wine, have been enjoyed in the bars and cafes of Spain for centuries. Several stories abound about how they first came to be. Tapa means ‘to cover’ and one theory suggests that a Spanish tavern owner may well have ‘covered’ a glass of poor quality wine with a saucer holding some strong smelling cheese or perhaps some olives, to distract his customers from the taste of the wine. Another says barmen began to realise that if they covered a glass of sherry with a piece of chorizo, olives or other snack, the salty taste would inevitably make the customer drink more.
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Jun