Since I have been in Barcelona, I have been introduced to many new types of foods and various dishes that these foods are included in. One of the most important raw ingredients that I have noticed is the Spanish sausage chorizo. In one of my classes, Food as an Expression of Culture, I did a presentation on chorizo, so I would like to share the history of this Spanish necessity with you.

Chorizo is a pork-based sausage seasoned with garlic and paprika (Spanish call it piment�n). It is known for it�s red color, which can be attributed to the piment�n. It has been a part of Spanish culture for centuries, even before the red peppers that make the piment�n were brought to Spain from the Americas. Although recipes vary, all at least contain the same basic ingredients chopped pork, salt, piment�n, garlic, and white wine.

Pork has always been an important part of Spanish cuisine. Centuries ago, each family had their own pig. In the late autumn/early winter season, the pigs would be fed until they were ripely plump, until the time of the matanza. The matanza was when village families gathered together and slaughtered their pigs to make hams, sausages and other pork products. The hams would then be salted, and the rest of the pork was chopped together and fermented with spices for one to two days. Then the meat was stuffed into casings made from the intestine of the pig, tied into links, and hung in the drying room where the cool, dry outside air could circulate through gaps in the tiles and windows and draw out excess moisture from the sausages.

Nowadays industrial production is able to replicate the conditions of these mountain drying rooms, with constant temperatures and controlled humidity, so that chorizo and hams can be produced year-round in optimum conditions, but many of the best chorizo are still produced using the age-old artisan methods and hung in the traditional drying rooms in the mountain air to cure.

The length of time that the chorizo is cured for depends on the size of the sausages, and also depends on if the meat is to be cooked or eaten sliced. Small, soft chorizo (used for cooking) needed to be cured for about a week, and larger, thicker chorizo could take a couple of months to dry out.

Variations of chorizo include dry cured, fresh or �soft�cured, and semi-cured. Dry cured is intended to be sliced, and when purchased can be eaten immediately. Fresh cured, also known as �soft�chorizo, must be cooked before consumed. Semi-cured is not as cured as the dry one, and not raw like the fresh one, but it can be either consumed immediately or used for cooking.

I see chorizo in everything here. In my dorm, they serve it at breakfast with cheese, at lunch on sandwiches, on pizza, in tomato sauce, mixed in with vegetables, and so many more ways. They even have chorizo flavored chips! I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of pork, but I really do enjoy this Spanish sausage.

Location: Barcelona, Spain