• Geotoura
• Spain
• Lexicon
• B

Dried fish can look back on a long history. Even the Vikings valued it as provisions for long sea voyages. In earlier times, stockfish was used to supply ship crews and armies of soldiers on a massive scale. In the Middle Ages, when the conquest of America made it necessary to supply ship crews with non-perishable food, the long-established tradition of preserving fish with salt was revived. The fish was gutted on the ships, salted and only dried weeks later on the cliffs by the sea back home, which is why it is also known as cliff fish. Stockfish was originally dried on large wooden racks without being salted beforehand. Nevertheless, the term “stockfish” has also come to be used for salted dried fish. Starting in the Basque Country, bacalao became known throughout the country in the 16th century. The dried fish could be transported to all parts of the country without the need for special refrigeration equipment and was an important source of protein.

The stockfish mainly consumed in Spain (bacalao dorado, also known as bacalao nacional) comes from northern Canadian or Icelandic waters, among others. It must be stored at a maximum temperature of 6° C. Its tender meat has now become quite expensive, as cod stocks in the world’s oceans have declined sharply due to overfishing. Desalting’ is the most important part of the preparation. Depending on its thickness, bacalao must be soaked for 24 to 48 hours before use and the water must be changed at least twice. This causes it to swell almost back to its original size, but retains so much residual salt that it hardly needs to be seasoned at all.

Banderillas are sticks wrapped in coloured paper that have a barb at the end and are thrust in pairs into the bull’s neck muscles in the second phase of the bullfight.

The banderillero is part of the matador’s team. His task is to support him with the capa and, above all, to stab the banderillas.

Bocadillo is the Spanish name for a filled baguette roll. These are topped – hot or cold – with a wide variety of ingredients: raw or cooked ham, cheese, tortilla, combinations with tomato, bacon, … Unlike in Spain, they are not usually spread with butter or margarine.