them arrived from Galicia. In Europe, it is more frequently a fermented, cured, smoked
sausage, in which case it is often sliced and eaten without any cooking process, and
can be added to other dishes as an ingredient that gives flavor. Spanish chorizo and
Portuguese chouriço get their distinctive smokiness and deep red color from dried
smoked red peppers (pimentón/pimentão). Due to culinary tradition and the cost of
imported Spanish smoked paprika, Mexican chorizo is usually made with chili peppers,
which are widely used in the Mexican cuisine. Traditionally, chorizo is encased in
natural sausage casings made from intestines, which is a method already used since
Roman times.
Some types of chorizo can be eaten without further cooking (e.g. sliced or in a
sandwich). Chorizos can be grilled, fried, or simmered in liquid, and it includes apple
cider, and other strong alcoholic beverage such as aguardiente It also can be used as
a partial replacement for ground (minced) beef or pork.
Spanish-style tapas bars that serve traditional Spanish-style chorizo have become very
popular in recent years, and now can be found in many large cities throughout USA
and other parts of Europe.
_______________________________________________

Manchego Cheese
Spain has a long tradition as a cheese
producer.
been

Spanish cheeses have always

recognized

internationally.

The

Manchego variety is, within the wide range
of cheeses, the most valued one.
Manchego cheese

is

produced

in

La

Mancha, a region which is located in the
central part of Spain and is famous for Don
Quijote´s adventures. This cheese is made
exclusively from sheep´s milk, since the
land´s features and climate are really beneficial for the breeding of sheep and for its
pasture lands.
There are indeed many elements that distinguish this cheese from the rest of cheeses
in Spain and these elements have to do with its external appearance, The Manchego
cheese has a characteristic cylindrical shape and a hard yellow-brownish rind.
However, the inside part has an even color, which ranges from white to yellow. There
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