Asturian-American Migration Forum

Hola Amigos,

The Guinness Book of World Records indicates that the oldest restaurant in the world is, Casa Botin , located in Madrid. I am not sure what the early Spanish specialities were. I suspect that it was Iberico, Spanish ham and Paella.

Manny

Perhaps Maestro Tomberi would have an answer. I'll let him know of this message. Or you could write to the restaurant. They'd probably like the added publicity.

You may be right about the ham. They've found a 2,000-year-old fossilized ham!

Each region has very distinct food patterns, so you'd have to consider that. Actually, as a city Madrid is not that old. Before the 9th Century, it was a rural village.

Paella is probably not ancient and it's associated with Valencia, not Madrid. Paella appeared in its modern form in the 1800s. Even the main ingredient: rice was not part of ancient Iberia. Supposedly the Moors brought rice to the Iberian Peninsula in the 10th century. It was then grown in Valencia and Majorca.

If you do some searching online, you can check out your guesses and add information to your messages. Of course, there are plenty of websites with misinformation. (So I hope what I posted isn't wrong!)

--------------------------------

Quizás Maestro Tomberi tendría una respuesta. Voy a decirle de este mensaje. O podrías escribir al restaurante. Probablemente le gustaría la publicidad añadida.

Tal vez tengas razón sobre el jamón. ¡Han encontrado un jamón fosilizado de 2.000 años de antigüedad!

Cada región tiene patrones alimentarios muy distintos, lo que se tendría que tener en cuenta. En realidad, la ciudad de Madrid no es muy viejo. Antes del siglo noveno, era una aldea rural.

Paella probablemente no es antigua y está asociado con el Valencia, no Madrid. Paella apareció en su forma moderna en los 1800s. Incluso el ingrediente principal, el arroz, no era parte de la antigua Iberia. Se supone que los moros trajeron el arroz a la Península Ibérica en el siglo 10. Se cultivó después en Valencia y Mallorca.

Si haces algunas búsquedas en línea, puedes comprobar tus conjeturas. Por supuesto, hay un montón de sitios web con información errónea. (Así que espero que lo que he publicado no sea equivocado!)

Art,

I did not know about paella; however, I found another site that stated that Cochinillo and cordero are their specialities. Their internet address is listed as www.botin.es.

It was mentioned that Earnest Hemingway liked eating there.

Apparently, they opened a branch in Miami.

Here is another interesting food fact unrelated to the original posting:

In the doctor's office today, I read in a major food recipe magazine that Asturian Chef, Jose Andres is considered to be Spain's Culinary Ambassador to the United States.

Manny

Hola de nuevo .

Efectivamente, todos estos alimentos que habéis mencionado anteriormente datan de un origen verdaderamente antiguo. Salazones y curados han sido creados desde tiempos inmemoriales con el propósito de la conservación, como sabréis.

Pero quizás lo que más os pueda sorprender es que uno de los más antiguos sea la propia sidra; y de hecho, nuestra bebida más universal ha sido creada en Hispania desde hace algo más de (por lo menos) 2.000 años de antigüedad.

Otro de los preparados verdaderamente antiguos son las torrijas (o "french toasts" como gusta decir en el universo anglosajón). La mención escrita sobre este plato data del siglo XII (creo), pero es verosímil el hecho de que tenga una antigüedad bastante mayor, dada la sencillez y disponibilidad de sus ingredientes y el hecho de que antiguamente se endulzaba con miel en vez de con azúcar.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi again


Efectively, all this foods you mentioned date fo a really ancient origin. Salted and cured foods have been created since immemorial times in order to be preserved during long times, as you may know.


But perhaps what might surprise you the most is the fact that one of the most ancient of them is the very own cider; and in fact, our most universal drink has been created in Hispania since a good while more (at least) 2.000 years ago.


Another of the really ancient prepared foods are the "torrijas" (or "french toasts" as is said in the anglosaxon universe). The written mention about this dish dates since (though)the XII century, but is verosimile the fact that it is quite more ancient, given the availability and simpleness of the ingredients and the fact that it was sweetened with honey instead of sugar.

Hola Maestro Tomberi,

Es la palabra, "torrijas", Asturianu o Espanol?

Manny

Es en español.

Maestro Tomberi,

Muchisimas gracias por su favor.

Tu Amigo,

Manny

español: torrija

asturianu: picatosta, torrexa, torreya

Bob,

Gracias por proporcionar los ejemplos de palabras Asturianu de pan frances. Hay un sito de internet una traduccion?

La diferercia en Espanol y Asturianu son muy intersantes. Me he estado preguntando si mi padre hablaba los dos idiomas. El vino de el consejo de Grado, que creo que es el centro de Asturianu. Yo no sabia acerca de esta antigua lengua hasta que despues de unirse al foro.

Manny

The best English translation I can think of for "torrija" is "French toast." It's not quite the same, but it will serve to let English speakers understand the general concept. "French bread," on the other hand, would conjure up an image of hot, crusty loaves.

oops! My mental error and senior moment in translation. Thanks for the clarification. I'm embarrassed, because, I am currently reading a book entitled, Embarrassing Moments in Spanish and How to Avoid Them.

It is a practical guide to using Spanish correctly. I have a lot to learn and now realized that I have made many mistakes already through my lack of study.

Tu Amigo,

Manny

Una cosa que creo conveniente mencionar aquí: Las torrijas, en efecto, se conocen aquí como picatostes. Sin embargo, en España éstas son conocidas normalmente como cuadraditos de pan frito (más o menos el "crûton" francés).

De hecho, su origen viene de las guerras Carlistas, cuando el General Picatoste ordenó al cocinero de su tropa durante un asedio que duraba semanas que preparase algo "comible" con pan duro y aceite, ya que era de lo que disponían.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One thing I see convenient mentioning here: Torrijas, efectively, are known here as picatostes. However, in Spain this ones are known as little fried bread squares (more or less like the french "crûton").

In fact, it origin comes from the Carlist wars, when General Picatoste orderes the cook of the troop during a siege which lasted several weeks to prepare something edible with hard bread and oil, since it was what they had available.

Manuell wrote:Hay un sito de internet una traduccion?

Here are two links to dictionaries:
http://mas.lne.es/diccionario/
http://www.academiadelallingua.com/diccionariu/

Here's a good grammar of Asturian:
http://www.academiadelallingua.com/dicc ... lingua.pdf

Here's a book describing the norms used in spelling in the Asturian language.
http://www.academiadelallingua.com/dicc ... normes.pdf

Our forum has some resources in this section:
http://www.asturianus.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=18

Here's a translator, for example:
http://www.asturianus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3511