It is no less true that Spain has a wide and varied gastronomic culture. There is no town or village that does not have one or several characteristic recipes of the place that, over time, have become a draw for culinary tourism. If you belong to this group, know that the Sociological Research Center (CIS) has asked Spaniards what they consider to be the most characteristic dish of the gastronomy of their Autonomous Community, and based on the answers obtained we know that the Valencian Community , Asturias and Madrid stand out as the autonomous regions with the greatest consensus regarding their characteristic dish.
According to the CIS, when it comes to its emblematic dish, the Valencian Community stands out as the region with the highest degree of agreement, with an impressive 92.8% consensus, identifying paella as its distinctive dish. It is followed by Asturias, where the fabada enjoys 88.7% acceptance, and Madrid, which enjoys 77.2% approval for the Madrid stew.
In other autonomous communities, the identification of the typical dish is not so obvious. This is the case of Catalonia, where bread with tomato leads with 19.7%, closely followed by sausage with beans with 12% and escudella with 10.2%.
In Castilla y León, meat is the culinary star, with roast suckling pig emerging as the most characteristic dish with 36.4%, followed by roast lamb with 16.8% and suckling pig with 12.8%.
Potatoes with mojo picón are a knockout compared to Canarian sancocho or cod al pil pil, relegating marmitako in the Basque Country. For its part, Navarra prefers stew with 29.2%, while in Galicia the debate is between octopus a feira with 36.2% or seafood with 33.1%.
In Extremadura, there is a tie between first and second place, with serrano ham as the typical main dish with 25.3%, and migas from Extremadura obtaining the same percentage of preference.
Furthermore, respondents are virtually united in their belief that olive oil is an essential element in Spanish gastronomy, with an impressive 98% in agreement. However, the preference between meat and fish is more balanced, with 44.2% choosing meat and 40.8% preferring fish.
The CIS has also investigated the restaurant habits of those surveyed. 33.3% eat or dine in restaurants more than three times a month, while 32.9% do so twice a month, 21% once and 12.1% do not do so as a general rule. Most of those who visit restaurants spend between 15 and 30 euros per person. 26.3% spend between 31 and 50 euros per person, while 4.5% spend between 51 and 70 euros.
