Gazpacho

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Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a cold Spanish

Spanish cuisine

Spanish cuisine consists of a variety of dishes which stem from differences in geography, culture and climate. It is heavily influenced by seafood available from the waters that surround the country, and reflects the country's deep maritime roots....
tomato

Tomato

The Tomato is an herbaceous, usually sprawling plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family, as are its close cousins Nicotiana, potatoes, aubergine , chilli peppers, and the poisonous Atropa belladonna....
-based raw vegetable

Vegetable

The term "vegetable" generally means the Eating parts of plants. The definition of the word is traditional rather than scientific, however, and therefore the usage of the word is somewhat arbitrary and subjective, as it is determined by individual cultural customs of food selection and food preparation....
soup

Soup

Soup is a food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables in Stock or hot/boiling water, until the flavor is extracted, forming a broth....
, originating in the southern region of Andalusia

Andalusia

Andalusia is a country in the Spanish State. It is the most populous and the second largest, in terms of land area, of the seventeen autonomous communities of the Spain....
. Gazpacho is widely consumed throughout Spain

Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
, neighboring Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
(where it is known as gaspacho) and parts of Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages ? particularly Spanish language and Portuguese language, and variably French language ? are primarily spoken....
. Gazpacho is mostly consumed during the summer months, due to its refreshing qualities.

escends from an ancient Andalusian

Andalusian cuisine

Andalusian cuisine is rather varied, corresponding to a region that is itself extensive and varied. Notwithstanding that, the cuisine of Andalusia is characterized by gazpacho, fried fish , the jam?n of Jabugo and Trev?lez, and the wines of Jerez, particularly sherry....
liquid concoction based on a combination of stale

Staling

Staling is a chemical and physical process in bread that reduces its palatability. Stale bread is dry and leathery.Staling is not, as is commonly believed, simply a drying out process....
bread

Bread

Bread is a staple food prepared by baking a dough of flour and water. It may be leavened or unleavened. Edible salt, fat and a leavening agent such as yeast are common ingredients, though bread may contain a range of other ingredients: milk, Egg , sugar, spice, fruit , vegetables , Nut or seeds ....
, garlic

Garlic

Allium sativum L., commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion family Alliaceae. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, and chive....
, olive oil

Olive oil

Olive oil is a fruit oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. The wild olive tree originated in Anatolia and spread from there as far as southern Africa, Australia, Japan and China....
, salt

Salt

A salt, in chemistry, is defined as the product formed from the neutralisation reaction of acids and base . Salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically electric charge ....
, and vinegar

Vinegar

Vinegar is an acidic liquid processed from the fermentation of ethanol in a process that yields its key ingredient, acetic acid . It also may come in a diluted form....
, similar to ajoblanco

Ajoblanco

Nutrition Facts

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Calories in ????
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Encyclopedia

Gazpacho is a cold Spanish

Spanish cuisine

Tomato

Vegetable

Soup

Andalusia

Spain

Portugal

Latin America

History

It descends from an ancient Andalusian

Andalusian cuisine

Staling

Staling is a chemical and physical process in bread that reduces its palatability. Stale bread is dry and leathery.Staling is not, as is commonly believed, simply a drying out process....
bread

Bread

Garlic

Allium sativum L., commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion family Alliaceae. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, and chive....
, olive oil

Olive oil

Salt

Vinegar

Vinegar is an acidic liquid processed from the fermentation of ethanol in a process that yields its key ingredient, acetic acid . It also may come in a diluted form....
, similar to ajoblanco

Ajoblanco

Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
after the Columbian Exchange

Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange has been one of the most significant events in the history of world ecology, agriculture, and culture. The term is used to describe the enormous widespread exchange of plants, animals, foods, human populations , communicable diseases, and ideas between the Eastern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere hemispheres that oc...
which began in 1492.

Ingredients and preparation

In Andalusia, most gazpacho recipes typically include tomato, cucumber

Cucumber

The cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash , and in the same genus as the muskmelon....
, red and green pepper

Bell pepper

Bell pepper is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, green and orange....
, onion

Onion

Onion is a term used for many plants in the genus Allium. They are known by the common name "onion" but, used without qualifiers, it usually refers to Allium cepa....
, garlic, soaked stale bread, fresh parsley

Parsley

Parsley is a bright green, biennial plant herb, also used as spice. It is very common in Middle Eastern cuisine, European cuisine, and American cuisine cooking....
, olive oil, Sherry Vinegar

Sherry Vinegar

Sherry vinegar is a gourmet wine vinegar made from Sherry. It is produced in the Spanish province of C?diz and inside the triangular area between the city of Jerez de la Frontera and towns of Sanl?car de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa Mar?a, known as the "sherry triangle"....
, chilled water

Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
and salt. Some may also include lemon juice

Lemon juice

Lemon juice, a fruit juice, is the juice of lemons . Fresh lemon juice is obtained by squeezing lemons. Lemon juice, either in natural strength or concentrated, is sold as a bottled product most of the time, usually with the addition of ascorbic acid and a preservative such as E223....
and sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many other sources....
.

The following is a typical method of preparing gazpacho:

The vegetables are washed and the tomatoes, garlic and onions are peeled.
All the vegetables and herbs are chopped and put into a large container.
The soaked bread is then added.
1/2 of the contents of the container are then blended until liquid.
The chilled water, olive oil, vinegar and salt is then added to taste.
The remaining contents of the container are added to the liquid, then briefly pureed until there is some texture remaining for garnish. (optional)
Garnish the dish with fresh cilantro slices, tomato dice, or other fresh ingedients

Traditionally gazpacho is made by pounding the vegetables using a mortar and pestle

Mortar and pestle

A mortar and pestle is a tool used to crush, grind, and mix substances. The pestle is a heavy stick whose end is used for pounding and grinding, and the mortar is a bowl....
. This method is still sometimes favoured as it helps keep the gazpacho cool.

In addition to the blended vegetable ingredients, it is also usually accompanied by different garnishes. These include the same vegetables the soup already contains, chopped up, as well as croutons and chopped hard boiled egg. The garnishes are served in separately so the consumer can add them to the soup themselves. Sometimes, ham

Ham

Ham is the thigh and rump of pork, cut from the haunch of a pig or boar. Although it may be cooked and served fresh, most ham is Curing in some fashion....
(e.g. jamón serrano
Jamón serrano

Jam?n serrano is a type of jam?n , which is generally served raw in thin slices, similar to the Italy prosciutto. A foreleg prepared in the same manner is called paleta....
, jamón ibérico
Jamón ibérico

Jam?n ib?rico, Iberian ham, also called pata negra, is a type of curing ham produced only in Spain. It is at least 75% black Iberian pig, also called the cerdo negro , the only breed of pig that naturally seeks and eats mainly acorns: according to Spain's Denominaci?n de Origen rules on food products jam?n ib?rico may be ma...
, etc.) can also be found amongst the garnishes. In Extremadura

Extremadura

Extremadura is an autonomous communities in Spain of western Spain whose capital city is M?rida, Spain. It includes the provinces of Spain of C?ceres and Badajoz ....
, gazpacho with local ham is called gazpacho extremeño. This time, the ham tends to be added to the soup in the kitchen prior to serving (unlike the other garnishes which are added at the table).

Gazpacho may also by served with ice cube

Ice Cube

O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube is an United States of America rapper, actor, screenwriter, and film producer.He began his career as a member of the rap group N.W.A along with group leader Eazy-E, and later launched a successful solo career in music and Film....
s if it has not had enough time to chill before serving.

Variations

Gazpacho recipes can vary greatly in terms of ingredient composition, texture and viscosity. This usually depends on the geographical location as well as family traditions.

Similar cold raw soups such as salmorejo

Salmorejo

Salmorejo is a soup based on tomato and bread, originating in C?rdoba, Spain in the south of Spain. It is made from tomatoes, bread, oil, garlic and vinegar....
and ajoblanco

Ajoblanco

Ajoblanco is a cold soup which is typical of Granada and M?laga . It is also a common dish in Extremaduran cuisine . This dish is made of bread, crushed almonds , garlic, water, olive oil, salt and sometimes vinegar....
, are also popular in Andalusia, although not as widespread as gazpacho.

A completely different dish to traditional gazpacho is gazpacho manchego. As the name implies, it seems to have originated from the Spanish region of La Mancha

La Mancha

La Mancha is an arid, fertile, elevated plateau of central Spain, south of Madrid, stretching between the Montes de Toledo and the western spurs of the Cerros de Cuenca, and bounded on the south by the Sierra Morena and on the north by the La Alcarria region....
, but it is also popular in other areas in the center and southwest of the country. Rather than a cold soup, it is a meat stew

Stew

A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy.Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, poultry, sausages and seafood....
. The main ingredients are rabbit

Domestic rabbit

A domestic rabbit is any of the several varieties of European rabbit that has been domestic animalMale rabbits are called bucks; females are called does....
and flat bread, and may also include mushrooms.

Arranque Roteño

A popular variation comes from the town of Rota

Rota

Rota may refer to:* The rotavirus, causing severe diarrhoea, especially among young children* Rota or rosta is a table that shows what times certain things are going to happen and normally is referred to staffs shift times...
in the province of Cadiz. During the times of drought there wasn't enough water to make gazpacho. Arranque has the same ingridients as gazpacho only that it requires less water, making arranque into a gazpacho cream.

Gazpacho

History

Ingredients and preparation

Variations

Arranque Roteño

See also