Chorizo has become a favorite food of the British.
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What is the British favorite food? Mashed potatoes? Roast beef ? The famous fish and chips ? None of the above. Their favorite food, the one that's a staple in most refrigerators, is Spanish chorizo. This is the conclusion reached by a survey conducted to mark the tenth anniversary of Olive magazine, which sought to trace the evolution of British culinary tastes.
According to the survey, chorizo, a food virtually unknown in the UK ten years ago, is now found in 42% of British households, who admit they "can't live" without the Spanish delicacy. The next two products on the list are neither Spanish nor British: 35% say they need to have a jar of sweet chili sauce at home, similar to the figures for ketchup and mayonnaise, and almost one in four Britons say they always have a bottle of prosecco, the famous sparkling white wine from northern Italy, on hand.
British culinary tastes are changing rapidly, and what was once one of the most boring cuisines in Europe is now by far the most cosmopolitan. British chefs, some of them internationally renowned, have played a crucial role in this shift, which is being welcomed with open arms by the Spanish agri-food industry.
The "Marca España" (Brand Spain) initiative passes through the delicatessen.
According to data from the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX), Spanish cured meat exports worldwide reached €314.9 million in 2012, representing a 29% increase over the previous year and more than double the €154 million recorded in 2009. The UK market has played a significant role in these promising figures, particularly with regard to chorizo. Exports to Great Britain grew by 17% in just one year (from 2011 to 2012) , reaching 7,155 tons of product, making the UK the second largest importer, after France.
Sales of cooking chorizo have grown at a rate of 10% annually over the last 20 years. As James Robinson , head of the commercial department at Brindisa , a pioneering company in the import of Spanish artisanal products, explained to El Periódico de Extremadura , this growth in sausage exports to the United Kingdom has been led, in particular, by chorizo: “It’s a continuously rising trend, and right now sales are very high , especially for cooking chorizo, although cured chorizo is also reaching wider markets. Sales of cooking chorizo have grown at a rate of 10% annually over the last 20 years. The most popular is the spicy variety. For every four spicy chorizos sold, one sweet one is.”
Chorizo has captivated the British like no other cured meat. While it's true that Serrano ham consumption is also on the rise, it faces stiff competition from cheaper Parma ham, a hurdle chorizo doesn't have to contend with. Furthermore, for the English, chorizo is simply another type of sausage, a product they consume almost daily.
British chefs love Spanish cuisine
This growth in the export of Spanish cured meats is simply the result of a love affair between British chefs and Spanish gastronomy. Jamie Oliver, the country's most media-savvy chef, is a well-known admirer of Spanish cuisine and directly responsible for the success of certain products in the UK. Chorizo is a key ingredient in many of his recipes, some of which have no connection to Spanish gastronomy beyond the use of the sausage . He is also responsible for some practices that have become widespread in the UK and that would displease the most purist Spanish cooks, such as adding chorizo to paella, which the British mistakenly consider an essential ingredient of the famous Spanish dish.
While the Anglo-Saxons are gradually adopting the healthier Mediterranean diet, we are losing it. Oliver, in any case, is already somewhat outdated. According to a survey by Olive magazine, today the UK's favorite chef is Nigel Slater, who has overtaken Oliver and Delia Smith , presenter of a famous television cooking show and author of dozens of books, which have sold over 21 million copies.
Slater, who has been a food and cooking editor for Marie Claire and The Observer —the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, which replaces The Guardian on the last day of the week—is a self-confessed admirer of Spanish cuisine. His recipe for chickpeas with chorizo , published in 2007, clearly demonstrates how British cuisine has risen to prominence by reinventing Mediterranean products without the constraints that we Mediterraneans ourselves face.
Chefs like Slater and Oliver are also responsible for the resurgence in the UK of fish (which used to be relegated to the pub fryer) and local produce, in a country increasingly aware of the importance of organic and sustainable food . This is creating a strange paradox that should concern us: while the British are gradually adopting the healthier Mediterranean diet, we are losing it.
