''Picatostes'' are slices of
fried bread
Fried bread is a slice of bread that has been frying, fried.
It is used as a substitute for Toast (food), toast in various dishes or meals. Various oils, butter, lard, bacon drippings, or ghee can be used. Some cooks may choose to fry rather ...
, from loaves fried with
lard
Lard is a Quasi-solid, semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering (animal products), rendering the adipose tissue, fatty tissue of a domestic pig, pig. or
olive oil
Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil.
It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...
. They are typical of
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. They are usually sweetened with granules of
refined sugar
White sugar, also called table sugar, granulated sugar, or regular sugar, is a commonly used type of sugar, made either of beet sugar or cane sugar, which has undergone a refining process. It is nearly pure sucrose.
Description
The refini ...
on the outside. They are most commonly eaten for
breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night. Various "typical" or "traditional" breakfast menus exist, with food choices varying by regi ...
or a quick
lunch
Lunch is a meal typically consumed around the middle of the day, following breakfast and preceding dinner. It varies in form, size, and significance across cultures and historical periods. In some societies, lunch constitutes the main meal ...
(''merienda''), accompanied by
coffee
Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
. They are also sometimes eaten as a substitute for
chocolate
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods.
Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...
and
churro
A churro (, ) is a type of fried dough from Spanish and Portuguese cuisine, made with choux pastry dough piped into hot oil with a piping bag and large closed star tip or similar shape. They are also found in Latin American cuisine, Philipp ...
s (as a late night snack). They can be eaten hot or cold. As a cheap staple food, they are also a common accompaniment to beverages in the traditional cafés of Madrid where
tertulia
A ''tertulia'' (, ; ; ) is a social gathering with literary or artistic overtones, especially in Iberian Peninsula, Iberia or in Spanish America. Tertulia also means an informal meeting of people to talk about current affairs, arts, etc. The word ...
s are held.
Characteristics
Picatostes are rectangular slices of bread, cut from loaves and fried in lard or olive oil to the point of having a golden color and a crunchy crust. Typically, directly after frying they are dusted with refined sugar. Their shape is suitable for dipping in coffee or hot chocolate. A similar but more savory dish, ''
torrijas
Torrijas is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 87 inhabitants.
This village stands very close to the ski resort in the Javalambre mountains ...
'', can be made by soaking the bread in a sauce before frying.
A 1933 reference work on the vocabulary of
Andalusia
Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
(southern Spain) says that a ''picatoste'' is a slice of bread soaked in
salt water
Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish wate ...
, then fried. Some writers say that ''pica'' comes from ''picar'' ("to peck", "to bite", or "to burn") and refers to the stimulation of thirst.
[ Sebastián de Covarrubias Orozco, Felipe C. R. Maldonado, Manuel Camarero ''« Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española»'', Ed. Castalia, p. 821.]
See also
*
Crouton
A crouton () is a piece of toasted or fried bread, normally cubed and seasoned. Croutons are used to add texture and flavor to salads—notably the Caesar salad— as an accompaniment to soups and stews, or eaten as a snack food.
Etymology
T ...
Notes
{{reflist
Spanish cuisine
Sweet breads