Today the Day of the Aperitif is celebrated , a day established in 2019 but do we know when this custom was invented? Is spanish? Let’s learn more about the history of the aperitif and how it originated.
History of the aperitif: what is the origin of this custom?
Who doesn’t like to have a snack? This is considered a very Spanish custom and although you might think that eating something before lunch and above all, sharing that with other people such as friends on the terrace of a bar is something that we invented, the truth is that we You could say that the aperitif was something already established in the 5th century BC, when Hippocrates invented a bitter wine-based concoction that tasted of wormwood and other herbs and that he drank to reopen his stomach when he was not hungry.
But at what point did it become a kind of social custom? We then have to travel to Italy and until the end of the 18th century when the distiller Antonio Benedetto Carpano (Turin) invented an aromatic wine to which he had added cinchona and to which he christened “vermouth”. A drink that used to be taken before a big meal so that it could somehow “prepare” the stomach and stimulate the appetite.
The drink became popular and in fact became the favorite of kings, such as the King of Italy Victorio Emmanuel and historical figures such as Garibaldi. Already in the nineteenth century, vermouth had become a drink that was drunk in circles of politicians and intellectuals and in the bar of bars , thus moving from coffee to this drink and others, also incorporating some other food. A custom that also passed to France and of course, to Spain.
The aperitif, an institution in Spain
The aperitif is therefore of Italian origin, although once it made the leap to our country it seems that it became one of our hallmarks. In fact, we Spaniards have turned the aperitif into something very particular if we bear in mind that the way we take it has nothing to do with how they take it precisely in France or Italy.
In these countries, the aperitif is something more similar to a small dinner if we take into account that they usually take it from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and always with a buffet of several dishes of food, so for many it becomes at your dinner. In our country, on the other hand, the aperitif can be taken both before lunch and dinner and is usually marked also because what is taken is usually accompanied by a tapa, another of our hallmarks and in this case much more of our own.
The origin of the lid
In Spain there is no aperitif that does not contain a lid , and we can say that they are a Spanish invention. In fact, we owe it to King Alfonso X the Wise in the thirteenth century, when he realized (through medical advice) that the wine they offered him suited him better if it was the custom of eating something accompanying our drinks in aperitifs. I had something to eat as an accompaniment. For this reason, he created a law so that in all the taverns of Spain a little food was served with each alcoholic drink.
And the cover name? Legend has it that once in Cádiz , Alfonso XIII was having a drink in a tavern and a strong wind blew in so that to prevent the sand from entering the king’s glass, a waiter covered it with a slice of ham . When he asked for another glass, the king said “with a lid” in reference to the slice. It is also said that the same ham “lid” was actually used to prevent flies from entering the glasses that were drunk.
