Did You Know?

Appears in

Published 2017

‘Antipasto’ means ‘before the meal’ in Italian.
In France, ‘hors d’oeuvre’ has a similar meaning.
In Spain, the word ‘tapa’ means ‘cover’ or ‘coaster’, a reference to the tradition of covering the wine with a small plate of food. This was made law in the 1200s when King Alfonso banned the tavernas from serving alcohol without food. A cover also had the practical benefit of stopping fruit flies from settling in the wine.
Meze is frequently found in the cuisine of countries from the former Ottoman Empire (including Greece, Turkey et al) and comes from the word ‘meze’, which means ‘taste’ or ‘snack’.