I know. Churros are not exclusive to Extremadura, but I thought the blog would be the best place for me to talk about this. This Spanish snack enjoys such popularity in the UK that the term is already included in the Oxford dictionary, and I don’t even have to italicise it.
1. They are a typical breakfast for Spaniards
Although you can think of churros as something typically Spanish, they aren’t really a widespread breakfast option. While people who normally have breakfast in bars may have them on a more regular basis, most people would consider them more of a treat. Think of lazy winter Sunday mornings, for example.
2. They are eaten all year round
They are deep-fried hearty and greasy snacks that are usually served with thick hot chocolate. It’s a winter thing. Spaniards do not generally eat churros outside the winter season, in the same way we don’t eat turron outside the Christmas period or drink sangria at all.
Churros are too filling and heavy to have them all year round. Only foreign tourists and churro-obsessed people with strong stomachs would eat them in summer. One sign that we don’t eat churros out of season is the fact that outside tourist areas, churrerías (churros shops) close at the end of winter.
Now let’s have a look at some truths:
Varieties
Churros are thin deep-fried dough pastries in the shape of either a stick or a knot. However, there is another member of the family – the porra, a thicker and longer (and better) version. In my area, we call porras ‘churros’, and churros are often referred to as ‘the thin ones’ or ‘the shitty ones’.
When to eat them
Churros are generally eaten for breakfast, but not only. In my house, for example, we sometimes have them for dinner on rainy weekend evenings. Still, we don’t eat them as often as people think. It’s a comfort occasional food. A very popular tradition is having churros for breakfast on New Year. It’s almost a ritual. You spend the night out celebrating and, go to a local churrería before heading back home. You queue (there’s always a big queue waiting for the place to open at 7-8am) to enjoy this greasy, yet delicious guilty pleasure.
How to eat them
The classic drink to have with churros is thick hot chocolate, which is something I miss from Spain. When you order a hot chocolate in the UK, you get a watery cocoa powder-flavoured drink. Spanish hot chocolate isn’t made with water, but with milk only. Café con leche is also a popular option, but trust me, chocolate is way better for dipping.
Where to eat them
There are two usual places where you can enjoy some churros. You can go to almost any bar or café or to a churrería. Going to a bar/café means that, in most cases, churros are frozen. If you want to have freshly-made churros, go to a churrería. Some of them are also coffee bars, so coffee and hot chocolate will be available. Note that many churrerías are shops only, and churros are sold to take away. If you want a filling breakfast to get over your hangover or a lazy wintery dinner to enjoy sitting at the camilla table in front of the TV on a rainy day, then this is it.
Irene Corchado Resmella
I'm a UK-based independent Spanish sworn and legal translator working as ICR Translations. On Piggy Traveller, I share my home region of Extremadura with the world to encourage travellers to discover a different Spain.
What a disrespectful way of talking about tourists you have. Doesn’t make me want to read a travel blog that writes this way. You don’t have the right to laugh at and pity tourists just because they aren’t living like locals; if the one time they get to visit Spain happens to be in the summer and they still want to try churros, you have no right to make them feel bad about themselves for doing so. Besides, my spaniard husband’s family actually eats them almost every day for breakfast, all year round. We also have a churreria in our tiny hometown near Murcia which is open all year round, and not for tourists as I’ve never seen any here.
Hello Elena,
Thank you for taking the time to share your opinion. I am not telling people what to do. I am just trying to ditch some clichés by telling people that these things are not common practice (because they aren’t. According to your experience, people have churros in summer. According to mine, nobody I know in my region does that.). Then, of course they can go have churros whenever they want! I have to admit that, perhaps I got too much sarcasm in here and your comment has helped me make a few changes to the text, so thanks for that. That said, my opinion doesn’t change, because it’s based in my experience, which is what you share on a personal blog. Cheers.