Tenerife Food

Primary produce in the Canaries includes bananas, tomatoes, olives, oranges, fish and pork; these are all cheap to buy if you're cooking at home tonight.

Beef is a bit pricey but still affordable. I've always found it easy to get hold of everything I like from home as so much food stuff is imported here from all over Europe, partly because it can't be produced locally and partly to please the tourist trade here who are almost all here self-catering.

Typical dishes include "sancocho" - a salted fish soup, "papas arrugadas" - the local potato which I guess resembles a wrinkled, new potato, usually served with "mojo " sauce, (papas con mojo) a spicy, red sauce.

The mojo sauce is popular with a lot of food types here as well as the potatoes.

Of course there's the Spanish dishes of Paella (a seafood and rice dish) and "Tortilla" - Spanish Omelette.

Primary meats here are pork and chicken whilst in the older and traditional restaurants such as those in the mountains, rabbit and goat (also goat cheese) are popular too.

The local wine is "el Monte".. "Tapas" is not so popular in the resorts and is found more in residential towns.

Tapas are small dishes, similar to snacks but several together make a very nice and traditionally Spanish meal.

As (fresh) locally caught fish is so popular here - I've posted some "fish translations".

TAPAS DISHES

Salpicon de mariscos: a salad of chopped onion, peppers, sweet corn, crab, prawns and other seafood, soaked in vinegar.

Carne con papas: a stew made from beef, vegetables and potatoes and served in a rich sauce.

Ropa Vieja: mixed meats served with chickpeas.

Boquerones: small white fish (like an anchovy without the salt taste), marinated in vinegar, oil and garlic.

Albondigas: small, homemade, slightly spicy meatballs, served in a spicy sauce.

Potage: a thick, Canarian soup made from mixed vegetables, often with mixed meats added too.

Carne de Cochino: small pieces of fired, diced pork served with a rich sauce.

Carne de Cabra: goat meat (similar in taste to lamb although not quite as tender).

For more details on the restaurants available in Tenerife please refer to our Tenerife Restaurants page.

For information on the Canarian wines available please refer to our Tenerife Wines page.