Tenerife: food and drink
Visiting Tenerife and the Canary Islands has a lot to do with tasting its fantastic food, Tenerife food is known as a tasty, healthy and fresh menu.
The more authentic the place, the better you eat and the better prices you get! There are so many stories about gastronomy and tradition that I could even write a book!
I would like to share some information for you to discover special places.
Authentic Canarian food in Tenerife
What are the best local dishes? You have probably never heard of some of them. Others are more familiar to you, such as cheese, wine or fish. But what you need to know is that this is the authentic Tenerife food and drink, the food and drink that identifies us and that you will taste when you visit Tenerife.
Food in Tenerife
WRINKLED POTATOES
The ultra-famous potatoes are key to Tenerife's food menu. Potatoes came to Europe from South America via Tenerife. The first potato was planted on a finca - finca - called "Icod el Alto" on the northern island of Tenerife in the town of Icod where the great Drago Milenario is located.
The potatoes are boiled in water with a lot of coarse salt - thick salt - and because of the type of potatoes and the way they are dried after boiling together with the salt, they become wrinkled - shrivelled - and look... wrinkled! The types and varieties of potatoes make a difference.
You have the old potato, the pretty potato, the kinegua potato (King Eduard's), the borralla.... It's not only the colour, size and taste that matter, texture is also very important! My grandmother never let me cut a potato with a knife, because if you do, you miss the texture!!!
MOJO
Mojo is a typical sauce that can be eaten with papas arrugadas and many meat or fish main dishes. It is incredibly delicious and is the basic sauce for any Canarian dish. It is made with red pepper for the red mojo - the red version - or with garlic and coriander for the green mojo - green version. A must in Canarian and Tenerife food!
VEGETABLE STEW
Tenerife has vegetables in its land all year round: peppers, courgettes, pumpkin, chickpeas... The vegetable stew is basically a mixture of all the seasonal vegetables put in a blender. Therefore, winter vegetable stew will be different from summer vegetable stew.
GOFIO
Gofio is a highly nutritious cereal mixture that was the main food during the worst economic times on the islands, especially in rural areas. Its flavour is quite strong but once you get used to it, it is fantastic with vegetable stew and fresh goat's cheese, with mashed bananas and cooked in the form of escaldón.
Every guachinche - see below - offers scald, otherwise it is not a guachinche! The south side of the island is mainly made up of sandy seabed which makes for a beautiful underwater landscape, but for the more experienced diver the north side of the island which is more influenced by the volcanic origin is an excellent place to practice this water sport.
The more exposed rocky north side with its tunnels and caves are excellent places for marine reef development and a truly impressive place to visit.
Which plan to follow on your holidays?
Don't miss the Experience Teide peak excursion: on foot or by cableway
Get to know the most visited national park in Europe and climb the highest peak in Spain. Exceed your limits on this excursion of ascent to Teide peak with permits.
If you want to live a unique and environmentally friendly experience, and also get to know the Teide National Park with a Senda guide, which has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, then this is the place for you. Unesco World Heritagebook your place for a guided visit to Teide with permits.
FISH
La Vieja or El Cherne are two species endemic to our ocean. Boiled and accompanied by wrinkled potatoes and Mojo they are a surprise for the senses. I recommend any of the good restaurants in the south in the areas of Tajao or Los Abrigos, always a good idea to eat fish. If you are adventurous, don't hesitate to take your car and go to Anaga, straight to Taganana and try all the fish at Casa África. They will (almost) literally jump out of the water and onto your plate.
LAPAS
Limpets are marine snails endemic to the Canary Islands. They are appreciated by locals and visitors alike for their delicious taste, which is even better when prepared with green mojo.
Fun fact: their teeth are the strongest natural material known to humans, even stronger than spider silk!
POTATOES WITH RIBS AND PINEAPPLES
Papas con costillas y piñas is an authentic Canarian grandmother's recipe! If you speak Spanish, then you know that piña is pineapple, right? Well, in Tenerife it can also mean corn on the cob, so don't be surprised if you don't find pineapple in this dish!
CHEESE
The cheeses of Tenerife are one of the great must-tries. Cheese lovers will be surprised to discover an incredible variety of very tasty cheeses. Goat's cheese is undoubtedly the best known cheese on the island and exists in different types of maturity: fresh, smoked - smoked - dry or semi-dry. There will always be a cheese to match your personal preferences in Tenerife!
GRILLED CHEESE WITH MOJO AND HONEY
There is a saying here in the Canary Islands that you can't be a Canarian if you don't know how to cook grilled cheese with mojo and honey. It's a very simple but very tasty dish: slices of smoked cheese with green mojo and palm honey - a delicious way to start a meal!
WINE FROM TENERIFE
There is a lot to say about Tenerife wine. History is surprising when we talk about wine and Tenerife. Since the 1700's the trade between England and Tenerife has involved the export of Tenerife wine - even Shakespeare mentioned Tenerife wine! Not forgetting that during the toast to the Independence of the United States a Canarian wine was opened.
There are many historical connections between the Canary Islands and the financing of American Independence. The historical truth is still a matter of debate but there is no doubt that the Canary Islands influenced the process. How? Through the wine trade. At that time the Canaries were exporting large pipes of wine from the north of Tenerife via Madeira and, with the successful management of Franklin and Morris, they were sold in Philadelphia and throughout New England.
In fact, we can almost confirm that the toast on that historic day in 1776 was made with this "Madeira wine", which was probably wine from our valley of La Orotava. find interesting information about the different wines of the island and their Denominación de Origen - Denomination of Origin. In addition, I recommend a visit to the Casa del Vino de Tenerife where you can take part in an interesting wine tasting programme and discover all about Tenerife Wine in a beautiful old Canarian house.
Food prices in Tenerife
The prices of food in Tenerife are incredibly reasonable if you find the right place. These places are known as guachinches.
GUACHINCHES
The history of the guachinches is fantastic to discover and great to experience. The locals living in the midlands harvest grapes for their own consumption.
When they have their own wine, they are allowed, in order to sell the wine, to open a small local family "restaurant". These places are very simple and the menus stick to typical Canarian dishes - sometimes you only have a couple of choices! It is highly recommended to visit at least one guachinche during your stay if you want to try authentic Canarian food in Tenerife and real local Tenerife wine. List of some guachinches in the north:
Although the guachinches are typical of the north of the island, there are some guachinches typical of the north of the island, there are some worth trying in the south:
- The Source in Arona
- The Pinalete in Granadilla
- The Cave of Chichio in Las Zocas
MORE SOPHISTICATED RESTAURANTS
If you are looking for something more sophisticated, you can find amazing Tenerife food in excellent restaurants all over the island. There is a Michelin Star "Rincon de Juan Carlos" which offers an incredible fusion menu of typical Canarian food and international flavours.
Another must of the sophisticated Canarian offer is La Sandunga.
I think the best tips have already been given, but of course ... there is so much to say about Tenerife's food and drink that there will be Chapter 2!
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