Tenerife Food: Best Typical Dishes and Wines
Tenerife Food and Drink
Visiting Tenerife and the Canary Islands has everything 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 so that you can discover special places.
Authentic Canarian food in Tenerife
Which are the best typical dishes? Probably you have never heard about some of them. Others are more common to you as cheese, wine or fish. But what you have to know is that this is the real Tenerife food and drink, the food and drink that identify us and that you will taste when you visit Tenerife.
Food in Tenerife
'PAPAS ARRUGADAS'
The ultra-famous papas – potatoes – are key in the Tenerife food menu. The potatoes arrived in Europe from South America through Tenerife. The first potato was planted on an estate – farm – called “Icod el Alto” in the North of Tenerife island in the city of Icod where you can find the great Drago Milenario.
Papas are boiled in water with a lot of 'sal gorda' – thick salt – and because of the type of papas and the way they are dried after boiling together with the salt, they become 'arrugadas' – wrinkled – and they look…wrinkled! Types and varieties of potatoes make the difference. You have 'papa antigua', 'papa bonita', 'papa kinegua' (King Eduard´s), 'borralla'…
Not only does the colour, the size and the flavouring matter but also the texture is very important! My grandmother never let me cut a potato with a knife, because you miss texture if you do so!!
'MOJO'
The 'mojo' is a typical sauce that you can eat together with papas arrugadas and many meat or fish main courses. It is incredibly yummy and is the staple sauce for any Canarian dish. It is either made from red pepper for the mojo rojo – the red version – or with garlic and coriander for the mojo verde – green version. It’s a must in Canarian and Tenerife food!
'POTAJE DE VERDURAS'
All year long Tenerife has vegetables growing on its land: sweet pepper, zucchinis, pumpkin, chickpeas… The 'potaje de verduras' is basically a mix of all the seasonal vegetables put in a blender. Hence, the winter 'potaje' will be different from the summer 'potaje'.
GOFIO
Gofio is a highly nutritive mix of cereal that was the main food in the worst economic times in the islands, especially in the rural areas. Its flavour is quite strong but once you get used to it, it is fantastic together with 'potaje de verduras' and fresh goat cheese, with smashed bananas and cooked as escaldón.
Every 'guachinche' - see below - offers scald, otherwise it is not a 'guachinche'! The southern 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 an excellent place for marine reef development and a truly impressive place to visit.
to follow on your holidays?
Don't miss the Teide peakexperience : on foot or by cable car.
Get to know the most visited national park in Europe and climb the highest peak in Spain. Exceed your limits in this excursion 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, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the help of a guide Senda, book your place for a guided tour of Teide with permits.
FISH
'La Vieja' or 'El Cherne' are two species endemic to our ocean. Boiled and accompanied by 'papas arrugadas' 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 CORNCOBS
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 corncob, so don't be surprised if you don't find pineapple in this dish!
CHEESE
Tenerife cheeses are one of the big musts. Cheese lovers will be surprised as they discover an incredible variety of very tasty cheeses. Goat cheese is the best-known cheese on the island without a doubt and exists in different types of ripening: fresh, ahumado – smoked – dry or semi dry. There always will be a cheese matching your personal preferences in Tenerife!
ROASTED CHEESE WITH 'MOJO' AND HONEY
There is a saying here in the Canary Islands that you cannot be Canarian if you don’t know how to cook queso asado con mojo y miel. It is a very simple dish yet very tasty: a few slices of smoked cheese with 'mojo verde' and palm honey. A delicious way to start a meal!
TENERIFE WINE
There is much to say about Tenerife wine. History is surprising when we come to wine and Tenerife. Since 1700, commerce between England and Tenerife put together the export of Tenerife wine. Even Shakespeare mentioned Tenerife wine! Not forgetting that one Canarian wine was opened during the toast for the Independence of the United States.
There are many historical connections between the Canary Islands and the financing of American Independence. The historical truth is still subject to debate but there are no doubts that the Canary Islands had an influence on that process. How? Through the commerce of wine. At that time the Canaries exported big pipes of wine from the north of Tenerife through Madeira and, with the successful management of Franklin and Morris were sold in Philadelphia and all throughout New England.
In fact, we can almost confirm the fact that the toast on that historical day of 1776 was made with that “wine from Madeira,” which was likely to be wine from our valley of La Orotava. On the Tenerife Wine official webpage, you’ll find interesting information about the different wines of the island and their Denominación de Origen – designation of origin. Also, I recommend a visit to the Casa del Vino de Tenerife where you can do an interesting wine-tasting program and discover in a beautiful ancient Canarian house everything about Tenerife Wine.
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:
- La Fuente in Arona
- El Pinalete in Granadilla
- The Cave of Chichio in Las Zocas
SOPHISTICATED RESTAURANTS
If you are looking for something more sophisticated, you can find incredible Tenerife Food in great restaurants all over the island. There is a Michelin Star “Rincon de Juan Carlos” which offers an incredible fusion menu of Canarian typical food and international flavours.
Another must of the Canarian sophisticated offer is La Sandunga.
I think the highest tips are already given, but of course… there is so much to say about Tenerife food and drink that there will be Chapter 2!
