Churros or Porras? (Or a Fry Up?)
By Rob Innis
In a former life a Sunday breakfast treat was the traditional British fry up and jolly good it was too – just right to fill your stomach either before or after (but not both) a bracing walk along a coastal promenade or a good hike over the hills.
Now Sundays take on a different stance and churros are the order of the day.
Breakfast with churros or porras is a very old tradition which is traditionally accompanied with hot thick chocolate. My Spanish wife claims churros are best known in Madrid where eating churros is enjoyed after a night of celebration and many chuerrias open as the late night venues including discos close around 4am.
Their origins are naturally disputed with many theories quoted about who/when/where the first churros were consumed. Some say it all began in Catalonia in the early nineteenth century, others believe it was the Arabs who brought them to the Iberian Peninsula.
Others claim the shepherds are the creators, deriving its name from the cattle churro. In any case, there is no official edict to clarify their origin. Even the Provincial Association of Employers of Churros in Madrid, who has researched the topic, has not managed to shed official light on this point.
So put the debate to one side and just get on with the eating – churros are the smaller ones twisted to link both ends whilst porras are their big fat long cousin, perfect for dipping into the hot sticky chocolate or a cafe con leche.
Now I am one of chocolates biggest fans, but I cannot face it for breakfast so my standing order is
“Coffee con leche, muy largo de cafe con dos porras por favor”
Mind you I do sometimes deviate and hit a 2.50€ Brit fry-up and why not? Down here on the coast we call in the `fry-up wars´ with each `caf’ currently trying to outdo the one down the road.
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