3 ms·

I'm intrigued by this notion of an alternate form of paella; what is it that Americans think they're asking for when they order paella?

• dagw 5y ago
  "Paella" in the US (and much of non-mediterranean Europe) generally implies shellfish. This is only common in some parts of Spain, and is not considered an 'authentic' Valencian paella. An American would absolutely recognize it for what it is, it might just be a bit different from what they where assuming. That being said most Spaniards happily chuck whatever they happen to have laying round into their paella when cooking at home.
  • ahartmetz 5y ago
    Hm. I'm German, and to me, paella means some dish with rice in a pan plus whatever. Usually contains tomato in some way, I guess? It has a similar meaning to pizza (starchy base + usually tomato + [...]) that way.
  • jmkb 5y ago
    The notion of paella purity is powerful enough that Valencians successfully protested Apple's rendering of the "shallow pan of food" emoji because it evoked a non-Valencian paella (or, as they would say, not paella at all but just arroz con cosas.) https://blog.emojipedia.org/apple-fixes-paella-emoji/ https://blog.emojipedia.org/apple-fixes-paella-emoji/
  • joelfolksy 5y ago
    ""Paella" in the US (and much of non-mediterranean Europe) generally implies shellfish." Interested in how you came to that conclusion. All of the restaurants near me that serve paella offer a wide variety of protein options.