In the 20th century Spanish eating habits changed considerably. Although factors such as age, sex, social status may to some extent influence eating habits, there are three basic meals in the contemporary Spanish diet. Breakfast is definitely not the most substantial meal of the day and it typically consists of coffee with milk (alternatively tea or juice) and a sweet roll of the magdalena type or a toast. Breakfast is traditionally eaten between 8 and 9 in the morning. Lunch is the main meal, served between 2 and 3p.m.. Dinner most often starts between 9p.m. and 10p.m. Weekend meals are distinguished by a long break after the dessert which is dedicated to the traditional "cafe, copa y puro" which means coffee, a glass of wine and a cigar. In many restaurants you can order the so called plato combinado ( a set main course with different components served on one plate).
The custom of the Mediterranean cuisine is serving drinks together with snacks which, in Spain, are called tapas. In some regions in the north of the country, such as Cantabria, La Rioja, the Basque Country and Navarre, snacks are called pinchos or pintxos, which literally means spikes (the name refers to toothpicks which are through the snacks). In those regions the custom is to sell the snacks by piece, usually all of them at one price. In other parts of Spain, especially in the east of Andalusia, tapas are served as a free snack with each drink. The serving of tapas in Spanish bars usually occurs in the afternoon or evening.
There are different opinions on the classification of the regional cuisines in Spain. There are authors for whom the main criteria of the division are the ingredients dominant in the particular region. Following this principle, Enrique Sordo defines seven culinary regions in his book entitled "Arte espanol de la cocina", whereas Luis Antonio de Vega specifies five regions characteristic of the Spanish cuisine in his guidebook called "Guia gastronomica de Espana". Nestor Lujan and Juan Perucho, on the other hand, created one classification in the book entitled "Libro de la cocina espanola". In the contemporary books about the Spanish gastronomy a political classification is used, which means a division of the regional cuisines based on the seventeen autonomous communities (including two autonomous cities).
In Spain there are many culinary customs. In the past, regional differences were very visible, while today Spaniards have common rules concerning eating. It is customary for breakfast to be a light meal, whereas lunch is the meal that gives the most energy during the day. Dinner is eaten at nightfall and it is usually much later than in other European countries. Children and seniors usually eat an additional meal between lunch and dinner and it is called a mid-afternoon snack. It must be emphasised that the eating habits in Spain have changed significantly, which is reflected in the results of the survey conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, which show that Spaniards eat most of the meals away from home, that is in bars, restaurants and fast food chains.
