How does spanish religion affect the food?

Answer 1

Religion and its association with food in Spain

In Spain, There are many different influences on how the food is made and what is in it. One of these influences happens to be religion. 70% of people in Spain are actually Roman Catholic. 25% of the population is Atheist, and the other small amount people practice other religions. For Catholics, the only restrictions are that meat is not allowed to be eaten on Ash Wednesday and on Fridays during Lent. Some Strict Catholics still feel all Fridays during the year should be meatless, unless this meat is Fish. Other than Fridays and Ash Wednesday, there aren't many food restrictions except that all things must be taken in with moderation. Over eating to some can be as sinful as drinking too much. In Spain, especially in Andalusia, the presence of Muslim culture can be seen everywhere. Mixed with the culture of catholic Spain, Muslim shows in everything from the architecture to the cuisine. This is because in the spring of 711, the Umayyad kingdom attacked part of Spain and after about 8 years they finally conquered. For centuries the Muslim culture took over and still shows today especially in food. During those centuries, People created Spain's first irrigation system to farm and grow crops. The Muslims brought over and introduced Spain to new produce. The irrigation system was used to help grow spices and foods such as saffron, apricots, artichokes, carob, sugar, grapefruits, carrots, and rice. Many of these ingredients are used in a tradition Spanish dish called paella made with mostly saffron and rice. Spain actually produces 70% of the crops worldwide. The Muslim influence on Spanish food is probably more visible in their desserts, and the majority of the more traditional desserts are clear examples of this. Muslims introduced the almonds which revolutionized pastry making. They are now an essential part of Spanish desserts and have left their mark on many dishes; one of these is the famous torta de almendras. Muslims aren't allowed to eat pork at all. Pork is considered non kosher to them and therefore it is a sin to consume it. So centuries ago, pig was not popular. Now that a big portion of Spain is Catholic, pork is eaten a lot, partially because of Catholics love for eating pig and not wanting to waste any of it. Ham in Spain is now very popular actually. Over the Centuries, religion made many changes to cuisine and culture in Spain. Catholic and Muslim religion definitely influenced Spain's culture and cuisine in more ways than any other religions.

Answer 2

Sports medicine is a somewhat exclusive major that isn't offered by a large number of universities. Lots of larger scale public universities offer it as a major, however. Places like Michigan State University and KU have some of the best programs in the country.

Answer 3

There is very little affect on food since the dominant religion in Mexico is Catholicism. There are no food restrictions in this religion.