On Chorizo

Spanish chorizo is made from coarsely chopped pork and pork fat, seasoned with smoked pimentón (paprika) and salt. It is generally classed as either picante (spicy) or dulce (sweet), depending upon the type of smoked paprika used.

There are hundreds of regional varieties of Spanish chorizo, both smoked and unsmoked, which may contain garlic, herbs and other ingredients. Chorizo comes in short, long, hard and soft varieties, some of which are suited to being eaten as an appetizer or tapas, whereas others are better suited to cooking.

Leaner varieties are typically better suited to tapas, eaten at room temperature, whereas fattier versions are generally used for cooking. A general rule of thumb is that long, thin chorizos are sweeter and short chorizos are spicy, although this is not always the case.

As well as chorizo, Spain also produces lomo and salchichón, cured and air dried in a similar way. Lomo is a lean cured meat to slice, made from the loin of the pig, which is marinated and then air-dried. Salchichón is another cured sausage without the pimentón seasoning of chorizo, but flavoured with black peppercorns instead.