What makes a paella a real paella? In its birthplace of Valencia, the debate can sometimes verge on the violent. Just ask Jamie Oliver: his 2016 recipe including chorizo sausage caused an international scandal.
Now anthropologists in Spain think their scientific research has allowed them to reach a definitive answer. In an academic article published this week, they found ten basic ingredients that appear in nine out of ten paellas cooked in the province of Valencia. And they’re sorry, Jamie, but chorizo is not one of them.
Perhaps even more surprising for Britons is the fact that seafood is almost never used.
The two-year investigation was inspired by a local restaurant owner, who came up with a list of what he thought were paella’s essential ingredients. Pablo Vidal-González, an anthropologist at the Catholic University of Valencia, set out to see whether he could use science and data to prove it.
They interviewed at least one person from every town in the province. They also established other criteria: the person should be over 50, had to have lived at the same address for 20 years and shouldn’t be a professional chef. The result was a body of data gleaned from 387 interviews with what the authors claim to be an accuracy of 95 per cent.
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They found that rice, olive oil, tomato, salt, saffron, green beans, lima beans, water and chicken appeared in more than 90 per cent of recipes. Rabbit was also frequently used, featuring in 88.9 per cent. Seafood such as prawns was present but very uncommon: shellfish appeared in 0.6 per cent of recipes, fish in 0.3 per cent and prawns in 0.3 per cent.
Vidal-González said the aim wasn’t to establish a definitive recipe because there is no such thing. The best recipe is “the one your grandmother did”, he said.
Rather, the objective was to establish the basic components required for a dish to be classified as a Valencian paella. Other ingredients such as snails, duck, artichoke, paprika and rosemary, which also appeared in the survey but with less frequency, are embellishments that can be added according to the whim of each cook.
The paella in many ways has been a victim of its own success. Its origins can be traced to the 18th or early 19th century when it was cooked by farmers using ingredients at hand. Over time it has developed into a dish associated with celebrations and eaten in large gatherings, usually in the countryside.
Championed by the government as a cultural icon, it has spread around the world in replications that make many Valencians balk. Vidal-González said he had seen versions in Canada and New York whose only connection to the paella was the large flat pan they were cooked in. Other Valencians have marvelled at some of the adulterations they have seen when they leave Valencia, including paella with bananas or strawberries.
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A local journalist wrote in 2014: “The classic Valencian recipe undergoes a brutal mutation when it falls into the hands of others.”
Vidal-González says he has no problem with how globalisation has transformed the recipe. But he also believes it is important to establish boundaries to protect the origins of cultural assets.
“There’s no problem with Jamie Oliver doing a rice with chorizo but please don’t call it Valencian paella,” Vidal said. “I think Jamie Oliver has done us a big favour by helping to push for protection of the Valencian paella.”
The findings were published in the Internal Journal of Gastronomy and Food Sciences.
Recipe for ten
Ingredients
1kg Bomba rice
1.5kg chicken
500g rabbit
800g green beans
300g French beans
6 artichokes
1 red pepper
250g chopped tomatoes
250ml extra virgin olive oil
Saffron food colouring
Sweet paprika
Salt
Water (7.2 litres)
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Method
Lightly-fry the chopped red pepper and put to one side. Fry the meat until sealed/browned. Add the vegetables and lightly fry for about five minutes. Add the chopped tomato and sweet paprika, then 7.2 litres of water (about half will evaporate). Simmer for 20 minutes then add the rice, with some saffron food colouring and salt to taste. Boil the rice for 15-20 minutes, high heat for the first 5 minutes, then progressively reducing the heat. After 10 minutes of boiling add the red pepper you put to one side. Leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving.