The Canary Island Cuisine

We’ve had a lot of people ask us about the food here. The questions usually ask more generally about “Spanish Food” but given we haven’t had any time on the mainland, we’ll stick to Gran Canaria island.

Let’s start by saying that the food here is good. We’ve eaten mostly at home, but try to experience what my sister-in-law Kimberly phrased “Civilized Lunch” as often as we can. As you may know the Spanish usually start their dinner hour around 9pm and frankly we are ready for bed by then. Our normal routine is a late breakfast then a large lunch around 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon usually tied to an outing.

The meals here are simple and the flavors are mild. Sometimes that flavor profile is a little dull and I wish I’d brought a bottle of Valentina or Cholula to spice things up a bit. We thought there would be more seafood, but menus are largely limited to fried squid, octopus, shrimp, and fish. In thinking about it, this may be related to the largely British and Northern European tourist crowd that invades these islands every winter.

We have found a large selection of fresh fish and meats and an unlimited supply of ingredients for our frequent homemade charcuterie happy hour boards at the local supermarkets and larger town Mercado that are everywhere. We are eating very well in the apartment. The local ingredients are so good with the fresh eggs leading the charge as our favorite ingredient.

See the gallery below for some pictures!