Some call paella a Spanish national meal that offers as many variants as the cooks! Its common characteristics are rice and saffron, and it is a very social culinary event.

September 20th marks Spanish Paellas Day’s annual celebration. Paella, a Spanish rice dish, has gained immense popularity and is internationally famous.

The chefs who compete at this World Paella Championship are chosen from the public and by an expert panel. They all choose their paellas and competition recipes with one thing in mind: rice needs water, and it needs to be loose, whole, and yummy.

Paella symbolizes belonging to a family and reflects the importance of family in daily Spanish life. Families gather to eat these delicious meals, so they cook their paella using readily available ingredients.

This can sometimes be explained in several ways. It’s a common practice in the kitchen that Thursday is the cook’s weekend, meaning everyone ate out often. Another reason for Francisco Franco to like paella was that restaurants placed it on the menu to avoid going hungry.

In Spain, paella is an appetizer made of saffron rice cooked with meat and seafood. Originating in rice fields along the Spanish coast, the dish is particularly connected to Valencia.

Along Spain’s coasts, fish primarily consume rice. Spanish food scholar Lourdes March writes that the dish symbolizes two important cultures’ union.