Eating churros when you are travelling to Spain, is one of those must do things.. You will love them! But before eating this delicious pastry dough, let us tell you more about its history. «Where do churros come from?», «Why do people eat it with chocolate?» these are some of the most asked questions by tourists, and today we are going to solve them and tell you other interesting facts.
🥨 Where are churros originally from?
Although there are many myths about the origins of the churro, most of the people believe there are three realistic stories and in each of them, the original country of churros is different:
1) Does the origin of churros come from the Spanish shepherds?
Spanish people will normally tell you this story, as they really want to believe that the country of origin of churros is Spain.
It is said that the Shepherds did not have any access to fresh food and specially to bread. To substitute it, they used flour, water and oil to create it (Which are the same ingredients used for the churros recipe).
2) Are churros Chinese?
The common churro origin story says that they where invented in China. Hard to believe right?
Many historians have said that the descendant of the churros we know nowadays is a Chinese pastry recognized by the name of “Youtiao”. The Youtiao consists in two breadsticks together without sugar without being accompanied with hot chocolate.
This Chinese dish was introduced by the Portuguese in the Iberian Peninsula and then its recipe started to change and become sweeter.
3) The Egyptian churros
There is one last possibility when talking about “Where were churros invented?”, not many people believe it, but some say that churros were born in the Ancient Egypt.
It may sound crazy but there are paintings in the tomb of Ramses III where people are working on process that are very similar to the way churros are made.
If this theory is confirmed, the actual origin of churros could have been more than 3,000 years ago.
🕵️♀️ Who invented churros?
No matter which was the churros origin country, what we know for sure is that it was one of the civilizations we have said before.
Many people try to look for an inventor of churros, but the truth is that this delicious dessert was created so many years ago, that we can only mention a whole country when talking about its beginnings.
🐐 Origin of the word churros
Although nowadays you can find a million shapes for the churros, the traditional one is from Spain, and it´s a large, semi-circle fried dough. This shape is actually very similar to horns of the churra sheep and that is the simple reason why it was called that way.
🍫 What about the history of Churros con chocolate?
Of course, the history of churros with chocolate is way different, and you really need to know that the whole meaning of churros changed in Spain when chocolate was discovered.
As you may know, cacao was not brought to Europe until the Spanish returned from America. People realized that churros tasted were better if they were dipped in a hot thick chocolate sauce.
Nowadays eating churros with chocolate is one of the most common things to do during Christmas in Spain.
🌎 When did churros originate in other countries?
No one knows about the official date of the Spanish churros origin, it could have been 3,000 years ago, or it could have been way later. The only thing we know, is that churros started to be common in other countries after the XVI century, when the colonization of America and other regions of the earth occurred.
Mexico, Philippines, Argentina, Chile, they all eat a different kind of churros. In Cuba they created the guava-filled churros, in Mexico the ones filled with dulce de leche and in Philippines they actually have a million types of churros.
👀 Interesting & fun facts about Churros
- Churros are known in many countries as Spanish donuts
- Did you know that the original churros were the size of a breadstick? We would not be able to eat as many as we do today for sure!
- One Churro contains about 103 calories! Make your own conclusions.
- In Disneyland, about 2.8 million churros are sold per year.
- Depending on the country, churros are filled with different ingredients. In many South American countries churros wear Dulce de Leche inside.
🧐 Why are churros important to Spain?
There is a special conection between churros and Spanish people, because whenever they go party, the tradition says that you should be awake until sunrise, and then go eat some churros with your friends.
As it happens in every single country, Spaniards like to defend what it´s supposed to be theirs, and they get «agressive» if you say churros are not from Spain.
Enjoy learning about the Spanish churros history
That´s all you need to know! As you have been reading, it´s very complicated to know the origin of Spanish churros as there are many theories, but at least is something very interesting to learn. Hope you enjoyed it and if you have any other question, please let us know!