There is an abundance in the city because a King was trying to convince a woman from the mountains to marry him and live in the castle. She said she would miss the snow too much so he planted orange trees around the city so every year the while blossom would fall and remind her of the snow.

The hanging of Iberian ham which is so strongly associated with Andalucia dates back to King Ferdinand. This was a time when Jews and Muslims had to prove they had converted faith after being presented the choice to convert or burn at the stake. So people hung pork to prove their conversion as those not eating pork became suspects of the Inquisition.

There are plenty of theories and the origin of picky bits but my favourite is that in the days where horses were used as transport. Fed up of passing horses kicking up sand into his sherry a Prince is said to have barked, "Give me something to cover my drink with". He was presented with a slab of cheese or ham to cover the liquor and consumed it afterwards.

Haters will tell you that landlords fed guests with small bits of salty food so they drank more.