The Tortilla de Patata is Madrid’s, but for How Long?
The most traditional tapa in Madrid is the Tortilla de Patata, ubiquitously available in bars, restaurants, and households throughout every corner of this city. It is simply prepared with the most staple three ingredients at the supermarket: eggs, potatoes, and olive oil. Food-flation, the increase in the price of foods, is slashing the economy due to higher production costs, adverse weather conditions, and supply chain disruptions from both the Ukraine war and unfair pay of agricultural workers, resulting in food commodity prices massively increasing. This presses the question of whether or not Madrid will continue to be known for Madrid’s sacred Tortilla de Patata. The future evolution of food prices is subject to high uncertainty, and therefore the future of this city’s most traditional tapa is unknown.
The social and cultural importance of the Tortilla de Patata directly influences its economical importance. Tapas are essential to social, gastronomical, and cultural life in Spain, with the Tortilla de Patata being essential to Madrid’s. Sandra Sanchez Andujar, a freelance tour guide in Madrid, expresses that this tapa, “is just very continuous and natural.” It is offered in restaurants and prepared in households all throughout the city, can be eaten at any time of day, in many forms, and in a variety of ways. The origin of this tradition is controversial: some say the tradition dates back to Spanish prisoners inventing the recipe in captivity during the Portuguese Restoration War of 1665 and upon release, brought the recipe back with them to Spain. Others say that the tradition dates back to the siege of Bilbao, when the Carlist generals invented the Tortilla de patata as a simple and nutritious dish to satisfy the scarcities of the Carlist army. Despite its origin, for generations, the Tortilla de patata has quickly, easily, and nutritiously filled Spaniards’ stomachs among sparse conditions with accessible resources.
The ingredients could not be simpler and the preparation could not be easier:
finely dice or slice potatoes
season and simmer with olive oil
stir at a medium heat until potatoes are soft
drain potatoes and mix with whisked eggs
pour mixture into pan and let cook until its consistently/texture pleases you
However, the massive increases in food prices are halting the production of the tortillas in restaurants and households alike.
According to Banco de Espana, on the global scale, there is an “increase in the prices of food raw materials,” that is “having a strong impact on the consumer prices of these products.” This January, the Association of Financial Users (Fiab) reports that the basic shopping basket for buyers in January 2024 is almost 20% more expensive than it was in January 2023. The basic shopping basket has risen by over 25% in the past four years. In 2019, the basic shopping basket was 100 euro and now it is over 126 euro. This affects both buyers and suppliers, and every member along the supply chain.
The National Institute of Statistics reports that Spain’s inflation rate for December 2023 was 3.1%. They continued, reporting that olive oil rose 54.6% between December 2020 and December 2023. The price of olives have skyrocketed by 165.5% in these three years, with prices rising 44% in 2022 alone. It is scary that the industry is slowing down, but it is the reality. To fix this, the government is trying to reverse this reality.
The Spanish government implemented a VAT reduction on basic grocery products to act as an anti-inflation shield, but its expected effect has not come to fruition as prices are still rising. Patricia Suarez, president of Asufrin, surmised that the VAT implementation to serve as a measure of slowing inflation has been ineffective because “it is a measure without any middle ground, which benefits both the one who buys the most and the one who buys the least.” With this measure not benefitting Madrid’s economy and this society, the government needs to take new steps, or else buying and supplying strategies will drastically change, and ultimately, this society and thier way of life will too.
Food-flation is causing shoppers to adopt different spending strategies; many shoppers aim to fight these rising food costs in grocery stores by turning to supermarket-owned brands. For example, Carrefour is permanently reducing prices on over five-hundred of their own brand products. Some products are now costing up to 13% less. The supply of company-owned products helps Carrefour reduce prices along their supply chain and brings in more revenue from more customers engaging with this new business model.
Alexandro Ruiz Perez, a Professor of Economics at IE University in Madrid and a Senior Analyst at Compass Lexecon, agrees that the price increase in food products, “especially olive oil, has affected many things here in Madrid such as the Tortilla de Patata or anything that requires olive oil.” Similarly to shoppers turning to supermarket-owned brands, Professor Ruiz Perez suggests that shoppers will turn “to a cheaper olive oil like sunflower oil, even though that is still increasing. Or perhaps, people will use less olive oil overall.”
However, the switch to a cheaper olive oil, a different type of oil, or less use of olive oil, will completely change the quality and taste of Madrid’s beloved Tortilla de Patata. If this tapa loses its charm, then people could “switch away from this tapa to another tapa that does not require as much oil use or consumption,” and the future of this city’s most traditional tapa will ultimately be at risk. Sanchez Andujar fears that “this will give a crisis to our country.”
In terms of supply and demand, tapas are elastic. Amir Tarighpeyma Shirkhani, Adjunct Professor of Economics, from IE University in Madrid, explains to his students that elasticity of supply and demand occurs when an economic factor changes, resulting in supply and demand changes. With these circumstances, he poses the question: “To what extent will people resort to other tapas if food prices go up?”
Palmira Gustavicio, a chef at Colosimo, feels that the people of Madrid will not resort to another tapa of their choice despite these changes. “If we reduce portion size, then quality and taste can still be maintained.”
Juan Sedano, a colleague of Sanchez Andujar, asserts that, if anything, the Tortilla de Patata will become more popular among tourists and foreigners rather than locals with the change of ingredients due to food prices. “As a foreigner, you would not be able to taste the difference between a Tortilla with boiled potatoes or fried potatoes but I will tell you that this is important for the locals. They will taste the quality difference.”.
Sanchez Andujar believes in the future of Madrid’s most sacred tapa. She believes that, “even if we have to sacrifice other things, we would do that because our food culture is important to use and we would not get rid of that.”
With the Tortilla de Patata, the economic factor of food prices increasing is causing the supply of ingredients to be limited and the demand for ingredients to slow down. Consumers are less likely to spend their money on a product that they can find substitutes for, whether that is individual ingredients or the dish as a whole.
Angelica Carlito, a frequent customer of Pez Tortilla, one of Madrid’s most popular spots to indulge in this fine tapa, asks why the price of her go-to order at all Pez Tortilla locations has increased in recent years.
Upward pressure on food prices have been mainly affected due to changes in climate, farmers’ protests, and the war in Ukraine.
The United Nations reported that the Mediterranean region is heating up 20% faster than the global average. Madrid has suffered from this reality, as the entire Iberian Peninsula is experiencing a prolonged and severe drought, causing a massive reduction in the yields of a variety of crops. According to a report by Caixa Bank, “the persistent lack of rain in Spring and warmer than normal temperatures have led to anomalous negative topsoil moisture rates and poor conditions for vegetation and crops in the midst of the growing season.” This causes the prices to increase and the volume of exports to decrease. The Economic Accounts for Agriculture found that crop production in Spain is 9% higher than the eurozone average, and the drought has led to a 7% decrease in yields of potatoes and a 55% decrease in production of olive oil from the previous year.
Meanwhile, farmers are staging protests to fight for fair pay. Farmers organizations such as Coordinator of Farmers and Livestock (COAG), the main representative entity of the farming sector in Spain, argue that the current situation is unprosperous due to adverse weather conditions, and that farmers are not being compensated based on these circumstances.
The shortage of exports and production cause demand to increase, meaning prices are rising above inflation rates. Supermarkets in Spain are concerned that farmers are asking for too much, and refuse to raise prices to accommodate for these changes in fear that they will lose customers unwilling to pay these high amounts.
In addition, the war in Ukraine is persistently continuing to exert an upward pressure on food-flation. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is affecting the prices of two crucial necessities in agricultural production: energy and fertilizer. This limit on major food commodities from major distributors are affecting production capacities, export volumes, and prices at the global scale.
Spain has traditionally been a nation whose supply chains have remained united in force in face of macroeconomic challenges. But now, with four distinct and dominant factors affecting food-flation– high producton costs, adverse weather conditions, the war between Russia and Ukraine, and agricultural workers’ rights issues– this city is at a fork in the road. This is about more than the Tortilla de Patata … Will the spiked prices in food commodities change Madrid’s everyday life?
