By Rafe Calder
The dish is named after the pan. That is the plain fact in the encyclopaedia, and it is the reason a decree about the dish is worth reading for what it does not say about the pan.
The name
Wikipedia says “paella” means frying pan in Valencian and Catalan, and that the word traces back through Old French to the Latin “patella”. Many regions also use “paellera” for the pan. A local Spanish newspaper first used “paella” for the dish rather than the pan in 1840, it adds. The article describes a rice dish from the Valencian Community with a modern form dating to the mid-nineteenth century in the rural area around the Albufera lagoon near Valencia, and notes a theory that Albufera rice farmers invented it in the fifteenth century. We give both dates and choose neither.
The decree
Valencia Plaza, a newspaper, reports that the Valencian government’s cabinet approved the decree on Friday, 29 October 2021. The Spanish official gazette, the BOE, published it on 15 March 2022, and says the file was opened by resolution on 23 April 2021. The decree is Decreto 176/2021. It declares the Valencian paella, under the title “el arte de unir y compartir”, the art of uniting and sharing, a Bien de Interés Cultural of the intangible kind.
What does it protect? Valencia Plaza says it covers the dish’s main name, the preparation of its recipe and its versions across the territory, and calls for identifying, describing, studying and documenting the good and ensuring its transmission to future generations. Directo al Paladar, a food website, headlines that the rule does not dare to define a concrete recipe.
What it says about the pan
Nothing, as far as our sources report. The BOE summary we read says the decree does not describe the pan or its type. Valencia Plaza and Directo al Paladar do not mention the pan either. So the object that gave the dish its name is, in these accounts, absent from the text that declares the dish a cultural good. We note that with surprise and without a conclusion.
What it says about rice and fire
The BOE text calls rice the essential ingredient, “el ingrediente imprescindible: el arroz”. It also names fish, meat, vegetables, legumes (garrofón) and olive oil, mentions rabbit and chicken, and says versions with chorizo or sausage are considered a controversial innovation. It advises spreading the rice in a thin layer when space allows, marking the broth with a cross so the rice distributes evenly, and not stirring the rice while it cooks, because its starch makes the grains stick together. Directo al Paladar reads the same decree as naming rice as the only essential ingredient and as advising against stirring without ruling out versions that stir. Wikipedia lists the traditional ingredients of paella valenciana as rice, olive oil, rabbit, chicken, duck, snails, saffron or a substitute, tomato, flat green beans, lima beans, salt and water. The decree text and the encyclopaedia do not match, and neither claims to be the other.
On fuel, the BOE says orange-tree wood is described as the most suitable, giving the dish a distinctive aroma and keeping the heat steady and even, with little smoke. With gas, it says, the burners must heat the whole pan evenly. Directo al Paladar reads the orange-wood passage as a tradition the decree treats as optional and increasingly rare. Wikipedia says paella was traditionally cooked over an open fire of orange tree and pine branches and pine cones, with guests eating from the pan. The BOE says “most suitable”; the food website says “optional”. We show both.
The pan itself, from a cook’s blog
For the pan we turn to The Wanderlust Kitchen, a food blog, which is not a technical source. It says carbon steel is the traditional material in Spain and originates from Valencia, with the highest thermal conductivity of the main types it compares, a dimpled bottom that helps spread heat evenly, and a need for seasoning with vegetable oil over a flame or on the stove before first use. It says carbon steel is not dishwasher-safe, that soap can strip the seasoning, and that the pan should be dried thoroughly after a gentle scrub. Enamelled steel, it says, resists rust better, but a chipped enamel can lead to rust. Stainless pans need no seasoning, it adds, and it advises against the 18/0 grade. It gives sizes by diameter: a 36-centimetre pan for two to four servings, a 40-centimetre pan for four to six, a 55-centimetre pan for seven to twelve. The blog does not explain why the pan is wide and shallow. Our reading: a wide pan puts more of the rice against the heat, which fits the thin layer the decree describes, but no source we read makes that link.
Socarrat
Wikipedia calls the socarrat, the layer of scorched rice at the bottom, traditionally a positive feature if not burnt. The decree summaries we read do not mention it.
Dates in order
- 15th century: a theory that Albufera rice farmers invented the dish, according to Wikipedia.
- Mid-19th century: modern form around the Albufera, according to Wikipedia.
- 1840: “paella” first used for the dish and not the pan, according to Wikipedia.
- 23 April 2021: the file is opened, according to the BOE.
- 29 October 2021: the cabinet approves Decreto 176/2021, according to Valencia Plaza and the BOE.
- 15 March 2022: the BOE publishes it, according to the BOE.
Side by side
Orange wood: most suitable (BOE) against optional (Directo al Paladar). Ingredients: a named list including garrofón (BOE) against rice only (Directo al Paladar). Origin: fifteenth century (theory) against mid-nineteenth (Wikipedia). Pan: not described in any of the three decree accounts.
What kind of sources these are
The BOE is the official gazette and prints the decree itself, though we read it through a summary. Valencia Plaza is a newspaper reporting the day of approval. Directo al Paladar is a food website. Wikipedia can be edited by anyone. The Wanderlust Kitchen is a cooking blog. We did not read the decree’s full text.
Questions a buyer would ask
What is the pan made of, and does it need seasoning? What is its diameter and how many servings does the maker say it suits? Do the handles stay put, and is the base dimpled? Will it fit your burner? We name no maker and no price.
What we left out
We left out the record-size paella entries, the emoji, the Hemingway remark and the 2019 UNESCO bid mentioned on Wikipedia, none of which bears on the pan. We left out the debate over which version is “authentic” beyond Wikipedia’s note that Valencians maintain only paella valenciana is. We left out prices and retailer pan listings.
Quick answers
Is paella protected as cultural heritage? Yes. According to the Spanish official gazette, the Valencian government declared the Valencian paella a Bien de Interés Cultural of the intangible kind by Decreto 176/2021.
Why is it called paella? Wikipedia says “paella” means frying pan in Valencian and Catalan, tracing back to the Latin “patella”, and that the name comes from the wide, shallow pan.
What is a paella pan traditionally made of? A cooking blog, The Wanderlust Kitchen, says carbon steel is traditional in Spain and needs seasoning, while enamelled and stainless steel are alternatives.
Roam first. Shop later.
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