A (partial) glossary of food in Jerez

Yesterday I was at home threatening the cat, and Jess asked me if we were out of butifarra. I said that I don't think so, but if you get caught short there are some tissues in the cupboard. She was of course referring to a local delicacy, an irresistible cured sausage with a pinkish hue that you eat slice by slice, or on a bit of toast, in Jess's case smothered in tomato sauce. She reckons it reminds her of that favourite of every Australian kid: devon (or belgium, depending on from which state you hail), in the same way that a beef Wellington reminds you of a hotdog. 

'Butifarra' is one of dozens of new foodie words we encountered as we began navigating the scene down here in the deep south. We'd only just come to grips with the myriad obscure vocabularities of the dishes on offer in San Sebastian, and here we were in uncharted culinary waters once again. 

Like each and every Spanish region, Jerez has its specialty dishes. Chefs here are blessed with the magical range of sherries endemic to the area – and they put it to exquisitely good use. (Of course, 'sherry' is the clumsy English word for Jerez. Side note: You never ask for a glass of sherry – you must specify the type, like you do with wine.) They use a sherry or its vinegar in a bunch of dishes; you haven't lived till you've bitten into a pork cheek cooked in oloroso or Pedro Ximénez. Especially if you've then drunk the rest of the bottle of oloroso or Pedro Ximénez. 

A quick note about table service

Ninety-nine per cent of the time, after you've ordered food you'll be brought a little basket containing pan y picos (a packet of small dry bread-sticks), a few slices of bread, and your cutlery. They charge for this, usually between €0.60 and €1.50 per person. Yes, you're entitled to wave it away and save yourself some coins. No, you shouldn't do that. Even the locals are happy to pay this 'extra' service charge; besides, you'll appreciate the bread when it's time to mop up your oloroso sauce. 

Sherries aside, here are a few dishes to look out for in no particular order (I'll keep adding to it), beginning with two modest but extraordinary sides ...

Ensalada de zanahorias. Carrot salad spiked with cumin and sherry vinegar. It's a Jerezano/Andalucian classic so don't miss it. 

Patatas aliñas. Potato salad with – you guessed it – sherry vinegar. Another one famous in the region and somehow far tastier than it should be. Apparently, the reason this otherwise super simple salad is so addictive here is that they use the famous potatoes grown in nearby Sanlucar to make it (and we can attest that these potatoes are outrageously sweet and creamy).

Montadito/serranito. Sandwich. It's common for menus here to have a whole section of different fillings. The bread in this city tends to be of the soft variety, so you won't break your teeth biting into a baguette-style crust monster. Begin with the pork (cerdo) or pringa (a mix of slow cooked meats left over from yesterday's dinner service) for arguably the most authentic taste.

Chicharrones. Small bites of tasty spiced pork. In Cadíz city it comes thinly sliced but in Jerez it's usually in chunks with a hint of crackle. 

Butifarra. A sausage, served in slices. It's not hot or spicy but instead has a unique and unforgettable umami flavour. 

Berza. A stew of chickpeas and various combinations of whatever's lying around, from spinach, black pudding (morcilla), pork belly, chorizo ... It's a fatty, tasty winter staple. 

Menudo. Another poor-man's chickpea or bean stew but usually with tripe as the protein. 

Fillete de ... A fillet of ... usually cooked in sherry. This kind of tapa is everwhere in Spain, but it's only here you can find it consistently with a sherry base. Pork or beef cheeks (carrilladas) will be slow cooked in sherry too.

Pescados fritos. Fried fish. It's on most menus in some form. Lots of the offerings will be sardine-sized with bones and all, but even if you're not up to swallowing bones they're easy enough to work around.

Adobo. Monkfish is usually rather tough when cooked fresh, but in this battered nugget version it's marinated before cooking. Spicy and tender. 

Atun. Tuna. It's caught just down the road so whatever the dish you can be sure it'll be good stuff.  

Ajo blanco. White garlic and almond soup, a winter gezpacho. It's apparently famous but somehow we've encountered it in only a few places so far (our favourite of which is Matria, with El Almacen a close second). 

Berenjenas con miel. Fired eggplant with honey. Typically fried and doused with stickiness. 

Galeras. A mantis-shrimp style white prawn that you won't usually find outside of Andalucia. 

Peek-a-boo. Galeras ready for the pot. (No, they’re not eyes, just a brilliant evolutionary decoy.)