Spanish cuisine a signal of piety. The arrival of Europeans in America, in 1492, initiated the advent of new culinary elements, such as tomatoes, potatoes, corn, bell peppers, spicy peppers, paprika, vanilla and cocoa or chocolate. Spain is where chocolate was first mixed with sugar to remove its natural bitterness. Other ingredients traveled to the Americas, such as rice, grapes, olives and many types of cereals. Many traditional Spanish dishes such as tortilla de patata (an omelette made with potatoes), would not be possible without the discovery of America. Gazpacho, salmorejo, and pan tumaca are made with tomatoes, which traveled from America
Vegetable flannel Vegetable flannel Vegetable flannel is a type of flannel using fibres from the Scots pine, or "pinus sylvestris", rather than traditional woollen fibres. It is described as having a hemp like appearance, but with a tighter, softer texture. In addition to this, the term can also describe coarse linen used for underclothing. Invented in the early 19th century by L. Léopold Lairitz of Germany, the manufacture of vegetable flannel became a Black Forest industry due to the wide availability of the pines there which provided the raw materials. The raw fibre, called waldwolle (forest wool), and the pine oil were