As well as other towns in the area, Arcos has a rich gastronomy thanks to the different cultures which have inhabited the town. As it is located near a river, Arcos has what we call “cooking from the kitchen garden”. These dishes mix vegetables and legumes and among the most common ones we have the “Alboronía” made with pumpkin, tomatoes and chickpeas, the chard stew, the stuffed artichokes or the celery salad, the vegetable cocktails which are so aromatic or the typical “ajo molinero”. Another kind of cooking is the “Mediterranean stew”: rice with meat or fish and aromatic spices such as the saffron or the paprika.

Among the different dishes we cannot forget what has been called “the pig culture” with those nostalgic, familiar and folk slaughters of the pig. It is a ritual which is disappearing though there is still a tradition of handmade pork sausages; “tapas” you can find in any restaurant or tavern, the thick stews called “berzas” made with legumes, cabbage, fat, black pudding and pork meat.

Sometimes Arcos cooking uses the most spontaneous products and if the season gives its fruits, cardoons, asparagus, snails or game meat are the most appreciated ones.

We can end our gastronomic tour in the sweetest way; with the pastries. In addition to the traditional “bollos de Semana Santa” (Easter cakes), we can taste the pestiños (sweet Arab style fritters) and cakes of the Mercedarian nuns.