'Espeto' is second most searched for recipe on Google worldwide in 2023

'Espeto', the term for Malaga's famous skewered sardines cooked over charcoal, was the second-most searched for food recipe on Google this year.

The surprise was revealed when the tech giant published its search results for the year showing the trends throughout 2023, revealing the questions users have asked the search engine and the most-searched for people and events.

The conflict between Israel and Gaza is trending at the top among current affairs, while the death of Friends' star Matthew Perry ranked high among the celebrities searched. But 'espeto' came in as the second-most searched for food recipe worldwide.

Espeto ranked just behind the Korean bibimbap (rice, vegetables, meat and egg) and ahead of the papeda (a type of Asian congee). Espeto may rank highly thanks to a special campaign when Google paid tribute to the traditional Spanish dish in its daily doodle. The all-powerful search engine dedicated its cartoon to the espeto on Monday 12 June, the day that the traditional dish is celebrated in Malaga province.

However, the most searches for the term 'espeto' come, as every year, from South America, according to Google, where Brazil's famous meat skewers are also called 'espeto' or 'espetinho'.