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Texto reemplazado: «<sup>th</sup> century» por «th century»
== Water ==
Until the mid 20<sup>th</sup> 20th century, water from nearby sources, ''iturriko ura'', was what families usually drank at everyday meals. They tried to make sure that the water was “fresh”, in other words, recently brought from the spring or the fountain.
Before homes had running water, collecting water for lunch or dinner was usually a chore of the children and younger members of the family, who would take containers to a nearby spring or the village fountain. Those places would therefore become places to meet up every day.
Hard water springs, ''ur gordin'', ''ur gogor'', were not highly appreciated. Any water that had not spent sufficient time underground also fell into that category. The mostly highly valued springs were those were the water came out at a constant temperature: cool in summer and not cold in winter.
As will be discussed later, wine was only drunk as a treat on special occasions until the mid 20<sup>th</sup> 20th century. In any event, only men drank wine with ordinary meals. Women and children usually drank water or, occasionally, a little wine watered down with water. Later or, soda water or Gaseosa lemonade would be mixed with the wine.
Here are two very widespread of the many popular beliefs about drinking water: It is unhealthy to drink chilled water when you are stifled or sweating; drinking water after eating fruit such as cherries or plums causes diarrhoea.
It was very common for a long time to say “Jesus!” before drinking water. That was mainly said when drinking between meals.
== Wine. ardoa Ardoa ==
=== Consumption ===
Depending on the region in question, there are usually preferences to drink different types of wine as regards its alcohol content, taste, acidity, and other specific characteristics that the drinkers know how to appreciate. Nevertheless, a change in tastes has been seen in recent decades: from full-bodied wines with a high alcohol content (15-16º) to lighter ones that are smooth on the palate and with lower alcohol contents (12-13º). This is just a general overview of consumption and does not enter into the details that the great wine tasters could provide regarding whether one or another goes best with different dishes.
== Txakolina. txakoli Txakoli wine ==
Compared to table wine, Txakoli wine has medium alcohol content and great acidity.
A bay branch was placed on the farmstead’s gate or on a post in front of it to show that the ''txakolin'' was open. A large table with long benches for the drinkers to sit on was set up in the porch.
== Sagardoa. cider Cider ==
Cider is a refreshing drink with a low alcohol content, which is produced by fermenting apple juice. It is best drunk chilled but not cold.
In the same way as with Txakoli wine, the majority of farmhouses that used to make cider did so for their own consumption. However, each village would have one or more farmsteads, known as cider houses, ''sagardotegia'', that would open their doors to the local residents who wanted to try the cider, along with a stew or meal cooked by the ''etxekoandre'' (farmer’s wife).
During the first third of the 20<sup>th</sup> 20th century, the cider houses were famous and kept the art of ''bersolarismo'' (traditional improvised poetry telling) alive to a great extent. People could also play skittles at most of the cider houses.
Cider was mainly drunk in the northern part of the Basque Country, including all the valleys of Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Iparralde, and the northern part of Álava and the northwest of Navarra.
Up until around fifty years ago, spirits were drunk in two very different ways. One was to drink them to help digest a large and calorie-rich meal, which usually occurred at a handful of celebrations a year, and therefore it was very unusual to drink spirits after eating. The other was as a tonic in the morning prior setting off to start work in the fields.
{{DISPLAYTITLE: XI. BEVERAGES}} {{#bookTitle:Family Diet in the Basque Country|Alimentacion_domestica_en_vasconia/en}}
