One of the last things you want to do after a heated argument is sit down and have a meal with the person you’ve just fallen out with. But Spain may have found a surprisingly tasty way around that awkwardness, and it seems the answer could be sitting right in the middle of the table.

A new study has found that 90 per cent of people in Spain believe one particular meal can help bring people back together after a disagreement. And the findings suggest it may do rather more than simply give two people something to eat while they avoid looking at each other.

Spain has found its peace offering

The study, commissioned by Arroz La Fallera, asked 1,000 people aged between 18 and 65 about the role food plays in bringing people together. Across Spain, 85 per cent said sharing a paella can help people reconcile after a conflict, while in the Valencian Community, where the dish has particularly strong cultural roots, that figure climbs to 90 per cent.

The results also suggest this isn’t just something people like the idea of. More than half of those surveyed, 54 per cent, said they had already used a paella meal to smooth over differences with someone, while another 44 per cent said they had actually made peace with someone over a paella. So while nobody is suggesting that a plate of rice can magically settle every family feud, plenty of people apparently believe there is something about sitting down together that helps.

A meal that gets people talking

The survey also looked at what happens during the meal itself, and this is where the findings become particularly interesting. A huge 93 per cent of respondents said sharing a paella makes them more willing to listen without interrupting, followed by 92 per cent who said they would be prepared to discuss their differences respectfully. Another 92 per cent said they would be more willing to look for common ground. Perhaps that makes sense when you consider how paella is normally eaten. It isn’t usually a quick meal grabbed between two appointments.

The pan goes in the middle of the table, everyone gathers around it and the meal becomes something shared, creating time to talk, listen and, perhaps, remember why you liked the person before you started arguing with them. In the Valencian Community, 90 per cent also said sharing paella was a good way to reconnect with family or friends, giving the dish an even stronger connection with social occasions there.

Paella beats tortilla

The research also asked Spaniards to name their favourite dish, and paella came out on top. Forty-five per cent chose paella as their favourite, putting it comfortably ahead of tortilla de patatas, which was selected by 24 per cent. That gives paella a fairly impressive double role: it is not only the dish most strongly associated with bringing people back together in the survey, but also the one most people chose as their favourite.

Its connection with social occasions may help explain why. Paella is often associated with family meals, weekends, celebrations and gatherings where the food is prepared for several people rather than served as an individual plate. The cooking, the waiting and the meal itself all create reasons for people to stay together.

Could food really end an argument?

There is an obvious catch. The survey shows what people believe about sharing paella; it cannot prove that eating one will actually end an argument. The research was also commissioned by Arroz La Fallera, so the findings need to be viewed in that context. But the responses do show how strongly food is tied to socialising in Spain. The fact that 54 per cent of those surveyed said they had already used a paella meal to smooth over differences suggests this is not simply a theoretical idea.

And with 44 per cent saying they had actually reconciled with someone over one, there are plenty of people who can apparently point to a paella as part of a successful peace treaty. The study was released around World Paella Day on September 20, when the dish was already taking centre stage across Spain and beyond. Perhaps there is something to be said for a solution that requires neither a mediator nor a carefully worded apology. If you’re still refusing to speak to each other, someone just needs to make the first move and bring out the paella.