What is "socarrat"

Socarrat refers to fired clay tiles covered with a white base and generally painted in red and black. These were placed between beams and joists in buildings’ ceilings and eaves. Their origin is typically medieval but subsequent production of these objects is known, mainly in Valencia. There are other words to name objects with similar function such as rajola, maó prim, atovó or cairó. The first register about its existence takes us back to 1604, when D. Feliciano de Figueroa, Bishop of Segorbe, refers to a group of roof and wall tiles written and coloured with koranic transcripts. Traditionally, they’re said to come from Paterna but the presence of these and other similar objects has been documented too in Manises and in some other places in Valencia, Aragon and Catalonia.

Socarrat can also refer to the crust that forms on the bottom of the pan when cooking paella.