TURRÓN, MANTECADOS AND MAZAPÁN, THE MOST SPANISH OF CHRISTMAS TREATS

It happens every year around Christmas time: I buy too much turrón, nougat. And every year I tell myself that next year I won’t buy as much. But invariably, I do it again. Not that I don’t buy many other Christmas sweets, and make them, too. But turrón is closest to my heart. I’ve talked about Christmas nostalgia in a number of posts (click here and here), and turrón calls it to mind. Its flavor, its aroma, the looks of it. Turrón takes me to Christmas in Spain, Christmas with family that are no longer with us. Around Christmas time, my dad wouldn’t end a meal without munching on a piece of turrón. And he liked the hard one best, turrón de Alicante (hence the munching).

This section is dedicated to the different treats and sweets Spaniards eat at Christmastime —and there are many. But turrón comes on top of the list, and begging for special attention. Polvorones, mazapán, huesos de Santa Teresa, roscos, pestiños… are all sweets and treats that are enjoyed at many Spanish homes at this time of year, but unlike turrón, they sometimes have a more regional appeal. Turrón is a staple at every Spanish table.

 

But what is turrón, you may ask? You might have heard of the Italian version torrone, maybe even tasted it. Turrón is arguably the most Spanish of all the Spanish Christmas treats. Closely translated to nougat in English, it’s a confection made of honey and almonds, and usually egg whites as emulsifiers. It is shaped into a rectangular tablet, or also a round cake in the case of the hard type. The two most traditional types are turrón de Jijona, or soft turrón, and turrón de Alicante, or hard turrón, where the whole, toasted marcona almonds, are clearly visible. These are the two types of turrón I grew up eating, but nowadays, more varieties have made their entrance on the market: turrones that include or are mostly based on chocolate, and that also add different kinds of liquor and other nuts or candied fruit. Another favorite of mine, more recently introduced but still one of the traditional kinds, is turrón de yema tostada, candied egg yolk turrón. Turrón de guirlache, almond brittle turrón, is another kind.

 

Jijona is a small city not far from my hometown of Onteniente, only 34 miles away. The town of less than 8,000 people is famous worldwide for its elaboration of turrón in the winter and ice cream in the summer, both of which are distributed and enjoyed all over Spain, and in the case of turrón, worldwide. In fact, if you walk around many cities and towns in Spain, you will find an ice cream store, an heladería, named “Jijona” or “La Jijonenca”.

Alicante is the province where the city of Jijona is located, and also the name of its capital, and where the hard turrón, turrón de Alicante, originates. Unlike Jijona, which is surrounded by mountains, Alicante is a coastal city that many retired northern Europeans call home.

 

One of the differences between turrón and italian torrone is the proportion of nuts they contain: Spanish turrón has a minimum of 60% almonds, a higher percentage than Italian torrone. However, turrón and torrone probably have a similar origin, and there’s little doubt it is Moorish. Almonds and honey were widely used in Al-Andalus (Spain’s name during the almost seven century medieval Moorish occupation), and in fact many Spanish sweets use almonds and/or honey in their elaboration. It is believed that the Moors brought turrón to the Mediterranean lands they conquered, particularly to Spain and Italy. The Spanish turrón is believed to have been born in the province of Alicante around the XVth century. Its name probably comes from the word torrat, a term that means a mix of honey, nuts and dry fruits cooked directly on the fire to give it consistency. Another theory of the origin of the word is supported by the document titled “De Medicinis et Cibis Semplicibus”, written in the XIth century by an Arab doctor, where he mentions a dessert called “turun”.

 

The Making of Turrón

 

Types of Turrón

 

MANTECADOS Y POLVORONES

Mantecados is the name of a kind of Spanish shortbread cookie that includes the polvorón. Often both names are synonymous, but not all mantecados are polvorones. The name mantecado comes from manteca, which is the fat of the Iberian pig, from which they are made. The name polvorón is based on the fact that these cookies crumble easily into a kind of powder in the hand or the mouth (polvo, in Spanish, means dust). Mantecados and polvorones come usually wrapped in silk paper.

Traditionally, polvorones were prepared from September to January, but like turrón, they can now be found year-round. They have quite a history: during the Spanish Inquisition, the officials decreed that polvorones were to be made with pork fat as a way to detect if there were secret Muslims or Jews in the regions of Southern Spain. Today, polvorones recipes often replace the port fat with shortening or butter or margarine.

 

MAZAPÁN

Mazapán, marzipan, is another traditional Spanish Christmas sweet, elaborated with equal proportions of toasted marcona almonds and sugar. It’s origin is probably moorish as well.

Toledo is Spain’s largest producer of mazapán, and where the first references of the product appear, in 1512. Variations of mazapán give way to other regional Christmas treats, like huesos de santo in Castilla (a tube like piece of marzipan filled with candied egg yolk), pan de Cádiz (similar to huesos de santo, but with a filling of candied egg yolk and candied white sweet potato), or panellets, in Cataluña (a heart of marzipan covered in pine nuts or minced toasted almonds).

Nowadays, Spain is the world’s number one producer of turrón and marzipan, which are exported worldwide, mainly to Latin America, the Middle East, Japan, and European countries like Great Britain, Germany and France.

 

 

(*) Photo Huesos de Santo, www.saborgourmet.com

(**) Photos of the elaboration of turrón www.descubriendoalicante.com