Only in Madrid these days 2.8 million artisan roscones de Reyes will be consumed, a sweet that enters most Spanish homes on these dates, not only on January 6, and that competes on the table with other Christmas recipes such as the Basque intxaursaltsa, the Valencian casca de Reyes or the sweet potato trout from the Canary Islands.
Its softness, aroma and texture – in addition to its surprise gift – have made it one of the traditional products of our sweet gastronomy, one of the recipes with the most cultural roots in our country since we have to go back to the Romans to know the origin. of this bun in which orange blossom water must predominate and where there must be a bean and a figurine.
But it is undoubtedly the king of Christmas because it is a product that, in Madrid alone, the Association of pastry and bakery artisan entrepreneurs of the Community of Madrid expects its sale to amount to 2.8 million units.
And it is in Madrid where the ‘Pan Delirio’ bakery has extended the consumption of roscón to 365 days a year and sells about 12,000 kilos of this bun all year round, and 1,700 kilos (about 2,500) in its two bakery formats. kilo and kilo and a half. A figure that takes on greater dimension according to data from the Spanish Association of the Bakery, Pastry and Pastry Industry (Asemac), which has calculated that this Christmas Spaniards will buy close to 30 million units in markets, supermarkets and hypermarkets.
Although these days Spain once again demonstrates its gastronomic variety since those with a sweet tooth will not only live on the roscón de Reyes but also on other preparations, such as the sweet potato trout (sweet potato), the Herreñas quesadillas or the almond cheese and the quesillo that they will taste the Canaries these dates in which only they will be lucky to eat these sweet foods with temperatures that could invite a slush.
With winter cold, in the Basque Country they have their own nougat, intxaursaltsa, which is made with walnuts (intxaur), cinnamon, milk and sugar. And in Bilbao, in addition, sokonusko nougat is made, which also has no almonds but three layers of praline (white, toasted and black), and whose name is attributed to the Mayan region of Soconusco, from where it is assumed that a Bilbao native brought the cocoa with which this nougat began to be made in the 17th century.
In Galicia, the laspeira, a kind of Three Kings roscón that is filled with pastry cream, is one of the most prized along with the Pan de Reis from the O Morrazo area or the Gatón de Reis from the north coast.
And it is from Valencia, in some areas, where they are recovering the casca de Reyes, a traditional snake-shaped marzipan sweet filled with sweet potato and accompanied by chocolate coins. It is a product that godparents used to give to their godchildren on Three Kings’ Day, although a few decades ago it was displaced by the well-known roscón.
In Catalonia, if there is a sweet that cannot be missed at Christmas, it is neules, a kind of wafer but lighter and usually consumed alone or with the traditional Catalan cream or combined with a glass of cava. We must also mention the catànies, a typical almond sweet from Vilafranca del Penedès that is also not missing at Catalan Christmas.
In Castilla y León, specifically Zamora, they have capons, or poor man’s nougat, which consists of dried figs and walnuts; In Valladolid they enjoy their acclaimed cakes of chicharrones, a sweet cake with pork rind typical of November and December – months of slaughter – and which continues to be a classic in many towns at Christmas before the roscones boom. The Castilian-Leonese recipe book also enjoys these days ‘El Toro’ Polvorones from Tordesillas (Valladolid), almond soup, marzipan and peladillas.
And if there is a town that Christmas marks on the map, it is Estepa, a Sevillian town that welcomes you with its characteristic aroma of mantecados and Polvorones and is in charge of exporting these almond-based snacks throughout Spain.
In Murcia there is also a long tradition of Christmas sweets made with angel hair, almonds and honey, fundamentally, long-established products that in recent years have seen a competitor emerge: murciatone, a version of the Italian ‘panettone’ made, among other products, with its famous Cieza peach.
There is no doubt that the Three Kings roscón is the cradle of the Christmas kingdom, as is the case in the world of plants with the poinsettia, but this review of pastries is enough to remember that Spain is the richest country in the world when We talk about enjoying at the table.
