Alfajor

Analfajororalajú(Spanish pronunciation:[alfaˈxoɾ], pluralalfajores) is a traditionalconfectiontypically made of flour, honey, and nuts.  It is found inArgentina,Paraguay,Bolivia, thePhilippines,Southern Brazil,Southern France,Spain,Uruguay,Peru,Ecuador,Colombia,Venezuela,El SalvadorandChile.The archetypalalfajorentered Iberia during the period ofal-Andalus. It is produced in the form of a small cylinder and is sold either individually or in boxes containing several pieces.
According to Spanish philologist and dialectologistManuel Alvar López,alfajoris an Andalusian variant of the Castilianalajú,derived from the Arabic wordالفَاخِر,al-fakhir, meaning luxurious, and, contrary to some beliefs that it originated in the New World, was introduced to Latin America asalfajor.The word had been introduced into Spanish dictionaries in the 14th century.
The publication of historical dictionaries of the Spanish language allows one to document both forms of the originalalajur, written asalajúandalfajor.Alajurand multiple geographic variations are sweets made of a paste of almonds, nuts, breadcrumbs and honey.It is possible thatalfajorandalajúwere Arabisms introduced into the Spanish language in different places and times, and, supposing both came from the same etymology, from a linguistic point of view,alajúis probably an Arabism of Castillian Spanish, and so it is still alive in Cuenca,Toledo,Guadalajaraand inla Sierra de la peña de Francia; meanwhile the variationalfajoris Andalusian andMurcian.In the Americas, the wordalfajorwas not known until the 19th century.
A similar sweet calledalaúis found in the Arabic-Hispanic cookbookKitab al-Tabikh, by an anonymous author.The Spanish grammarianNebrijanoted the word for the first time in his Latin-Spanish Dictionary (1495) as:alfaxororalaxur.In the 12th century, Raimundo Martin describes in his bookVocabulistaanother possible etymology of the Hispano-Arabicfasur, meaning "nectar".
The regulations of the Andalusian Ministry of Agriculture allow the use of only pure honey, almonds, nuts, breadcrumbs, sugar, flour and spices, such as aniseed, sesame, cilantro, cloves and cinnamon. TheProtected Geographical Indicationalfajoresare meant to be presented in a cylindrical shape, with a minimum weight of 30 grams (1.1 oz) each, and with a minimum size of about 7 centimetres (2.8 in) in length and a diameter of 1.5 centimetres (0.59 in). Each of them will be protected with a wrapping paper, and the ends made an ornament in a spiral shape with a ribbon out of the same paper. Once individually wrapped, they may be packaged in wood or cardboard boxes, but never in plastic.
In Spain, there are a variety of different recipes for preparingalfajores, but the most traditional contain flour, honey, almonds and several spices, such as cinnamon.Alfajoresare most commonly sold around Christmas, but inMedina Sidonia, they are available year-round.The traditional Spanishalfajorhas been produced in this town (where it is called analajú) since ancient times, and the recipe has been traditionally handed down from father to son.
Alfajoresare still made by craftsmen in Medina Sidonia using natural ingredients that include honey, almonds, hazelnuts, sugar, flour, and breadcrumbs, and mixed with natural spices.The manufacturing process has been respected following a recipe found by Mariano Pardo de Figueroa in 1786.In Medina Sidonia, the annual production of approximately 45,000 kilograms (99,000 lb) is mostly consumed in the province of Cadiz, but they are also famous in Sevilla, Malaga andHuelva.
On 15 September 2004,protected geographical indicationwas ratified by theConsejo de agricultura y pesca de la junta de Andalucíaand published in theOfficial Journal of the European UnionasAlfajor de Medina Sidoniaon 6 March 2007.
In the province ofCuenca, Spain, where thealfajoris calledalajúit is made with almond, honey and figs, all wrapped in a wafer.Medina Sidonia was the capital for the Arabic world of confection, where thealfajorhas centuries of history with a recipe that has been transmitted from generation to generation.In this town, there is an account ofMariano Pardo de Figueroa, a gastronomist better known by his pseudonym Doctor Thebussem, who documented the history of this sweet, wherein he wrote that on 2 July 1487,Enrique de Guzmán, second count of Medina Sidonia, ordered the council and majors of the region to send to Malaga 50 cows, 50 oxen, 200 calves and provision ofalajúfrom his city.
The recipe documented by the accounts of Thebussem in the 19th century is defined as the following:
In Puerto Rico, they underwent creolization, lost their almond and gained groundcassava. They can take varying amounts of sugar and spices. It's possible that Puerto Rico's most common version of this dessert (South American version with dulce de leche) reached Puerto Rico from Venezuela, but the opposite is also possible. Depending on region some add cornstarch, citrus zest, ginger and honey, filled with chocolate, vanilla cream, dulce de leche, fruit paste, or coconut. The filling can be mixed with almonds, sesame seeds, coconut flakes, orsprinkles. Traditional "alfajores" in Argentina, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela consist of two round, sweetbiscuitsmade of wheat flour or corn starch joined withdulce de leche(known as "manjar blanco" in Peru and as "arequipe" in Venezuela), and optionally coated with powdered sugar. More modern "industrial" varieties in Uruguay and Argentina, are coated with dark or white chocolate (manyalfajoresare sold in "black" and "white" versions), or simply covered with powdered sugar. These are also known as aChileanOreo. One variation is called "alfajor de nieve" (snow alfajor) and has a white coating consisting of a mixture of egg whites and sugar. Mostalfajorescome packaged in aluminium foil. Alfajores are made in various diameters and are consumed as snacks.
Alfajores have been popular in Argentina and Uruguay since the mid-19th century. However, these differ from the Spanish alfajores in that they are made with two round cookies with different sweet fillings between them. The filling is usuallydulce de leche, although there are many variations. They can be covered with powder sugar (the traditional ones), glazed sugar (Santafesinos or "de nieve"), grated coconut or chocolate. Argentina is one of the world's largest consumer of alfajores,both in total numbers and in per capita calculations, actually consuming more than a billion alfajores a year,while being the most common snack for schoolchildren and adults.
Some of the best-known alfajor brands in South America are the Argentine "Balcarce", "Jorgito", "Capitán del Espacio", "Guaymallen", "Suchard", "Havanna", "Cachafaz", "Juanote" and "Estancia El Rosario",the Uruguayan "Punta Ballena", "Sierra de Minas", "Alfajores Portezuelo", "Marley", and Peruvian "Casa del Alfajor".
Thealfajorhas been manufactured and consumed since colonial timesin the territories that today belong to Argentina.
Mass-production of alfajorestraces back to the Atlantic coast of Argentina in the 1950s. Brands such as Havanna and Balcarce, and as many as 30 others, have been introduced into shops and supermarkets. Statistics of the year 2021 shows that inhabitants of Argentina consume 6 million alfajores per day.Supermarkets carry a wide variety of product, up to 34 different kinds. These include "triple alfajores", which are composed of three biscuits adhered to one another with dulce de leche and covered with chocolate.
Around 1851 in the district of Arocena (province of Santa Fe), Manuel Zampatti, known as Zapatin, began commercially manufacturing an existing variety of alfajor consisting of three baked cookies adhered with dulce de leche and coated with sugar. These came to be known as "alfajor santafesino". Colonel Néstor Fernández took it to the battle of Caseros, and was there when the army tasted it and it became so popular that General Justo José de Urquiza had alfajores taken to his San José de Entre Ríos farm with a weekly load of these alfajores.They are also manufactured in the provinces of Santiago del Estero and Tucumán, and the famous brand Havanna manufactures them in the city ofMar del Plataand in most of the tourist places of Argentina.
The Cordobes alfajor stands out among the regional varieties of Argentina; it is filled with jellies of fruits (generally of quince), one of the most well - known brands is Estancia El Rosario.Other outstanding variety is the alfajor from Santa Fe which has no less than three puff pastry covers adhered to one another with much dulce de leche and everything glazed (Industrial preparations can be differentiated because they are not coated in the lower part, since the coating is made in plates).In addition, In Santa Fe, it can be acquired the Rogel, of similar characteristics, but bigger (the size of a small cake) and the variety from Tucuman, which is known as a clarita and it is made up with two crunchy cookies as covers and filled with a jelly made up of sugar molasses. In Argentina, alfajores made up of cornflour are very consumed as well (covers made up of maize starch, filled with dulce de leche and grated coconut around the joining).
Alfajores made their arrival to theViceroyalty of Peru, the largest administrative district of the Spanish Empire in South America in the 16th century, and have been popular since, especially the artisanal types.
The cornflour alfajor is consumed during the whole year in the central areas of Chile; on the other hand, in the southern areas of Chile, it is consumed another variety of alfajor, generally for Patriotic festivities of September.
The alfajor is basically a sponge cake or cookies adhered with manjar (dulce de leche) and generally coated in meringue or marmalade and optionally with sprinkled icing sugar.Two types of alfajores are mainly outstanding in Chile:
According to Guinness World Records, the biggestalfajorin the world, measuring almost 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) in diameter and 80 centimetres (31 in) in height and weighing 464 kilograms (1,023 lb), was made on 11 December 2010 inMinas,Lavalleja Department,Uruguay.The giantalfajorwas made to mark the celebration of Uruguay's first National Alfajor Festival. More than 30 people participated in the preparation of the record-breakingalfajor.