Alfajor

An alfajor or alajú (, plural alfajores; derived from Arabic: الفاخر‎, "luxury", "exquisite") is a traditional confection found in some regions of Spain and in parts of Latin America, including Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Peru, and Mexico. The archetypal alfajor entered Iberia during the period of al-Andalus. It is produced in the form of a small cylinder and is sold either individually or in boxes containing several pieces.

In Spain, there are a variety of different recipes for preparing alfajores, but the most traditional contain flour, honey, almonds and several spices, such as cinnamon. Alfajores are most commonly sold around Christmas, but in Medina Sidonia, they are available year-round. The traditional Spanish alfajor has been produced in this town (where it is called an alajú) since ancient times, the recipe handed down from father to son.

Alfajores are 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 is mostly consumed in the province of Cadiz, but they are also famous in Sevilla, Malaga and Huelva.

On 15 September 2004, protected geographical indication was ratified by the Consejo de agricultura y pesca de la junta de Andalucia and published in the Official Journal of the European Union as Alfajor de Medina Sidonia on 6 March 2007.

In the province of Cuenca, Spain, where the alfajor is called alajú it is made with almond, honey and figs, all wrapped in a wafer. Medina Sidonia was the capital of the Arabic world confection, where the alfajor has centuries of history with a recipe that has been transmitted from generation to generation. In this town, there is an account of Mariano 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 of alajú from his city.

The recipe documented by the accounts of Thebussem in the 19th century is defined as the following:

For the alfajor or alajú styling, prepare what I say: one quart of white honey, three means of a pound of hazelnuts and almonds, all roasted and chopped, half ounces of cinnamon, two ounces of aniseed, four drachms of cloves and a quarter of cilantro, roasted and ground coffee, a pound of roasted sesame, eight pounds of dust from grinding, out of bagels without salt or yeast, overcooked in the oven, with half a pound of sugar.

In South America, due to the lack of ingredients and habits, alfajores were made totally differently. Nowadays, they are found most notably in Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Paraguay, Chile, Colombia, Perú and Brazil. The food has been popular in Argentina and Uruguay since the mid-19th century. Argentina is today the world largest consumer of alfajores, both in total numbers and in per capita calculations, being the most common snack for schoolchildren and adults. In Argentina and Uruguay, it usually contains traditional dulce de leche, although there are a lot of variations.

Alfajores are also made in the Philippines, but has changed very much since its introduction to the islands during the Spanish Colonization. Alfajor (alpahor) in the Chavacano-speaking areas in the Philippines now refers to a thick, warm, sweet soup made with coconut milk, glutinous rice flour, glutinous rice balls, jackfruit strips, tapioca and sago pearls, cassava, saba banana slices, and other ingredients. Putu maya, a glutinous rice cake coated with shredded coconut (and what probably was the original local adaptation of alfajores) is often paired with the soup. Alfajor is also the term used when referring to tapioca pearls. Another derivative would be the Alpajos of the Ilocano regions in the Philippines. These are soft chewey balls made from coconut milk, ground coconut, and sugar.