Today you are going to delve into the fascinating world of Extremadura sweets, but not just any but some quite unknown by name and form. Not only the Christmas it is impregnated with sugar. So is this remote region with a name taken from Russia related to deportations and trains. Discover the rich pastry heritage of this region of Estremadura so sweet.
Siberian Extremaduran sweets
We are in Christmas, time of sweets. We all know nougat or marzipan. However, there are others still unknown to the general public. Today we move to Siberia Extremadura, a region of Badajoz. You read that right: Siberia. The name comes from the terrible communications in the area during the time the Russian Trans-Siberian was built. There were villages so remote that they were up to 200 kilometers from the main urban nucleus: Badajoz.
The sweets of this region, which barely exceed 20 thousand inhabitantsThey are very varied. As you will see below, many are linked to Deceased. This is due to the respect of Siberians from Extremadura for their loved ones who are no longer there. Thus, it is customary to honor them and keep them present. The cultural roots of the Catholicism and the development of confectionery that has taken place in the convents.
Bodigos
It is a very rich and filling dessert from the small municipality of tamurejo. It is a sweet a little more known than is recorded in the RAE. This defines it as a fine flour roll that is taken to churches as an offering. It is typical of Hallowmas. The tradition is that young people go to the country to "Eat the bodigo" along with chestnuts, walnuts and figs. To taste them on that day. Its greatest exponent is the bakery Sister Antonia, a benchmark of artisan bread in Extremadura.
In short, it is a "patty" filled with sweet. Its dough is made from flour, sugar, anise, lard and orange peel. The fillingFor its part, it is made from sweet tomatoes, pumpkins or condensed milk.
candelillas
At first glance it is difficult to know what they are made of. They are a sweet prepared from a dough of fried flour bathed in miel hot. It has been part of the banquets of all kinds of parties in Extremadura for a long time. In addition, we highlight that they also have other names. In some places you will find them like threads of piñonate, you slice or threads of mistletoe.
The presentation is showy and may consist of individual servings or traditional donut. The orange aroma stands out in them due to the bath of its peel in the olive oil used. In short, we can talk about a flour and egg dough that is molded into sticks before frying.
Honey cannelloni
It is the most cloying on the list and comes from town of alcocer. The key to this dish is to make a jelly with miel y gelatin. This is poured on a flat surface and cut into small squares that will wrap the cottage cheese. In the Extremadura sweets the biggest innovations have to do with presentation. Thus, there are those who place them on pomegranate seeds or a papaya base on the plate. It is typical to place pine nuts on top of them.
Jackets
Also typical of the day of the dead. On this date is when the neighbors of Duke's Blacksmith they go out to the field to take the jacket. It is a tradition very similar to that of the bodegas. Also, many of the ingredients in the dough for these traditional cakes are the same. We are talking about a sweet made from dough bread, sugar, eggs, brandy, anise beans, butter, flour and oil. It is usually shaped like star, flower, herradura or animals.
These are baked and decorated with products as typical of the area as almonds and walnuts. Before reaching the field it is customary for children to go from house to house singing a little song. The letter goes like this: "Aunt, aunt, give me the jacket, otherwise you are not my aunt".
Graves
We have left the sweet Extremadura with the name more lugubrious. They come from the same town as the jackets but are not related to the same festival. In this case we refer to sweets in which the main ingredient is almonds. This is part of the dough just like the bud of the egg, flour, water and cinnamon. It is baked just like the donut with the only difference that the latter uses the egg white. Curiously the grave It is a typical Extremaduran sweet from the wedding. Perhaps there is something ironic about his name.
As you can see, the repertoire is wide. This is just a small sample of the bakery diversity that this sparsely populated region offers. If you want to savor the Extremadura sweets and the charm of these towns the best it will be that you go in person to know them.
