Alfajor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An alfajor (Spanish, in IPA: [alfa'xɔɾ]; plural alfajores) is a traditional cookie in some countries of the Americas , most notably in Ecuador, Uruguay, Argentina, Peru and Chile. Its most basic form consists of two round sweet biscuits generally joined together with dulce de leche and covered with powder sugar.
Another popular feature of the alfajor, although not always present, is a coating of black or white chocolate (many alfajores are sold in "black" and "white" flavours). There's also one variation, called "Alfajor de nieve", that instead of having a white or black chocolate coating, it has a "snow" coating. The "snow coating" consists mostly of a mixture of egg whites and sugar. Peruvian alfajores are usually coated in powdered sugar, as seen in the picture, and are filled with manjar blanco. Most alfajores come packaged in aluminium foil, similarly to most chocolate bars, though hand-made are just as accessible and generally packaged in plastic wrap or wax paper.
Other varieties of alfajor include different elements in the preparation of the biscuits, such as peanuts; they also vary the filling and coating and even add a third biscuit (alfajor triple).
Though the food has been popular in Argentina and Uruguay since the mid 19th century, it has its roots in the Middle East. The name alfajor is derived from Arabic al-hasu, which means "stuffed" or "filled".
Statistics indicate that in 2004, Argentina's 36 million inhabitants consumed a daily average of 6 million alfajores.
In the province of Cádiz, Spain, there is a completely different confection also called alfajor that is made of flour, honey, almonds and several spices, such as cinnamon. It is most commonly sold around Christmas.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Alfajores Havanna -most famous Argentine alfajores (Spanish and English)
- Alfajores Portezuelo - a well known Uruguayan brand of alfajores (English and Spanish)
- Alfajor Culture - an editorial discussing alfajores
- History of the Alfajor at Split Bean Coffee
