Fartón is a confectionary sweet typically for the town of Alboraya, Spain. Elongate and glazed with sugar it features flour

Flour

Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...

, milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

, sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

, oil

Oil

An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....

, eggs

Egg (food)

Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...

 and a leavening agent

Leavening agent

A leavening agent is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action which lightens and softens the finished product...

.
This delicate and spongy sweet was made to be dipped in Orxata (also Horchata

Horchata

Horchata or orxata is the name of several kinds of traditional beverage, made of ground almonds, sesame seeds, rice, barley, or tigernuts .-Etymology:...

, a refreshing drink made of tigernuts (chufa).
Although it owes its invention to this cold drink its light and spongy texture (made with sunflower oil

Sunflower oil

Sunflower oil is the non-volatile oil expressed from sunflower seeds. Sunflower oil is commonly used in food as a frying oil, and in cosmetic formulations as an emollient. Sunflower oil was first industrially produced in 1835 in the Russian Empire.- Composition :Sunflower oil is mainly a...

 and not with butter

Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...

) makes it the perfect accompaniment to hot beverages like hot chocolate

Hot chocolate

Hot chocolate is a heated beverage typically consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and sugar...

 or a cup of caffé latte and an ideal item for breakfast

Breakfast

Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...

 or tea

Tea (meal)

Tea can refer to any of several different meals or mealtimes, depending on a country's customs and its history of drinking tea. However, in those countries where the term's use is common, the influences are generally those of the former British Empire...

.

Origin

According to a legend James I of Aragon

James I of Aragon

James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...

 baptized the drink Orxata as "pure gold" due to its texture and sweetness. Since then the beverage producers of Alboraya tried to find the perfect accompanying pastry for it.

In the 60s

60s

-Significant people:* Boudicca, rebellious British queen* Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, Roman general* Julius Civilis, leader of the Batavian rebellion against the Romans...

 a family named Polo developed a special pastry, oblong in shape, sweet and delicate. As it had a very spongy texture it was perfect to soak up the delicious beverage and because of its longish shape they could be dunked to the bottom of the glass. This was the beginning of the "Fartons Polo".

Many years later, in the decade of the 90s

90s

-Significant people:* Titus Flavius Domitianus, Roman Emperor * Nerva, Roman Emperor...

, the hospitality industry began to serve frozen pastries and with it a new variation of fartón, the "hojaldrado" that is made with a different dough that gives it another texture.

Variations

"Fartón Esponjoso" (the original spongy one)
Ingredients: wheat flour, sugar, sunflower oil, water, eggs, fresh yeast, bread supplements and salt.

"Fartón Hojaldrado" (the commercialized one)
Ingredients: wheat flour, animal grease partially hydrogenized, water, sugar, eggs, fresh yeast, salt, baking agents and salt.

Nutritional information

The spongy fartóns don't contain colorants or conservators and are made with sunflower oil wherefore they are quite healthy. The nutritional facts for this product in relation to 100g of the finished product are: Calories: 372,6kcal/1559,1 kJ, Protein: 9g, Carbonhydrates: 58,8g, Fat: 11,3g
Fartón Esponjoso

The commercialized fartón hojaldrado has a denser consistency due the featuring of animal grease. The nutritional facts are:
Calories: 413,3kcal/1729,2kJ, Protein: 7,3g, Carbonhydrates: 51,7g, Fat: 19,7g