Flaons
Encyclopedia
Flaons are a type of pastry
made in different locations of the Eastern Iberian Peninsula
, like Morella, Ibiza
, Formentera
, Minorca
and Olot
, Spain
. Traditionally flaons were part of Easter
family celebrations in Minorca, but now they are available all-year-round.
The flaons have different shapes, semicircular or circular
, and fillings usually based on some type of cheese, varying according to the location. Sweet flaons are usually sweetened with sugar
, but traditionally honey
was used more often.
Historically the first recorded mention of these cakes is from 1252 and they are mentioned as well in Ramon Llull
's book Blanquerna
, written in 1283. There is a similar pastry in Cyprus
known as flaounes.
and Ports
areas the cake has a semicircular shape and it is filled with a mixture of local cottage cheese
(brull) and ground almond
s flavored with aiguardent and mistela. The flaons of Morella are the gastronomic icon of the ancient city. An average-sized Morella flaó is about 12 cm long.
cottage cheese, eggs and sugar, slightly aromatized with peppermint
leaves and aniseed. Flaons are usually eaten along with a glass of sweet wine or a local Liqueur
, frígola a thyme
-based digestive beverage.
, olive oil
and yeast
. Often they include egg and a little lard
in the recipe. Good Minorca flaons have to be very puffy in the middle. There are salty and sweet versions of this pastry in Menorca. Some of them have a filling, while in others all the ingredients are mixed together.
region of Aragon
. They are a different kind of pastry despite their name, for instead of cheese these small pastries have a filling based on pumpkin
jam and honey.
These flaonets were one of the traditional Spanish pastries fondly remembered by painter Salvador Dalí
.
Pastry
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...
made in different locations of the Eastern Iberian Peninsula
Catalan Countries
The Catalan term Països Catalans refers to the territories where the Catalan language is spoken.The first mentions of the term date back to the late 19th century, but it never surpassed the limits of a small circle of Catalan authors until its strictly cultural dimension became increasingly...
, like Morella, Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
, Formentera
Formentera
Formentera is the smaller and more southerly island of the Pine Islands group , which belongs to the Balearic Islands autonomous community .-Geography:...
, Minorca
Minorca
Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....
and Olot
Olot
Olot is the capital of the comarca of the Garrotxa, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.- Etymology :The etymology of Olot is not clear and there are several hypotheses...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Traditionally flaons were part of Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
family celebrations in Minorca, but now they are available all-year-round.
The flaons have different shapes, semicircular or circular
Circular
Circular is a basic geometric shape such as a Circle.Circular may also refer to:-Documents:*Circular note, a document request by a bank to its foreign correspondents to pay a specified sum of money to a named person...
, and fillings usually based on some type of cheese, varying according to the location. Sweet flaons are usually sweetened with 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...
, but traditionally honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
was used more often.
Historically the first recorded mention of these cakes is from 1252 and they are mentioned as well in Ramon Llull
Ramon Llull
Ramon Llull was a Majorcan writer and philosopher, logician and tertiary Franciscan. He wrote the first major work of Catalan literature. Recently-surfaced manuscripts show him to have anticipated by several centuries prominent work on elections theory...
's book Blanquerna
Blanquerna
Blanquerna is a novel written around 1283 by Raymond Lull. It chronicles the life of its eponymous hero. It is the first major work of literature written in Catalan, and perhaps the first European novel.-Structure:The novel is divided into five parts...
, written in 1283. There is a similar pastry in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
known as flaounes.
Alt Maestrat
In the Alt MaestratAlt Maestrat
Alt Maestrat is a comarca in the province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain.- Municipalities :*Albocàsser*Ares del Maestre*Benasal*Catí*Culla*Tírig*La Torre d'En Besora*Vilar de Canes*Villafranca del Cid...
and Ports
Ports (comarca)
Ports is a comarca in the province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. It mostly overlaps the historical comarca known as Ports de Morella , except for the municipal areas surrounding Catí and Vilafranca that were excluded from the present-day Ports...
areas the cake has a semicircular shape and it is filled with a mixture of local cottage cheese
Cottage cheese
Cottage cheese is a cheese curd product with a mild flavor. It is drained, but not pressed, so some whey remains and the individual curds remain loose. The curd is usually washed to remove acidity, giving sweet curd cheese. It is not aged or colored. Different styles of cottage cheese are made from...
(brull) and ground almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
s flavored with aiguardent and mistela. The flaons of Morella are the gastronomic icon of the ancient city. An average-sized Morella flaó is about 12 cm long.
Ibiza and Formentera
The flaó d'Eivissa has a circular shape and has a filling of sheep or goatGoat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
cottage cheese, eggs and sugar, slightly aromatized with peppermint
Peppermint
Peppermint is a hybrid mint, a cross between the watermint and spearmint . The plant, indigenous to Europe, is now widespread in cultivation throughout all regions of the world...
leaves and aniseed. Flaons are usually eaten along with a glass of sweet wine or a local Liqueur
Liqueur
A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
, frígola a thyme
Thyme
Thyme is a culinary and medicinal herb of the genus Thymus.-History:Ancient Egyptians used thyme for embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, believing it was a source of courage...
-based digestive beverage.
Minorca
The flaó de Menorca is a pastry made with tender Maó cheese, wheat flourWheat flour
Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. More wheat flour is produced than any other flour. Wheat varieties are called "clean," "white," or "brown" if they have high gluten content, and they are called "soft" or "weak" flour if gluten content is low...
, olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
and yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
. Often they include egg and a little lard
Lard
Lard is pig fat in both its rendered and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a spread similar to butter. Its use in contemporary cuisine has diminished because of health concerns posed by its saturated-fat content and its often negative...
in the recipe. Good Minorca flaons have to be very puffy in the middle. There are salty and sweet versions of this pastry in Menorca. Some of them have a filling, while in others all the ingredients are mixed together.
Matarranya
The flaonets de Calaceit ( = little flaons) are made in Calaceit, a town of La FranjaLa Franja
La Franja is a term that refers to the Catalan-speaking territories of Aragon bordering Catalonia, in Spain. It literally means "the strip" and can also more properly be called Franja d'Aragó or Franja de Ponent in Catalan ....
region of Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
. They are a different kind of pastry despite their name, for instead of cheese these small pastries have a filling based on pumpkin
Pumpkin
A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...
jam and honey.
These flaonets were one of the traditional Spanish pastries fondly remembered by painter Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
.