Sweet treats - tocino de cielo and sultanas de coco
Last month at a party we were invited to try two of Andalucía's traditional sweets. They are often made together, because one uses the whites of egg while the other uses the yolks. Tocino de cielo literally means "fatty bacon from heaven" yet it contains no bacon, no fat and is definitely an earthly pleasure. It is made with sugar and egg yolk, and the first written record of it is dated 1324 in Jerez de la Frontera. The reference to tocino comes from its appearance, creamy-yellow with a brown "skin". Jerez has always been a wine-growing region, and egg whites were used to clarify the wine in the barrel. The leftover yolks were taken to a local convent where the nuns turned them into this heavenly custard. Although tocino de cielo can be found all over Spain, Jerez council have applied for it to be given its own protected designation of origin . Another way of using up the spare egg yolks was the candié, derived from the English "candy eg...