Fartons
Fartons (Valencian pronunciation: [faɾˈtons], sing. fartó; Spanish: fartón) are confectionery sweets typical of the Valencian town of Alboraya, Spain. Elongated and glazed with sugar, they are made of flour, milk, sugar, oil, eggs and a leavening agent.
This delicate and spongy sweet was made to be dipped in orxata (or horchata), a drink made of tigernuts that is served cold, but fartons can also be eaten with hot beverages such as hot chocolate or caffè latte.
Origin
According to an apocryphal legend (see horchata), James I of Aragon 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 1960s a family named Polo developed a special pastry which was oblong in shape, sweet, and delicate. As it had a very spongy texture it was perfect to soak up horchata and because of its long shape it 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 1990s, the hospitality industry began to serve frozen pastries and with it a new variation of fartó, the so-called "flaky fartó", that is made with a different dough that gives it another texture.
Variations
- "Spongy fartons". Contain: wheat flour, sugar, sunflower oil, water, eggs, fresh yeast, bread supplements and salt.
- "Commercialized (flaky) fartons" (made with hojaldre/pasta fullada, puff pastry).
Nutritional information
Spongy fartons do not contain preservatives or artificial coloring and are made with sunflower oil. 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
Commercialized (flaky) fartons have 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