Foods to Eat in Spain - Madrid & Castilla y León

- Huesos de Santo - 

Huesos de Santo, translated as 'bones of the saint' is probably not what you imagine from the name alone, instead, it is a delicious sweet dessert that is thought to have originated from Madrid in the early 17th century. Nowadays, it is still most popular in Madrid and the surrounding region of Castilla y León. It is most commonly eaten in November for All Saints Day. While you may wonder as to the cause for this, there is no intriguing reason or interesting anecdote, they were eaten simply because almonds were harvested around this time, so marzipan was both cheap and readily available.

Huesos de Santo is made of 2 layers, the outer layer is made of white marzipan paste pressed into a hollow cylindrical shape which is then filled with a syrup made from egg yolk, sugar and lemon juice (as well as yellow food colouring). This together gives it some resemblance to bones, hence, the name.

Foods to Eat in Spain - Madrid

- Rosquillas Tontas y Listas -

Rosquillas Tontas y Listas are two of the most famous traditional pastries of Madrid and are normally eaten to celebrate the Fiestas de San Isidro in May thus, they are also known as Las Rosquillas de San Isidro.

The festival of Saint Isidro for some reason is associated with donuts as two further types known as the donuts of Las Francesas and Santa Clara are also commonly sold and eaten during this time. An interesting historical tradition is that when you choose what Rosquillas you want from the vendor, he/she will string your donuts up before giving it to you rather than giving it to you in a bag.

Foods to Eat in Spain - Madrid

- Pastas de Consejo -

Pastas de Consejo are known as a typical sweet of Madrid, though in reality, they more resemble and taste like biscuits. These 'sweets' have a crumbly shortbread-like texture (though are a bit more dense) and a lovely lemon aroma. However, somewhat surprisingly, when actually tasting it, the lemon flavour is quite muted with the a buttery flavour being more dominant.

Initially called Pastas del Senado, they were later changed to Pastas de Consejo during the reign of Alfonso XII as he liked to consume them during

Sweets in Spain - Madrid

- Caramelo de Violeta -

Caramelo de Violeta are small, flower shaped sweets flavoured with violet essence and is often associated with Madrid. The exact reasons as to why that is has been lost in time but what is interesting is that when one thinks of old Madrid, the image of a morning walk in the Parque de El Retiro with a bag of violeta's in hand comes to mind. However (perhaps sadly), nowadays, these are not nearly eaten as commonly or known nearly as well due to the emergence of imported/mass produced sweets.

Within Madrid, Caramelo de Violeta are further associated with the small confectioners and bakery located on the Plaza de Canalejas. They are (not surprisingly) best known for their namesake, violet sweets and were so well known that it is said that King Alfonso XIII purchased these violet sweets for both his wife and his lover.