Fartons (, plural. ) are confectionery sweets typical of the

Valencian Valencian can refer to: * Something related to the Valencian Community ( Valencian Country) in Spain * Something related to the city of Valencia * Something related to the province of Valencia in Spain * Something related to the old Kingdom of ...

town of

Alboraia Alboraya () or Alboraia () is a town and municipality of the province of Valencia, Spain. It is situated very close to the city of Valencia. Originally a farming community, Alboraya has grown in recent decades following the development of the me ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Elongated and glazed with sugar, they are made of

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

, and a

leavening agent In cooking, a leavening agent () or raising agent, also called a leaven () or leavener, is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action (gas bubbles) that lightens and softens the mixture. An altern ...

. This delicate and spongy sweet is made for dipping in orxata or

horchata Horchata (; ), or (), is a name given to various beverages, which are generally plant based, but sometimes contain milk. In Spain, it is made with soaked, ground, and sweetened tiger nuts. In some parts of the Americas it is known as an agua f ...

, a drink made of

tiger nut ''Cyperus esculentus'' (also called chufa, tiger nut, atadwe, yellow nutsedge, earth almond, and in Chishona, pfende) is a species of plant in the sedge family widespread across much of the world. It is found in most of the Eastern Hemisphere, i ...

s that is served cold. Fartóns are also eaten with hot beverages such as

hot chocolate Hot Chocolate are a British soul band formed by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson. The group had at least one hit song every year on the UK Singles Chart from 1970 to 1984. Their hits include " You Sexy Thing", a UK number two which also made ...

caffè latte Latte () or caffè latte (), also known as , or , is a coffee drink of Italian origin made with espresso and steamed milk, traditionally served in a glass. Variants include the chocolate-flavored ''caffè mocha'' or replacing the coffee wit ...

Origin

According to an apocryphal legend,

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...

called the drink orxata "pure gold" because of its texture and sweetness. In the 1960s, the Polo family developed an oblong pastry that was sweet and delicate. It had a spongy texture that was perfect to soak up orxata. Because of its long shape, fartóns could also reach the bottom of a glass. This was the beginning of Fartóns Polo.

Variations

In the 1990s, the hospitality industry began to serve frozen pastries and with it a new variation of fartóns, the so-called flaky fartóns. Flaky fartóns are made with a different dough, resulting in a different texture. Other variations include spongy fartóns, made from wheat flour, sugar, sunflower oil, water, eggs, fresh yeast, bread supplements, and salt. A commercial variety of flaky fartóns are made with animal fat and have a denser consistency.

Nutritional information

Spongy fartóns do not contain

preservatives A preservative is a substance or a chemical that is added to products such as food products, beverages, pharmaceutical drugs, paints, biological samples, cosmetics, wood, and many other products to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or b ...

or artificial coloring. The nutritional facts for 100g of spongy fartóns are: calories: 372.6kcal/1559.1 kJ, protein: 9g, carbohydrates: 58.8g, and fat: 11.3g. The nutritional facts for flaky fartóns are: calories: 413.3kcal/1729.2kJ, protein: 7.3g, carbohydrates: 51.7g, and fat: 19.7g.

References

{{reflist

External links

Fartons Polo
Spanish pastries Valencian cuisine