Neula (, plural: ) is a type of Catalan

biscuit A biscuit is a flour-based baked food item. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be savoury, similar to crackers. ...

, eaten traditionally at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

with cava wine, which they are often dipped into, and '' torró'' nougat. Neula consists of a very thin sheet of a mixture of

egg white Egg white is the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens, it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms a ...

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (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 ...

and

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 ...

, flavoured with lemon and rolled. Other popular versions include neules stuffed with torró de Xixona, or covered with a chocolate lay. Traditionally eaten at Christmas, they are also eaten at other times, sometimes with ''

crema catalana ''Crema catalana'' 'Catalan cream' or ''crema cremada'' 'burnt cream' is a Catalan and Spanish dessert consisting of a custard topped with a layer of caramelized sugar. It is "virtually identical" to the French ''crème brûlée''. Like all cust ...

'' or

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

Origin

The noun ''neula'' comes from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''nebula'', meaning "fog", referring to the biscuit's fine and light texture. Some documents show that neules existed before ''torró'', and ''torró'' has been shown to exist at least in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and was eaten, for example, at

Jaume I 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 127 ...

's daughter's wedding.

Production

Making neules at home is not easy because of their lightness and slimness, so they are usually bought by Catalonians in professional patisseries.

Other products

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

there are '' gaufres'' that, even though they are much thicker and flat, have the same origin as ''neules''. The same origin have other some stuffed or not waffles, as

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

stroopwafel A ''stroopwafel'' (; ) is a thin, round cookie made from two layers of sweet baked dough held together by syrup filling.

s''. In other regions of

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 ...

there are a sort of rolled biscuits called "barquillos", but they are very much stronger, harder and thicker than waffles and ''neules'', bigger than ''neules'' and they taste different.

References

{{reflist Biscuits Catalan cuisine Christmas food Articles containing video clips

Origin

Production

Other products

See also

References