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Alfajor or Alajú
Biscuits
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Gingerbread or gingerbread (Spanish pronounce: [alfaxor] (Arabic الفاخر) alfajores plural) is a sweet, candy or traditional Arabic dessert, dessert was originally found in some regions of Spain and then he made some changes in Latin American countries, including South America, Central America and Mexico, having been brought there by settlers. The archetypal or traditional gingerbread entered Iberia during the period of Al-Andalus.
In Spain there are completely different recipes, but most traditionalists contain flour, honey, almonds and various spices such as cinnamon. It is the most sold around Christmas, but in Medina Sidonia is sold throughout the year. The real gingerbread was made in this city since ancient times and their development, called "gingerbread" is passed from father to son.
Today craftsmanship remains almost entirely developed by the same procedure, and very natural, honey, almonds, hazelnuts, sugar, flour, breadcrumbs and mixed with natural spices. In the manufacturing process have been respected in many parts of the world one of the original recipes that have been preserved until today, we refer to the recipe: Mariano Pardo de Figueroa in 1786. In Medina Sidonia theres, maintaining an annual production of about 45,000 kg, mostly consumed in the province of Cadiz, but are also famous in Seville, Malaga and Huelva.
On September 15, 2004, was ratified by the geographical indication of Agriculture and Fisheries Council for the Andalusian Government and published in the Official Journal of the European Union as of Medina Sidonia Alfajor the March 6, 2007.
In the province of Cuenca, Spain, is still called the gingerbread gingerbread and are made with almonds, honey and figs, all wrapped in a wafer. Medina Sidonia was the capital of the clothing industry in the Arab world, where the gingerbread is a centuries old recipe has been passed from generation to generation. In this city, there's a recipe for Mariano Pardo de Figueroa, a gourmet documenting the history of this sweet, better known by his pen name Doctor Thebussem, where he wrote that the July 2, 1487, Enrique Guzman, second Earl of Medina Sidonia, ordered the Council and the mayors of the region to send to Malaga 50 cows, 50 oxen, 200 calves, and provision of gingerbread or gingerbread in his city.
The recipe for Thebussem gingerbread of the 19th century is defined as follows and contains the following ingredients
For the gingerbread or gingerbread are needed: One liter of white honey, three means of a pound of hazelnuts and almonds, all roasted and chopped, half an ounce of cinnamon, two ounces of aniseed, four drachms of cloves and a quarter of roasted coffee and ground coriander, a pound of sesame seeds, eight pounds of powder grinding rolls without salt or yeast, baked in the oven, with a half pound of sugar.
In South America due to lack of ingredients and habits, alfajores were totally different. At present, it is found mainly in Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Paraguay, Chile, Peru and southern Brazil. Although the food has been very popular in Argentina and Uruguay from 19 mid-century, has its roots in the Arab world.
Etymology Alfajor or gingerbread
As the Spanish philologist and dialectologists: Manuel Alvar Lopez writes in his hard work on the gingerbread and gingerbread, would then be a castellanism andalusism for gingerbread, derived from the Arabic word الفاخر [al-hasu], not known, nor is it in America, where the Andalusians were presented as gingerbread, the Arabic word alfahuir honeycomb: the two words were added to the great Spanish dictionary, in the fourteenth century.
The publication of the historical dictionary of the Spanish language allows us to document both, alajur very broadly written and gingerbread and gingerbread. Alajur and multiple geographic variations, is a candy made of almond paste, nuts, breadcrumbs and honey. Indeed, it is possible that the gingerbread and gingerbread Arabs introduced in the Spanish language in different places and times, and assuming that both came from the etymology, since phonetically, gingerbread is a Castilian and Arabic studies at he is still alive in Cuenca, Toledo, Guadalajara and in the Sierra de la Peña (France), while the gingerbread is Andalusia and Murcia variation. In the Americas, the meaning of the word alfajor not known until the nineteenth century.
Alfajor or Gingerbread History
The Arab general, Musa bin Nusair, arrived in Algeciras with an army of 18,000 soldiers in 712 enterprises in the conquest of Medina Sidonia, Alcalá de Guadaira and Carmona. A similar sweet called gingerbread is in the cookbook Spanish-Arabic Kitab tabīkh anonymous. Spanish historians and grammarians of Nebrija named the first word in Latin, Spanish, Nebrija Dictionary (1492) as "alfaxor 'or' alaxur.
In the twelfth century Raimundo Martin, described in his book 'Another possible etymology of gingerbread or gingerbread' called nectar 'fasur' of Arab origin Hispanic. The presence of this sweet is evident in the area of southern Spain during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, are being manufactured in Andalusia since the days of Al-AndalusXVI reflected in literary works such as Guzman Alfarache.
Preparation and presentation of Alfajor or Gingerbread
The culinary rules of origin refers to the use of only pure honey, almonds, walnuts, breadcrumbs, sugar, flour and spices like anise, sesame, coriander, cloves and cinnamon. Protected Geographical Indication alfajores and therefore the same are intended to be presented in a cylindrical shape with a minimum weight of 30 grams each and with a size of seven inches in length and a diameter of 1.5 cm. Each of them will be protected with a wrapping paper and the ends made of a spiral-shaped ornament with a ribbon out of the same paper. Once individually wrapped gingerbread alfajores or may be packed in wood or cardboard, but never in plastic. boxes.
Variations in the development and manufacture of Alfajor or Gingerbread in the Americas
In most alfajores or gingerbread made in America, there are two layers of cake and filling in the middle. In Argentina its basic form consists of two round sweet biscuits joined together with dulce de leche or jam and covered with powdered sugar. Another popular feature of gingerbread or gingerbread, but not always present, is a layer of white chocolate or black (or gingerbread alfajores many are sold in "black" and "target" of diverse and delicious flavors). There is also a variant called "gingerbread Alfajor or snow, instead of having a chocolate coating black or white, has a" snow "coating. The "snow" is a mixture of egg whites and sugar, but there usually snow cover or grated coconut, powdered sugar and jam even color that is not nothing but tiny spheres of colors with a pleasant sweet taste vanilla .
Peruvian alfajores or gingerbread are usually covered with powdered sugar, and full of blancmange is a kind of Creole less gooey caramel while being sweet and pleasantly delicious. Most alfajores or gingerbread are packaged in foil, in Mexico are only made with coconut, and usually in one color tone and / or coconut covered in Nicaragua, are more along the lines of type or gingerbread alfajores Canary Islands and are made with molasses and different types of grains like corn and cocoa in a manner similar to most chocolate bars, but are hand made so accessible and usually packed in plastic wrap or waxed paper, preserving and their delicate flavor longer.
Other varieties of gingerbread or gingerbread, include different elements in the preparation of biscuits, like peanuts, but also vary in the layer of fill and even add a third cookie called by the (gingerbread or gingerbread triple).
Other variations Alfajor or Gingerbread both in production, distribution and marketing
Due to its delicious flavor, gingerbread or gingerbread has been widely accepted and therefore its development has been widely disseminated throughout the world: it is no wonder that also has multiple variations in its preparation, distribution and marketing. It so as have been added to your preparation different flavors: vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, hazelnut, butter, syrup, Miscelanea, lemon, orange, pear, pineapple and other endless natural and artificial flavors in small amounts thus enhancing its irresistible taste and aroma to the palate.
Also added to the preparation of gingerbread or gingerbread, plenty of delicious and exotic ingredients in both mass and in its coverage and filling as well as among these are: raisins, prunes, candied fruit, fruit jam exotic as the kiwi, rhubarb, sour grapes, tamarind, loquat, apricot, raspberry, among others.
It should be noted that not only have changed or have added new ingredients to the preparation of gingerbread or gingerbread, but also has changed the way it was developed, as in ancient times was made on an individual basis and 100% handmade, However today is very different because although it continues to prepare traditional way is also common to prepare a very tech, industrialized, and can thus obtain large amounts of alfajores or gingerbread in a very short time, thus maximizing not only the quantity but the quality and homogeneity them.
Obviously big productions or gingerbread alfajores also require an elaborate distribution logistics, is how in the confectionery sector there are large multinationals that produce these sweets as desired, so this type of mega-industry of food requires a fleet of trucks, personnel, administrative, sales, department stores and chain superstores, wholesale distributors, dealers, retailers, and finally the insatiable and demanding public or clients are the consumers who ultimately consume the delicious delicacy.
Nor can we forget the great work in advertising and marketing that requires a product to become a mass consumer grocery, so it is imprescidible for an aggressive marketing plan according to different policies of each company, using different broadcast media and whether mass or individual sectored such as: television, radio, press, internet, telemarketing, flyers, referrals from person to person, Diretas multilevel sales, billboards, advertisements, brochures advertising and other marketing media available, how to use and the means chosen shall be elected according to the internal policies of each company, as its production capacity, coverage, target market, product value and potential customers among others.
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