Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way...
"Do you actually get in to a Christmas mood over there in Tenerife?" Every year I read this worried question in my whatsapp group chat with my girls over in Germany.
Dear gals, yes I get into a Christmas mood here. I admit, we don´t have snow or temperatures below zero, but when it comes to Christmas decorations, the "canarios" are quite challenging.
And no, that doesn´t mean we decorate palm trees here. The woods in the Canary Islands are protected, so you can´t get a real Christmas tree there. If you need the smell of spruce and co you can, of course, buy them in hardware centers, but I prefer the good old plastic tree to the natural import. Pros: it doesn´t loose its needles and I can have it from the 1st of December until New Years Eve.
Apart from the nice decoration in and outside the houses, there are some special Christmas goodies that conquered not only my heart but also my tummy.
At Christmas a must try sweet are "Polvorones" and "Turrones". Sounds strange but they taste delicious. The Spanish word "polvo" means “dust” literally translated and that describes quite closely the texture of these sweets. The kind of short bread mixture is made of flour, milk, sugar and nuts and they exist in many different flavours. My favorite is chocolate, cinnamon and coconut.
To not get dusty while eating it, you have to squeeze the "Polvorón" while it´s still in its wrapper and then eat it whole.
But be careful, if you eat too much of them you will add some extra kilos to your hips, faster as you can say "Polvorones".
The oldest written recipe for the Spanish "Turrón" is from the 16th century, but long before the romans and Iberian Muslims already knew about the secret of this tasty treat. "Turrón" comes from the Latin word "torrere", which means to toast. And that is exactly how "Turrones" are made. Honey, sugar and egg white toasted with almonds or other nuts. When the toasted "Turrón" gets cold, you cut it into pieces. Alternatively you can cover it with chocolate. This also sounds like a lot of calories, but hey! It´s Christmas! I can definitely turn a blind eye on that and enjoy those Spanish gourmet sweets.
When I come home for Christmas this year, my bag will be fully packed with Polvorones and Turrones, so that you, my dear friends, can enjoy them just like I do.
Feliz Navidad! - Yours Katja
