Fartons



Fartons (, plural. fartón) are confectionery sweets typical of the Valencian town of Alboraia, Spain. Elongated and glazed with sugar, they are made of flour, milk, sugar, oil, eggs, and a leavening agent.

This delicate and spongy sweet is made for dipping in orxata or horchata, a drink made of tiger nuts that is served cold. Fartóns are also eaten with hot beverages such as hot chocolate or caffè latte.

Origin
According to an apocryphal legend, James I of Aragon 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 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.