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Tastes divine...

A friend of mine has just spent a month travelling around Spain and has brought back lots of exquisite goodies, made by Catholic nuns behind the cloistered walls of their convents. The nuns support themselves financially by making delectable cakes, biscuits, pastries, preserves and sweetmeats - a tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages. People travel some distance to form long queues (particularly at important religious feasts such as Christmas) to buy the renowned specialities.

Sumptuously rich sweets include the delightfully named Abbot's Ears (Orelhas de Abade), Nun's Sighs (Suspiros De Monja) and Heavenly Bacon (Tocino Del Cielo). The delicious confections are made to celebrate saints' days and other religious holidays and originally were intended to be medicinal. Pumpkin jam, for instance, was believed to cure ailments of the heart and liver, while quince paste was eaten to soothe and comfort. These preserves are still made by nuns today and remain very popular - although no longer for medical reasons!

Every convent has its specialities; one of the oldest and most famous, Yemas de San Leandro, is made at the convent of San Leandro in Seville. This spectacularly rich egg yolk sweet is made to a secret recipe that involves pouring egg yolks through small holes into boiling syrup. The resultant threads are then gathered into fine strands of 'angel hair', twisted and left to cool.

The Benedictines of Avila are famous for their delicious toffee almonds; the Dominicans of Toledo make a unique marzipan and now sell more than a thousand kilos a year. The nuns of the Santa Paula convent in Seville make wonderful fresh fruit jams - their best-seller is an unusual tomato jam. Other convent specialities include chocolates, honey-soaked cakes, fritters and biscuits.

The nuns have carefully guarded their recipes through the centuries and many recipes remain secret

The nuns have carefully guarded their recipes through the centuries and many recipes remain secret. Typical ingredients include olive oil, aniseed, sesame seeds, cinnamon, cloves, honey, fruits, eggs and sugar. The nuns use only natural ingredients (no colourings or additives) and free-range eggs (often from the nuns' own hens) extra virgin olive oil, superbly fresh almonds (which the nuns skin and grind themselves for optimum flavour) and fruits and honey from convent orchards and hives. Traditional recipes are followed meticulously with no short cuts - many cakes are still baked in wood-fired ovens.

But sadly many convents are closing because they have fewer nuns, so their culinary art may be lost forever. If you're planning a trip to Spain, do buy their superb sweets, which will not only help their convents, but give you a unique taste of Spain too.

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