Sweet Treats

[oldskills]

Well I fly out of Melbourne Australia on the 2nd of September to start walking my 1st Camino on the 5th, can't wait to get there. Anyway I have a serious sweet tooth and was wondering if there are particularly delicious things I should try along the way.
I see people talking about octopus, jamon and the much maligned bocadillo but I am after sugar only of course for the energy it can provide you understand.

 

[Robo]

Some great chocolate along the way, fresh orange juice, cakes! Lots of temptations don't worry

Is that Mont St Michel in your avatar pic? I grew up not far from there, in Jersey. The real Jersey, not that US copy

 

[Anamiri]

The Spanish do the best chocolatie oozy pastries. To die for. And great melon, wine, chocolate, desserts.....

 

[Via2010]

Hi,

you will not be disappointed. Bakeries along the camino francés offer lots of delicious cakes and cookies. Spanish monateries are famous for their sweets. Astorga is called the capital of chocolate.

You should certainly try the different varieties of turron, carrajítos del professor, sospiros de las monjas and other traditional spanish sweets.

But beware of the calories. I can remember one delicious peace of "hojaladre" filled with cream and covered with chocolate containing 550 kcal.

BC
Alexandra

 

[Davey Boyd]

Don't forget the chocolate museum in Astorga when you pass through! So many excellent chocolate shops there Yummm!

 

[MichelleO]

Remember that a chocolate a day keeps the muscle pain away!

 

[GailGwyn]

Well I fly out of Melbourne Australia on the 2nd of September to start walking my 1st Camino on the 5th, can't wait to get there. Anyway I have a serious sweet tooth and was wondering if there are particularly delicious things I should try along the way.
I see people talking about octopus, jamon and the much maligned bocadillo but I am after sugar only of course for the energy it can provide you understand.

If you can find a traditional churreria you absolutely MUST try chocolate con churros. Hot, long fried pieces of dough, (sprinkled with sugar if you want), accompanied by a cup of hot melted chocolate to dip the churros in!!!

 

[Icacos]

...... chocolate con churros. Hot, long fried pieces of dough.....accompanied by a cup of hot melted chocolate to dip the churros in!!!

Delicious! Good for second or third breakfast.

 

[nycwalking]

Tarta de Santiago once you are there is delicious.

A resturant in Cizur Menor had an excellent tarta de queso.

I've attached a cookie cutter you can use to keep others from trying to snag your treats.

 

[Gailsie]

OMG, I remember eating chocolate puddings with whipped cream - 2 to a pack - found in grocery stores. Or should I say I inhaled them whenever I found them. I thought they were the most wonderful thing at the time. probably needed the sugar and they were cold from the display case.

 

[Theatregal]

If you like custard and caramel and cream....Flan is divine!

 

[oursonpolaire]

There is high-quality artisanal chocolate everywhere in Spain. Avoid the commercial stuff. Come back with a dozen or so bars of it. And, if you can order drinking chocolate-- NOT COLA CAU- you will find it to be likely one of the most decadent experiences of your life. If in Santiago at the Casino Cafe on Rua Villar, they will thoughtfully provide you with a shot of orujo blanco to go with it (at a nominal charge).

 

[Iriebabel]

Well I fly out of Melbourne Australia on the 2nd of September to start walking my 1st Camino on the 5th, can't wait to get there. Anyway I have a serious sweet tooth and was wondering if there are particularly delicious things I should try along the way.
I see people talking about octopus, jamon and the much maligned bocadillo but I am after sugar only of course for the energy it can provide you understand.

Just look for a bakery or cafe they are everywhere...sweets abound! Everything is good. Try the gourmet chocolate in Astorga I think there is a chocolate museum there not far from the main square

 

[mylifeonvacation]

Once you get to Galicia, Melide has a special sweet treat that you should try. It's called a "melindre", and it's a small frosted anise flavored donut shaped cookie/cake. They have an annual festival in it's honor during mid-May in Melide.

Also in Galicia you will start seeing a dessert offering called "filloas" which are thin crepes, often stuffed with cream, or served drizzled with honey or chocolate, or maybe just sprinkled with sugar.

 

[Icacos]

And if you are really lucky you will run into the crepe lady (I believe she's in Fonfría). In a back lane, she will serve you crepes warm from the oven, sprinkled with sugar, while you stand amid cow dung, all for a small donativo. A truly not-to-be-missed experience!

 

[dfunghi]

Tarta de Santiago once you are there is delicious.

A resturant in Cizur Menor had an excellent tarta de queso.

I've attached a cookie cutter you can use to keep others from trying to snag your treats.

Ah, but it would be so much "sweeter" to just take an actual bite.

 

[dfunghi]

There is high-quality artisanal chocolate everywhere in Spain. Avoid the commercial stuff.

Even the national big brand "Valor" bars are vastly superior, by a wide mile, to anything sold in markets in US.

 

[Ellen the Pesto]

Some great chocolate along the way, fresh orange juice, cakes! Lots of temptations don't worry

Is that Mont St Michel in your avatar pic? I grew up not far from there, in Jersey. The real Jersey, not that US copy

The USA New Jersey is not a copy of Jersey, it is a beautiful state named after the British island. New York is nothing like York, New Britain is nothing like Britain, and New South Wales is nothing like south Wales. The names honor and remember where the original European settlers/invaders came from.

 

[Kanga]

Confitería! Pastelería! Turrón, chocolaté on churros .......

Try this link to get a virtual sample of a confitería, and what it offers.

 

[Devereaux]

Now THIS is a serious thread!
Thanks all.
Now, I'm more excited than ever to "consume" Spain!
Great idea, Oldskills!

 

[Via2010]

And if you are really lucky you will run into the crepe lady (I believe she's in Frómista). In a back lane, she will serve you crepes warm from the oven, sprinkled with sugar, while you stand amid cow dung, all for a small donativo. A truly not-to-be-missed experience!

It is not in Fromista, but in Fonfría, between O'Cebreiro and Triacastela. On a cold rainy day a very special treat.

 

[VNwalking]

There are many possibilities, and I suggest you simply graze your way across Spain: find the pasteleria in any town and go for it.
Two places in particular stick in my memory: a pasteleria opposite the plaza in the middle of Melide that was wonderful, and another in Elizondo (on the Camino Baztanes).

 

[HeidiL]

If you pass by a convent, MANY convents sell treats made by the nuns. I particularly like Yemas de Santa Clara - candied egg yolks. Incredibly sweet, I think the lethal dose is around 3, but one, nibbled very, very slowly, is very nice indeed.

Google "convento dulces Placename" and you will probably find something in most larger cities.

If you spend any time in Madrid, this is a special treat...

 

[Dorpie]

Another vote for Tarta de Santiago. Once we hit Glaicia it took over from tortilla or croisant as my staple breakfast, almondy greatness in tart form.

One of the more surreal experiences of my trip was in Burgos at a cafe just below the cathedral seeing all the church folk in full garb alternately scoffing churros con chocolate and and dragging on cigarettes.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

The USA New Jersey is not a copy of Jersey, it is a beautiful state named after the British island. New York is nothing like York, New Britain is nothing like Britain, and New South Wales is nothing like south Wales. The names honor and remember where the original European settlers/invaders came from.

Calm down dear, it was only a jest I'm sure! And, by the way, the "real Jersey" as @Robo called it isn't a British island.
It is one of the Channel Islands and part of the Duchy of Normandy under the Duke of Normandy , currently HM Queen Elizabeth II.
Islanders can get touchy about these things!

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Confitería! Pastelería! Turrón, chocolaté on churros .......

Try this link to get a virtual sample of a confitería, and what it offers.

Link not working Kanga or is it me?

 

[Jeff Crawley]

I'd support most of the suggestions above - look out for the flaming orange coloured chocolate in Astorga - but as for the infamous Tart of Santiago It can get quite dry and hard but I understand that if you stab it with a strong enough fork and pour Orujo over it then it's more palatable (stands back and awaits the wave of opprobrium to wash over him) and I think it might make a suitable substitute for a Vibram sole.

 

[Robo]

The USA New Jersey is not a copy of Jersey, it is a beautiful state named after the British island. New York is nothing like York, New Britain is nothing like Britain, and New South Wales is nothing like south Wales. The names honor and remember where the original European settlers/invaders came from.

Just teasing

I live in New South Wales (Australia) It's nothing at all like South Wales

 

[Icacos]

It is not in Fromista, but in Fonfría, between O'Cebreiro and Triacastela. On a cold rainy day a very special treat.

Thank you very much! I couldn’t be sure of the name of the town other than it started with ‘F.’ And I couldn’t find my camino guide book, which keeps disappearing on me.
(I am longing to get back on the camino; not for the sweet treats, but just to walk.)
[earlier post edited]

 

[Dorpie]

I'd support most of the suggestions above - look out for the flaming orange coloured chocolate in Astorga - but as for the infamous Tart of Santiago It can get quite dry and hard but I understand that if you stab it with a strong enough fork and pour Orujo over it then it's more palatable (stands back and awaits the wave of opprobrium to wash over him) and I think it might make a suitable substitute for a Vibram sole.

If it's oppobrium you want here it is!

How dare you denegrate the not quite cake, not quite biscuit wonder that is TdS! As walking fuel washed down with a cafe con leche at first or second breakfast it really can't be beat.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

If it's oppobrium you want here it is!

How dare you denegrate the not quite cake, not quite biscuit wonder that is TdS! As walking fuel washed down with a cafe con leche at first or second breakfast it really can't be beat.

I'll agree with the gran café con leche but I'll see your dried out, crumbly cake and raise you a plato combinado: fried eggs, bacon, morcilla, patatas and then tostadas y mermelada - the breakfast of champions (and pilgrims!)

 

[JohnMcM]

I can't remember it's trade name, but, in Spain there is a dark chocolate bar in a red wrapper that I think is very, very good. It has become my go to sugar rush for all Spanish-based Caminos.
The added bonus is it is always accepted when offered to others.

Buen (Yom-nom-nom) Camino

 

[ksam]

Is that Mont St Michel in your avatar pic? I grew up not far from there, in Jersey. The real Jersey, not that US copy

'Taint a copy here in New Jersey! We're definitely unique and one of a kind. So tread carefully, cause we're also known as the Soprano State Kidding!! Really...but we do have a million plus acres of pine forests to stash things in....just saying

Don't seem to hear any songs about girls on the island of Jersey...but Tom Waits did a fab number for us Jersey girls here in the states.

But we'd be happy to share it with that other Jersey girls.

Don't forget the chocolate museum in Astorga when you pass through! So many excellent chocolate shops there Yummm!

Just don't arrive in Astoria on a Monday. Oh the horror of it. A Gaudi museum AND a chocolate museum, both closed for the day! I nearly cried!!

 

[Ellen the Pesto]

Calm down dear, it was only a jest I'm sure! And, by the way, the "real Jersey" as @Robo called it isn't a British island.
It is one of the Channel Islands and part of the Duchy of Normandy under the Duke of Normandy , currently HM Queen Elizabeth II.
Islanders can get touchy about these things!

I am calm. Only wanting to clarify. And I am not either touchy! And thank you for clarifying, too! New Jersey has a bad reputation derived from two vast highways lined with industry that run the length of it, and that corridor is indeed very ugly. The northwest and southeast corners are mostly quite beautiful. But I much prefer New England, which not like England. The bakeries here in New London aren't very exciting, sad to say.
On my trosset de cami in Catalunya, my best find was Eroski's huge store-brand dark chocolate bar with whole hazelnuts. 1.55€!
Wait! The queen is a duke??!

 

[Ellen the Pesto]

All my winkies disappeared.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

I am calm. Only wanting to clarify. And I am not either touchy! And thank you for clarifying, too! New Jersey has a bad reputation derived from two vast highways lined with industry that run the length of it, and that corridor is indeed very ugly. The northwest and southeast corners are mostly quite beautiful. But I much prefer New England, which not like England. The bakeries here in New London aren't very exciting, sad to say.

On my trosset de cami in Catalunya, my best find was Eroski's huge store-brand dark chocolate bar with whole hazelnuts. 1.55€!
Wait! The queen is a duke??!

Thought that would get you! The Duke of Normandy is always the reigning monarch of England (goes back 900 odd years) no matter what the sex of that monarch. I understand though, that on a visit to the real Normandy (see what I did there?) Her Madg was greeted with cries of "Vive la Duchesse" by the Normans but francophone islanders give the loyal toast as "La Reine, notre Duc!" (the Queen, our Duke!)

History, wonderful isn't it?

 

[Kanga]

Link not working Kanga or is it me?

Hopefully link fixed. Here it is again.

 

[oldskills]

Thank you all, my fears have been abated. By the sound of things I will not be able to walk the way without literally tripping over sweet delights. I am a big fan of good chocolate and sweet pastries are another favorite.
BUT, what about those spare kilos I was hoping to shed, oh well, at least all my old clothes will still fit me .

My mouth is watering as I sit hear with a cup of tea I can't wait to try the food both sweet and savory, we fly out tomorrow!!!

Some great chocolate along the way, fresh orange juice, cakes! Lots of temptations don't worry

Is that Mont St Michel in your avatar pic? I grew up not far from there, in Jersey. The real Jersey, not that US copy

Robo it is Mont St Michel in France, hoping to visit the other one in a year or two.

 

[vitalija]

There were plenty of unhealthy white flour baked stuff but as a healthier options loving pelegrinos we loved to have some dates on the way or buy some local fruits as sweet treats in local fruterias. My favourites include figues, mango, cactus fruit. And however weirdly it sounds we also loved spanish tomatoes almost just as much as our sweat treats

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Hopefully link fixed. Here it is again.

OMG yes! Now drooling over keyboard!

 

[ksam]

There were plenty of unhealthy white flour baked stuff but as a healthier options loving pelegrinos we loved to have some dates on the way or buy some local fruits as sweet treats in local fruterias. My favourites include figues, mango, cactus fruit. And however weirdly it sounds we also loved spanish tomatoes almost just as much as our sweat treats

All depends on the season... One of my favorite walks was in the spring of 2011 and eating cherries as they became ripe!! Amazing!

 

[Icacos]

All depends on the season... One of my favorite walks was in the spring of 2011 and eating cherries as they became ripe!! Amazing!

I trust you purchased those cherries and didn’t get them out of some farmer’s field.

 

[Former member 59618]

There is an especially sweet little pastelería in Santo Domingo called Isidro pastry, if I remember correctly. Lots of sweet treats there to fuel the weary pilgrim.

 

[Robo]

Robo it is Mont St Michel in France, hoping to visit the other one in a year or two.

Yes. Not that far from Jersey.....
We used to cycle there from St Malo as kids.

 

[ksam]

I trust you purchased those cherries and didn’t get them out of some farmer’s field.

Never. Been married to some one in Ag for 40 years!! My respect for farmers goes deep. People just taking from fields made me crazy. Would they walk into a bodega and just pick up something and begin eating it without paying? I don't think so!!

One of my sweetest memories was walking into Ponferrada and a very elderly couple were picking cherries from the tree in their tiny front yard. The wife turned and called over and handed me these

 

[Ellen the Pesto]

Brighton, New Brighton, and on Staten Island in New York Harbor, there is West New Brighton! Wheee!

Another roadside treat is wild figs. Not the farmed ones, the escaped ones. The wild pomegranates were too tart for me. Hedge almonds, wild blackberries, and ice cream when I got into town (Girona).

"Her Madg"!! Wow.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Brighton, New Brighton, and on Staten Island in New York Harbor, there is West New Brighton! Wheee!

Another roadside treat is wild figs. Not the farmed ones, the escaped ones. The wild pomegranates were too tart for me. Hedge almonds, wild blackberries, and ice cream when I got into town (Girona).

"Her Madg"!! Wow.

And "wild" apples in Galicia from trees on the Camino side of the boundary walls.

"Her Madge" - sometimes we call her Brenda. What the heck, she's got a sense of humour. Did you see what she did when Trump came to visit? One day she wore a spectacular broach that was a personal gift from the Obama's and on another a broach from the people of Canada - the subliminal message came through loud and clear. Not bad for a 92 year old!