Yemas de Santa Teresa facts for kids
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| Type | Pastry |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Spain |
| Region or state | Ávila |
| Main ingredients | Egg yolks, syrup, lemon juice, cinnamon |
Yemas de Santa Teresa are a special sweet treat from Spain. People also call them Yemas de Ávila. They are famous in the province of Ávila. You can find them all over Spain, but they are a popular souvenir from the city of Ávila.
These sweets are easy to spot! They look like small, bright orange balls. Each one sits in a pretty white paper cup. They were created to honor Teresa of Ávila, a very important person in Spanish history.
There's a similar sweet called yema in the Philippines. The Philippines used to be a Spanish colony. These yemas are often shaped like small pyramids or balls. They are sold as candies, not pastries.
The Sweet History of Yemas
The exact start of this pastry is a bit of a mystery. There are a few ideas about where it came from.
One idea is that a pastry shop in Andalusia first sold them. This shop was called "Flor de Castilla." This might have happened a long time ago, in the Middle Ages.
Later, in 1860, a man named Don Isabelo Sánchez helped make them famous. He owned a pastry shop in Ávila called "La Dulce Aviles." This shop is now known as "Flor de Castilla." He started selling the sweets as "Yemas de Santa Teresa." They became very popular! Soon, other bakers in Ávila began making similar sweets. They called theirs "Yemas de Ávila."
Another idea is that monks from the convent of Teresa of Ávila invented the sweet.
In the early 2000s, "Yemas de Ávila" became even more popular. People in North America wanted to buy them. To send them far away, a new way to package them was created. This helped the sweets stay fresh during their long trip to America.
How Yemas de Santa Teresa Are Made
These special pastries are made mostly with egg yolks. The egg yolks are stirred carefully in copper bowls.
At the same time, a syrup is made. It's cooked with lemon juice and cinnamon. The syrup cooks until it becomes very thick. You can test it by dipping a spoon in. If a thin, sticky thread stays connected to the spoon, it's ready!
Once the syrup is thick and gooey, it's mixed with the egg yolks. This mixture is stirred over low heat. After cooking, the dough is left to cool down. Then, it's shaped into small balls, just a few centimeters wide. Each little ball is placed into its own special paper cup.
See also
In Spanish: Yemas de Santa Teresa para niños
