Sweet tooth

Three of the seven prescribed courses in a typical meal were sweet, whether it be fruits, pastries, cookies, or rice and/or custard puddings—ancestors of today’s ubiquitous flan. Quince paste (carne de membrillo) is still relished with Manchego cheese, while pumpkin, dates, and figs once became candied delicacies, sometimes stuffed with pistachio, almond, or hazelnut paste Elche, just south of Alicante, is home to Europe’s only irrigated palm grove, an entrancing expanse of about 70,000 date palms developed by the Moors to feed their atavistic taste for this fruit of the desert, whether in drinks, boiled in milk, or candied Today, however, dates are rarely found in dishes and those sold in stores are the less than fresh, boxed versions.