Spain’s annual Epiphany celebrations have become a gastronomic battlefield, pitting the traditional roscón cake against an Italian incursion in the form of panettone.
After families gathered for the feast day on Tuesday to cut into the wreath-shaped roscón de Reyes, commentators expressed anguish over the rise in popularity of the foreign interloper.
Writing in the conservative online newspaper El Debate, Bieito Rubido, the editor, wrote that behind the “apparent minor question” of roscón versus panettone lies “a profound reflection on how Spanish culture defends itself from foreign invasions, even in gastronomy”.
Volunteers distribute traditional roscón at Puerta del Sol in Madrid
EUROPA PRESS NEWS
The “duel” was commented on by La Vanguardia newspaper, which ran a cartoon with the words “In a fight to the death between a roscón and a panettone, who would win?” It noted that the advent of the Italian delicacy had been insidious. “There was no domestic referendum; it happened suddenly. Like those fads that don’t seem like fads until they’ve changed everything,” it stated, saying that Spanish traditions “gave way on our Christmas tables to tall, fluffy, fragrant, foreign panettone”.
It added: “Wrapped in fine paper and with its pedantic Italian discourse printed on a designer label, it burst into our Christmas celebrations uninvited. Unnecessarily solemn. Taking it for granted that what we have is no longer enough.”
But Spanish traditions proved resilient this week. Fears of Italian domination appeared, for now at least, to be overstated. Despite years of anxious commentary about foreign culinary fashions edging on to Spanish tables, consumers once again opted overwhelmingly for the citrus-scented cake that traditionally brings the Christmas season to a close.
• Bakers strike gold with hidden gifts in Epiphany cakes
The roscón, a brioche-like ring decorated with candied fruit and sweet fillings hiding within, remains more than a dessert. As El País put it, “For many it is the star pastry of the first days of the year, the sweet that brings the Christmas festivities to a close.” The once-a-year indulgence is celebrated for its moist crumb, light texture and clean hint of orange blossom. Traditionally a dried broad bean and a figurine of the baby Jesus are baked into the roscón — the latter bringing good luck to the finder, the former the bill for the cake.
The attachment to this tradition translated into sales. In what retailers themselves described as a “gastronomic battle”, the roscón comfortably outperformed panettone. A nationwide Carrefour poll found that 72.9 per cent of consumers favoured roscón over its Italian rival, while a separate company report showed that 73 per cent of Spaniards consider the traditional recipe untouchable, whether plain or filled with cream.
A Carrefour poll found that 72.9 per cent of consumers favoured roscón over panettone
RICHARD PELHAM/GETTY IMAGES
Industry figures underline the point. The Spanish bakery sector estimates that about 30 million roscónes were consumed this season, broadly in line with previous years. The classic cream filling continues to dominate, though pistachio has begun to make cautious inroads, a sign that fashion is being absorbed rather than allowed to replace ritual.
That sense of cultural unease, however, is sharpening. Rubido grouped panettone with other imported habits, notably Halloween, as evidence of a globalisation that leads Spaniards, in his words, to “buy what comes from outside” while slowly eroding local markers of identity.
Why have ‘patriotic’ banquets become the latest front in France’s culture war?
La Vanguardia struck a conciliatory tone, arguing that foreign and local traditions, such as the festive consumption of turrón — Spanish nougat — have learned to coexist. “It is no longer about replacing, but about adding,” the paper wrote. “Panettone seduces, yes, but turrón moves us — and in the end what matters is sharing.”
It reminded readers that roscón may itself be of French origin — invented across the Pyrenees, where it never acquired the ritual importance it enjoys in Spain. A foreign import that became tradition.
Dining and Cooking