The curious history of wind fritters

Often the best things happen by chance. Unexpected inventions that usually arise from moments of necessity and that, surely, would not have turned out better if they had been carefully thought out.

Many of the dishes of our most traditional recipes come from these “improvised creations” where you use what you have on hand, or the only thing you have at the moment.

The origin of the wind fritters is one of those stories where good things are the result of a big predicament.

The first references to wind fritters

When nothing is written, it’s all guesswork. But sometimes those guesses can be so exciting, curious and surprising that they are worth passing on as part of the story.

The origin of buñuelos de viento is not known for certain, as is the case with most popular dishes, however, there are references that buñuelos de viento have centuries and centuries of tradition behind them.

The first references to buñuelos date back to the 2nd century, in a Roman recipe known as “globos”, in relation to the appearance of this sweet. The recipe must have been liked, because it was inherited by the Sephardic Jews and, later, by the Arabs who occupied the Peninsula.

From the Arabs we have acquired part of our culture and gastronomic richness, something that has benefited us notably, but, so far, nothing surprising.

The wind fritters. A curious history

The curious thing comes from other references that point to the creation of the wind fritters in the 11th century.

The story goes that during the years of the reconquest, the Arabs were being besieged in a village in Malaga. The walls protected the village and, as part of the counterattack, cauldrons with boiling oil were placed on the battlements, in order to throw it to anyone who dared to climb the wall.

After a long time of siege by the Christians, food and firewood became scarce. So, one of the village bakers decided to make a cake with the ingredients he had, that is, flour and water, to make a kind of cakes. He climbed to the top of the wall and fried them in the boiling oil they had prepared against the Christian invasion.

The result must have been a success because the recipe has been perpetuated over time and has survived to the present day.

We don’t know if the story is really true, but it doesn’t seem crazy either, in times of war anything can happen. What is known is that, centuries later, in the eighteenth century, the cook of King Philip II, left the recipe written in a recipe book that has passed to posterity, to the delight of his royal successors and other subjects.

Fritters today

The recipe for buñuelos de viento has been improving, as have the ingredients with which they are prepared. Now we have several versions of fritters: with chocolate, with cream, with cinnamon and lemon… even without filling, which are the most consumed on All Saints’ Day.

In Catalonia they have their own version of buñuelos de viento, as well as in countries as far away as Mexico, India or Turkey.

The truth is that you can’t pass by the window of a pastry shop without trying some of them. At Casa Mira we prepare them in an artisanal way. You don’t have them all year round, so take advantage of the opportunity. You only have to visit our store in the center of Madrid or through our websiteand you can taste one of the best buñuelos de viento in the capital.