Alfajor de Medina Sidonia

Alfajor de Medina Sidonia is an Arab-style sweet produced exclusively in the Municipality of Medina Sidonia, Cádiz, from pure bees honey, almonds, hazelnuts, flour, breadcrumbs, and spices including coriander, cloves, aniseed, sesame, and cinnamon. It is shaped into small elongated cylinders, coated with sugar and cinnamon powder, and carries a reputation documented since the fifteenth century.

About this designation

Registered as a PGI on 8 June 2004 under file number PGI-ES-0346 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013712), Alfajor de Medina Sidonia is classified under bread, pastry, cakes, confectionery, biscuits and other baker's wares. Manufacture and packing must take place within the Municipality of Medina Sidonia, part of which lies within the Los Alcornocales National Park, in the Province of Cádiz. The specification fixes ingredient proportions in the finished product: pure bees honey at a minimum of 30% and a maximum of 50%; nuts at a minimum of 15% and a maximum of 20%, of which a minimum of 55% must be almonds and 20% hazelnuts; flour and breadcrumbs at a maximum of 40%; and spices at a minimum of 0.3% and a maximum of 3%. Physico-chemical requirements expressed as percentages in the finished product are: moisture content maximum 12.00; proteins minimum 6.00; fat minimum 9.50; ash maximum 2.00. The production process begins with heating the honey, after which chopped and roasted almonds and hazelnuts, breadcrumbs, flour, roasted sesame, and roasted and crushed coriander, cloves, and aniseed are added. The warm dough is cut, cooled to room temperature, and shaped into elongated cylinders before being dipped in syrup and coated with sugar and cinnamon powder. The control body is the Consejo Regulador de la Denominación Específica 'Alfajor de Medina Sidonia', based in Medina Sidonia. Each certified package bears a numbered secondary label issued by the Consejo Regulador, displaying the name Alfajor de Medina Sidonia, the logo, and a unique serial number. Labels must carry the words 'Denominación Específica Alfajor de Medina Sidonia' and must be approved by the Consejo Regulador.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PGI on 8 June 2004 under file number PGI-ES-0346; eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013712.
• Pure bees honey must constitute a minimum of 30% and a maximum of 50% of the finished product; no other sweetener is specified.
• Of the nut content, a minimum of 55% must be almonds and 20% hazelnuts; the specification permits no substitution.
• Each certified package carries a unique serial number on a numbered secondary label issued by the Consejo Regulador.

HoReCa use

The product is sold individually or in boxes containing several pieces.