With an airy and spongy dough, panettone competes with the roscón de Reyes to become the quintessential Christmas sweet. In the Canary Islands, the Italian bun is gaining more and more popularity and its sales have skyrocketed during this campaign, with figures that double those of last year. The sweet has become a faithful reflection of the Canarian population, Well, there are pastry shops like Guirlache or Zulay that innovate in flavors including among its ingredients Teror chorizo or palm tree sweet potato. 49,987 Italians live on the Islands – according to data from the National Statistics Institute corresponding to 2022 –, with the Canary Islands being the favorite community for these foreigners, so the success of panettone in the Archipelago is not surprising.
“All bakers will tell you that panettone is the most difficult pastry product to make,” explains Bryan Medina, pastry chef and co-owner of Zulay, an emblem of sweets founded in the La Palma municipality of Fuencaliente in 1937.. The complexity of this product lies in the fermentation, which lasts three days to achieve the sourdough. That is, if quality standards are maintained as is the case in Zulay, because the industry sells economical versions in supermarkets that are far from the original concept of panettone: “With rapid and artificial fermentation processes to make many units in a short time, it ends up being called panettone to anything.
Medina says that, in the case of Zulay, they use a “very active” sourdough that requires two kneading and two fermentations. The dough is hung with skewers, turned and kept upside down for six hours. As is usual in their sweet shop, they rely on kilometer zero products, such as sweet potatoes – which in La Palma are known as sweet potatoes – and which are cooked in a very peculiar way. In Fuencaliente they call roasting potatoes or sweet potatoes in the embers of a small bonfire made in a hole in the volcanic soil “borrallera”. Although this does not influence the flavor, it has caused a sensation in the exhibitions that Zulay has held in Madrid Fusión and Valencia Gastronómica due to the way in which it connects the product with craftsmanship and preserves a tradition of the Island.
Guirlache, in Gran Canaria, and Zulay, in La Palma and Tenerife, make the bun in an artisanal way
The panettone lover has several flavors to choose from: the three-chocolate one – made with high-quality Valrhona chocolates – the yuzu one – an Asian citrus fruit – and others with raspberry, almond and hazelnut. To get one of them you can go to their three stores in La Palma: in Fuencaliente, Santa Cruz and Los Llanos. They are also found in the La Laguna store, in Tenerife. And they ship to all of Spain through their website.
Sales of panettone, despite being a product with limited manufacturing due to its processes, have skyrocketed in recent years. The first boom occurred in 2022, when Zulay sold more panettones than roscones de Reyes and had to expand the presence of this product on its shelves until Carnival due to high demand. On his website alone, Zulay sold more than 200 panettones last December. But this year, success seems greater and they plan to double sales: «As of this month, we have sold 250 panettones. “We have received orders from different parts of Spain to have the candy at home for Christmas.”
If the panettone lover is from the province of Las Palmas, you will also find the most Canarian versions. An example of this is the Teror chorizo panettone made in Guirlache, the pastry shop founded in the capital of Gran Canaria in 1973. Pedro Rodríguez, one of its owners, assures that the mixture of the salty flavor of the chorizo with the sweetness of the panettone “matches perfectly.” In short, this bun is nothing more than a sourdough bread, so His love affair with Teror sausage has already conquered many palates, who repeat as customers Christmas after Christmas in their stores. You could even say that the chorizo one has eclipsed other classic buns they make, such as the one with candied fruits and raisins or the one with chocolate and orange. And they also have gluten-free, no added sugar and vegan options.
The Guirlache process is also artisanal, therefore, production is limited: «Yes, we have noticed the increase in demand, it is a sweet that is very well received but we are limited to fermentation times. The panettone must be hung and allowed to rest. But everything we put up for sale ends up being devastating. Then it is true that in supermarkets you see many mass-made panettone, but they are not exactly the same.
Cost increase
Like any food product, panettone is no stranger to inflation. Food has become more expensive by more than ten percent so far this year in the Canary Islands, according to the Consumer Price Index. To continue reaching its customers, Guirlache has maintained the same prices as last year, which range between 3.70 euros for a small panettone and 29 euros for one of one kilo. In order not to change prices, Rodríguez acknowledges that they have “reduced the profit margin.”
Despite inflation, candy stores have maintained the prices of their Christmas products
In the case of Zulay, Medina points out that When inflation is most noticeable is when buying flour, butter, eggs and chocolate., fundamental ingredients to make panettone. Furthermore, as these are raw materials selected for their high quality, it becomes almost impossible to opt for cheaper alternatives. Even so, they also maintain tight prices that range from 20 euros for a chocolate candy and 25 euros for raspberry or yuzu candy.
