‘Crespells’ – Were Mallorca’s traditional Easter treat brought to the island by Jews?

EASTER is the time for crespells in Mallorca.

These typical Mallorcan sweet biscuits are an intrinsic part of the culture of the island.

Their origins, however, are shrouded in mystery.

One theory is that the Jewish community brought them when they settled on the island in the first century AD. 

After an anti-Jewish uprising in the fifteenth century, the last rabbi of Palma, Simo Duran, sent a letter to his community in hiding instructing them how to bake very similar sweet pastries.

The fact that they are sometimes baked in the shape of a six-pointed star is also a giveaway.

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