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Best Mató de Pedralbes in New York
“A nineteenth-century Barcelona convent creation: sweetened milk transformed into something richer and finer than crema catalana.”
What the real thing tastes like
Mató de Pedralbes (Catalan pronunciation: [məˈto ðə pəˈðɾalβəs]) or mató de monja, is a typical dessert from Barcelona (in Catalonia, Spain) made with flavoured and sweetened milk. The dish is believed to have been created in the nineteenth century, by nuns of the convent in Barcelona's prestigious Pedralbes neighbourhood. It was intended as a richer, finer alternative to the older and popular crema catalana. Despite its name, this dessert bears no relationship to Catalan mató cheese, as mató ('curd' in Catalan) here refers to the shape and texture of this dessert taken out of the mould.
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Mató de Pedralbes emerged in nineteenth-century Barcelona from the kitchens of Pedralbes convent, where nuns sought to elevate dessert beyond the already-beloved crema catalana. Made from sweetened, flavoured milk that sets into a delicate curd-like texture, it takes its humble name from that very shape—not from any relation to mató cheese. What arrives at your table is the nuns' answer to refinement: something richer, something finer.
Order it here when it has
- richer than crema catalana
- refined alternative
- historic provenance
- delicate texture
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