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Traditional Italian sweets for the Holiday Season Xmas Delights
[Maddalena Delli]
Tasty, rich and spicy in flavor, bringing cheer and filling the house with enticing smells: that's what any Christmas dessert should be. After all, beside its religious meaning, Christmas is mostly an occasion for family gatherings: Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi (Christmas with your family, Easter with whoever you like), goes a popular Italian saying. Every Italian region cherishes a tradition of its own with regard to Christmas sweets, although over the past few decades advertising and large-scale production have levelled the national standard to a few types: panettone, pandoro, panforte, ricciarelli and torrone. In fact none of these recipes originated as a Christmas dainty, but over the years (and sometimes centuries) they have come to be associated more or less closely with the Festive Season.
PANETTONE comes from Milan and is made with a leavened sweet dough filled with raisins, currants and candied fruit. Indications of quality are, naturally, the flavor, the softness, and plenty of raisins. Also indicative is the color, which should be rich yellow. And the leavening: the cake should bulge out generously over the edge of the paper containers. Before eating, it's a good idea to soften the cake for a few minutes in a lukewarm oven or on the radiator, and if you don’t eat it up it is best to preserve it in the bag it comes in so it won't dry out.
PANDORO, from Verona, is tall and distinctively shaped like a Christmas tree section. It is sprinkled with powdered sugar reminiscent of snow. It may be enjoyed plain or topped (or filled) with many types of cream.
Also TORRONE (almond nougat), comes from northern Italy, namely from Cremona in Lombardy. It is a concoction made from honey, well-whipped egg whites and nuts (originally almonds, although now there are also torroni with hazelnuts or pishachios). Torrone was born on 25th October 1441 as a wedding cake for Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti, whose dowry included no less than the city of Cremona itself. To mark the event, the court's pastry chefs decided to make a new confection in the shape of the city's tower. Today, modern production techniques make torrone easily available, and many new varieties have been developed, including “fancy” versions with chocolate or liquor. Additionally, torrone is now also available in practical single serving packages the size of a chocolate candy, known as torroncini.
Panforte and ricciarelli are tipically Sienese and though they are considered Christmas desserts elsewhere in Italy, they can be found throughout the year from Tuscan confectionery shops. PANFORTE is a heavenly mixture of honey, spices, candied fruit and nuts, and has the added advantage of keeping well. Its origins stretch back to the Middle Ages, when
Niccolò Salimbeni brough back to Siena from the Arab countries several "honey and pepper" loaves. The formula has developed as new ingredients became available over the centuries. Today the most popular variety is panforte Margherita, light colored and more delicate in taste than most other types, with a dusting of confectioner's sugar. Its was created by Enrico Righi in 1879 as a homage to Queen Margherita, who went to Siena for the Palio with her husband King Umberto I.
Lastly, RICCIARELLI are lozenge-shaped cookies made with whole, fresh almonds crushed just before use and blended with sugar and honey, Ricciarelli may be white - with a light coating of confectioner's sugar - or, in a modern refinement of the original recipe, frosted with a fine chocolate layer. Documents from the Renaissance describe ricciarelli as being served at the most sumptuous banquets in Italy and France.
Needless to say, if you are flying home for Christmas any of these Christmas dainties will certainly make a most welcome present for family and friends!
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