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Italian Desserts – An Endless Variety of Sweets

September 24, 2009

Italian desserts are plentiful and varied. Each small town has at least one well known dessert for which they are famous.

In some of the Northern regions such as Lombardy, dry, crumbly cakes such as Sbrisolona from Mantova are all the rage. In the South, heavier, creamy desserts like the Cassata from Sicily or the Pastiera from Naples are signature dishes.

Throughout the country there is also a strong tradition of chocolates, often mixed in with nuts such as Torrone.

Another example of this type of “Italian chocolate bar” are the croccantini. They are tasty bars of ground hazelnuts coated with extra fine plain chocolate.

Italy also has a number of rare dessert wines to pair with these sweets. Years ago the lion’s share of sweet wines were based on white grapes such as Gewurztraminer, Moscato, and Malvasia. Today many types of wines are made into dessert wines. Even grapes that traditionally make robust red wines such as Primitivo di Manduria are being made into sweet wines.

Vigne e Vini, a winery from Apulia makes a lovely dessert wine from Primitivo called Chicca while Oltrepo’ Pavese near the Lombard city of Pavia also makes its own dessert wine called Sangue di Giuda.

This wine is made from a blend of three grapes, Croatina (65%), Barbera (25%, and Uva Rara (10%). These grapes are all indigenous or native to the area.

Light and somewhat fruity, this particular wine is a great surprise to many people. It has a beautiful color and a big frothy mousse. It has strawberry and raspberry aromas on the nose and the palate.

If you need a bottle of something esoteric to bring to someone’s house, try Sangue di Giuda, guaranteed it will be an interesting evening.

Leave a Comment » | Baking, Campania, Dining, Italian Regions, Lombardy, Sicily, Wining | Tagged: Croccantini, Primitivo di Manduria, Sangue di Giuda, Sbrisolona | Permalink
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Italian Products Dominate Fancy Food Show

June 30, 2009

As usual, Italian food products were the talk of the town at the Fancy Food Show. In addition to the 350 Italian companies showcasing their wares, companies from almost every other country also featured products which could be mistaken for Italian products by the uninformed consumer. Brazil offered a Panettone, a traditional Italian dessert generally eaten around the Christmas holidays. The logo of the Brazilian brand was so similar to the very famous Le Tre Marie brand that unless one looked closely they might have thought the brands were identical.

Panettone

Chile, Argentina, Canada, the United States and almost every other nation, offered tomato products, oils, pastas, coffee and the like. While one could be flattered that the world has so wholeheartedly embraced the culture, it can also be an economic disadvantage to Italian manufacturers and artisans if products are sold that do not make it clear that they are not from Italy. The products offered at the Fancy Food show are clearly from different countries but in an average food shop, how does a consumer know the difference? Should there be national flags attached to products? How would that work? Ingredients come from all over the world so it would be difficult to identify what is and is not entirely from one country. However, perhaps a better system of traceability will be a future help to nations trying to export their own goods.

In a recent interview with I-Italy, Aniello Musella, Director of the Italian Trade Commission in North America, discussed the economic impact of “non-authentic” Italian products on Italian exports.

Food for thought….

Leave a Comment » | Cooking, Events, Italian Regions, Panettone | Tagged: Fancy Food Show, I-Italy, Italian Products, Le Tre Marie, Panettone, Traceability | Permalink
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Pane di Altamura in Apulia- Terroir Exists For Foods As Well

June 9, 2009

Terroir that over used word which means a combination of place, soil, climate, prevailing winds, water sources and other factors all rolled into one is just as important for some food products as it is for wine.

Sure you can buy all the ingredients you want in order to make the famous bread from Altamura. You can even import the ingredients but will it taste the same as that delicious thickly crusted bread from the Apulia region of Italy? Not by a long shot.

Pane di Altamura was the first bread to receive protected status or Denominazione Orgine Protetta (DOP) in the European Union. The bread is made from hard semolina wheat, natural yeast from a previous batch (pasta acida o lievito madre), marine salt and water.

pane

Yes wonderful sourdough breads which are similar to this bread can be made in your kitchen but this bread relies on grains harvested from a specific small area in the province of Bari, a water source with exact specifications that reflect the waters in that area, and natural yeast that comes from a previous batch of the bread and that will not travel well. It must be cooked in a specific type of oven, etc, etc, etc.

However there is no need to despair. The bread was originally made to be taken out into the hills by the local shepards and it can last for anywhere between 10 days to two weeks. The best thing to do is buy it in Italy and bring it home. The bread is sold all over the country. Delicious with a straw yellow middle, this bread really can’t be replicated at home. For the exact item, you need to go to the source.

Pane di Altamura has been famous since the 15th century and it is said that the latin poet Horace mentioned it in 27 B.C. It has two very distinct names in pugliese: U sckuanète which is the taller of the two breads and a cappidde de prèvete or a priest’s hat. Some 35 companies still make the bread in this city.

While the bread is perhaps its most famous export, a recent film called Focaccia Blues that was shown in New York this week talks about Altamura and other products, specifically a little focaccia store which was able to oust McDonalds. No violence occurred but the people of Altamura just continued eating what they have always eaten, traditional, home made specialties.

Some things cannot be copied and this inimitable bread is one of them.

2 Comments | Baking, Cooking, Travelling | Tagged: Altacucina, Apulia, Bread, DOP, Focaccia Blues, Pane di Altamura, Terroir | Permalink
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