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Italy

Italy is a country in southern and western Europe. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, it consists of a peninsula delimited by the Alps and surrounded by several islands. Italy has a population of about 60 million. Its capital and largest city is Rome.

Featured Dishes from Italy

Avocado toast

Avocado toast

Avocado toast is a form of open sandwich, consisting of toast and mashed avocado, and any of a variety of spices and flavorful ingredients. The most popular include salt and black pepper, lemon juice or other citrus flavors, olive oil, hummus, vinegar, red pepper, feta, duqqa and tomato. Avocado toast became a food trend of the 2010s, however has appeared on café menus since at least the 1990s. There have been several debates about where the dish first appeared on menus. Following avocado toast's elevation to trend status, the act of ordering avocado toast at a café was criticized as a symbol of frivolous spending.

Biscotti

Biscotti

Cookies, commonly served with warm milk, popular store-bought types are abbracci, batticuori, nascondini, baiocchi, girotondi, macine, rigoli, scacchieri, galletti, tarallucci

Bombolone

Bombolone

A bombolone is an Italian filled doughnut (similar to a Berliner, pączek, etc.), eaten as a snack food and dessert. The pastry's name is etymologically related to bomba (lit. 'bomb'), and the same type of pastry is also called "bomba" (pl.: bombe) in some regions of Italy. The etymological connection is probably due to the resemblance to a grenade or old-fashioned bomb and may today possibly also be regarded as a reference to the high calorie density of this pastry (i.e., a "calorie bomb").[original research?] While bomboloni may be primarily connected to Tuscany, they are traditional to other regions of Italy, although with slight variations on the recipe. In those areas that used to be under Austrian rule, such as Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the tradition of bomboloni is believed to have originated from that of Austrian "krapfen" (i.e., Berliner), and the recipe includes eggs, which are not found in the Tuscan variety. Pasticcerie sometimes have handwritten signs for them, and food writer Emily Wise wrote that visitors might not be as taken with hot filled doughnuts in an area with wild boar salami and sandwiches with truffle oil on offer, but that residents of Tuscany enjoy them even at the beach. They are also sold from carts on the beach and are a bit distinct from the filled doughnuts in other countries by having the filling put in from the top, where it is sometimes visible, rather than injected from the side.

Brioche

Brioche

Brioche is a pastry of French origin whose high egg and butter content gives it a rich and tender crumb. The chef Joël Robuchon described it as "light and slightly puffy, more or less fine, according to the proportion of butter and eggs". It has a dark, golden, and flaky crust, frequently accentuated by an egg wash applied after proofing. Brioche is considered a Viennoiserie because it is made in the same basic way as bread but has the richer aspect of a pastry because of the addition of eggs, butter, liquid (milk, water, cream, and, sometimes, brandy) and occasionally sugar. Brioche, along with pain au lait and pain aux raisins—which are commonly eaten at breakfast or as a snack—form a leavened subgroup of Viennoiserie. Brioche is often baked with additions of fruit or chocolate chips and served on its own or as the basis of a dessert, with many regional variations in added ingredients, fillings, or toppings. Brioche has numerous uses in cuisine and can take on various forms, served plain or filled, as coulibiac, or with many other different savory fillings, such as fillet of beef en croute, foie gras, sausage, cervelat lyonnais. Brioche can also be served with sweet fillings, especially fresh fruits, vanilla cream, or jam. Stale brioche can be topped with frangipane to make bostock [fr].

Caffe orzo

Caffe orzo

Caffè d'orzo , often shortened to simply orzo, is a type of hot drink, originating in Italy. Orzo is a caffeine-free roasted grain beverage made from ground barley (orzo in Italian, from Latin hordeum). It is an espresso-style drink, and when prepared from the roasted barley directly, it can easily be made in typical espresso machines and coffeemakers. In Italy it is widely available in coffee vending machines and traditionally considered a coffee substitute for children. In Italy caffè d'orzo is made in traditional Italian espresso machines in cafes. Italian families tend, instead, to make it using an orziera, a special moka pot adapted to barley. During World War II and in the post-war era, caffè d'orzo and chicory became popular substitutes for coffee, which was expensive due to rationing and food shortages. In European countries with a very long post-war period, like for instance Spain, this image of barley as a cheap surrogate of coffee still remains in the memory of the population. In Italy there are dozens of roasters making caffè d'orzo and it is a very popular drink. Outside of Italy the consumption of caffè d'orzo as a healthy drink is also increasing slowly, especially in Germany.

Cappuccino

Cappuccino

Cappuccino is an espresso-based coffee drink that is traditionally prepared with steamed milk including a layer of milk foam. Variations of the drink involve the use of cream instead of milk, using non-dairy milk substitutes and flavoring with cocoa powder (in Europe and Australasia) or cinnamon (in the United States). It is typically smaller in volume than that of a latte, and topped with a thick layer of foam rather than being made with microfoam.

Cereal

Cereal

Breakfast cereal is a breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in Western societies. Although warm cereals like oatmeal and grits have the longest history, ready-to-eat cold cereals appeared around the late 19th century and are most often served with dairy products, traditionally cow's milk. They can also be paired with yogurt or plant-based milks, or eaten plain. Fruit or nuts are sometimes added. Many cereals are produced via extrusion.

Ciambellone

Ciambellone

Ring-shaped cake

Coffee

Coffee

Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It has the highest sales in the world market for hot drinks. The seeds of the Coffea plant's fruits are separated to produce unroasted green coffee beans. The beans are roasted and then ground into fine particles typically steeped in hot water before being filtered out, producing a cup of coffee. It is usually served hot, although chilled or iced coffee is common. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways . Sugar, sugar substitutes, milk, and cream are often added to mask the bitter taste or enhance the flavor.

Cornetto

Cornetto

A cornetto is historically the Italian name of a product similar to the Austrian kipferl, though today it is an interchangeable name for the French croissant. The main ingredients of a cornetto are pastry dough, eggs, butter, water and sugar. Egg yolk is brushed on the surface of the cornetto to obtain a golden color during baking.

Croissant

Croissant

A croissant is a French pastry made from puff pastry in a crescent shape. It is a buttery, flaky, viennoiserie pastry inspired by the shape of the Austrian kipferl, but using the French yeast-leavened laminated dough. Croissants are named for their historical crescent shape. The dough is layered with butter, rolled and folded several times in succession, then rolled into a thin sheet, in a technique called laminating. The process results in a layered, flaky texture, similar to a puff pastry.

Fette biscottate

Fette biscottate

Hard, thinly sliced twice-baked bread, top with butter, jam, Nutella and serve with tea

French toast

French toast

French toast is a dish of sliced bread soaked in beaten eggs and often milk or cream, then pan-fried. Alternative names and variants include eggy bread, Bombay toast, gypsy toast, and poor knights . When French toast is served as a sweet dish, sugar, vanilla, or cinnamon are also commonly added before pan-frying, and then it may be topped with sugar (often powdered sugar), butter, fruit, or syrup. When it is a savory dish, it is generally fried with a pinch of salt or pepper, and it can then be served with a sauce such as ketchup or mayonnaise.

Fresh fruit

Fresh fruit

In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering . Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propagated using the movements of humans and other animals in a symbiotic relationship that is the means for seed dispersal for the one group and nutrition for the other; humans and many other animals have become dependent on fruits as a source of food. Consequently, fruits account for a substantial fraction of the world's agricultural output, and some (such as the apple and the pomegranate) have acquired extensive cultural and symbolic meanings.

Fruit juice

Fruit juice

Pear juice, peach juice, apricot juice, ACE

Gnocco fritto

Gnocco fritto

The gnocco fritto or crescentina ( Italian: [kreʃʃenˈtiːna]) is an Italian bread from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, prepared using flour, water and lard as primary ingredients. Cracklings are sometimes used in its preparation as well. In Emilia-Romagna, it is typically sliced into diamond shapes and then fried, and may be accompanied with cheese and salumi. When it is fried, the bread puffs up, and it may include yeast or baking soda to leaven it. Versions prepared with milk are softer than those prepared with water. It may be served either as an appetizer or as a main dish. Despite the name by which in Italy it is often referred to as a kind of gnocchi, it is technically not. The name crescentina is derived from the Italian verb crescere, meaning 'to grow', referring to it puffing up during the cooking. A version of the dish in the city of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, is prepared with the bread sliced into round shapes, which are then fried. Pieces of prosciutto (thinly sliced dry-cured ham) may be incorporated into the dough. In Pavullo nel Frignano, a town and comune (municipality) in the province of Modena, crescentina modenese is prepared with lard and yeast and cooked over a piastrata (a sort of grill plate), rather than fried.

Maritozzo

Maritozzo

Sweet bun filled with cream, may also contain dried fruit, serve with cappuccino

Milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulating components in milk contribute to milk immunity. Early-lactation milk, which is called colostrum, contains antibodies that strengthen the immune system and thus reduce the risk of many diseases. Milk contains many nutrients, including calcium and protein, but also lactose and saturated fat.

Muesli

Muesli

Muesli is a cold Swiss breakfast dish, the primary ingredient of which is rolled oats. Traditionally, it is set to soak overnight and eaten the next morning. Additional ingredients, such as grains, nuts, seeds, and fresh or dried fruits are sometimes added, along with milk or cream, a small amount of citrus juice, and honey to add sweetness. Yoghurt, other milk products, or milk substitutes are now commonly added to both homemade and commercially packaged muesli recipes. Developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner for patients in his hospital, it is now eaten as a standard breakfast dish, as a breakfast cereal. In Switzerland, it is also consumed for supper as Birchermüesli complet – muesli with Café complet (milk coffee, accompanied by Butterbrot (bread, butter and jam)). In addition to being prepared raw, muesli can be toasted. Muesli can also be processed further by adding sweetener and oil to bind the ingredients together and baked to produce granola.

Pane

Pane

Bread, serve with Nutella

Pastry

Pastry

Pastry refers to a variety of doughs , as well as the sweet and savoury baked goods made from them. These goods are often called pastries as a synecdoche, and the dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often described as bakers' confectionery. Common pastry dishes include pies, tarts, quiches, croissants, and pasties. The French word pâtisserie is also used in English (with or without the accent) for many of the same foods, as well as the set of techniques used to make them. Originally, the French word pastisserie referred to anything, such as a meat pie, made in dough (paste, later pâte) and not typically a luxurious or sweet product. This meaning still persisted in the nineteenth century, though by then the term more often referred to the sweet and often ornate confections implied today. The precise definition of the term pastry varies based on location and culture. Common doughs used to make pastries include filo dough, puff pastry, choux pastry, short dough, pâte brisée, pâte sucrée, and other enriched doughs. Pastries tend to have a delicate texture, often flaky or crumbly, and rich flavor—simple breads are thus excluded from the pastry category. Pastries also tend to be baked.

Strudel di mele

Strudel di mele

Apple strudel is a traditional Viennese strudel, a popular pastry in Austria, Bavaria, the Czech Republic, Northern Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, and other countries in Europe that once belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867–1918). Strudel, a German word, derives from the Middle High German word for "swirl", "whirlpool" or "eddy". The apple strudel variant is called strudel di mele in Italian, strudel jabłkowy in Polish, strudel de mere in Romanian, jabolčni zavitek in Slovenian, štrudla od jabuka or savijača s jabukama in Croatian, almásrétes in Hungarian and Apfelstrudel in German.

Succo arancia

Succo arancia

Succo arancia rossa

Succo arancia rossa

Juice made from Sicilian blood oranges

Affogato

Affogato

An affogato , known in full in Italian as (gelato) affogato al caffè ('(ice cream) drowned in coffee'), is an Italian dessert comprising a scoop of plain milk-flavored (fior di latte) or vanilla gelato or ice cream topped with hot espresso. Some variations add a shot of amaretto, bicerin, Kahlúa, or other liqueur. Though restaurants and cafés in Italy categorize the affogato as a dessert, some restaurants and cafés outside of Italy categorize it as a beverage. Whether a dessert or beverage, restaurants and cafés usually serve the affogato in a tall glass with a narrow bottom, allowing the ice cream to melt and combine with the espresso at the bottom of the glass. Occasionally, coconut, berries, honeycomb and multiple flavours of ice cream are added. A biscotto or cookie can also be served alongside. Affogati (also pluralized as "affogatos") are often enjoyed as a post-meal coffee dessert combo eaten with a spoon and/or drunk with a straw. While the recipe of the affogato is more or less standard in Italy, consisting of a scoop of fior di latte (unflavored) or vanilla gelato topped with a shot of espresso, variations exist in European and North American restaurants.

Amaretti

Amaretti

Soft and chewy almond macarons

Babà Napoletano

Babà Napoletano

Yeasted rum cake, serve with whipped cream, custard, strawberries, cherries

Babka

Babka

A babka is a sweet braided bread which originated in the Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine. It is popular in Israel [citation needed] and in the Jewish diaspora. It is prepared with a yeast-leavened dough that is rolled out and spread with a filling such as chocolate, cinnamon, fruit, or cheese, then rolled up and braided before baking. Babka developed in Poland and next in the Jewish communities of Central and Eastern Europe in the early 19th century.[citation needed] Extra challah dough was rolled up with fruit jam or cinnamon and baked as a loaf alongside the challah. Chocolate was not originally used, as it was not generally available; the chocolate babka was likely a mid-20th century American development. Its name (though not necessarily the dish itself) may be related to a type of Easter cake popular in Poland and Ukraine known as baba or the diminutive babka, which means "grandmother", related to the Yiddish bubbe. Although the Polish and Ukrainian babka are mutually eponymous with their Jewish counterparts, the appearance and preparation of each babka is drastically different. The Eastern European babka draws its name from its tall, stout, fluted sides formed in a traditional pan, and reminiscent of a grandma's skirt. In comparison, the variant introduced by émigrés to New York consists of strands of rich yeasted dough interwoven and baked in a loaf tin.

Baicoli

Baicoli

Baicoli are Italian biscuits, originating in the 1700s in the city of Venice. They are made with sugar, butter, flour, yeast, eggs, and salt. Baicoli gained their name because their shape resembled that of sea bass, which in the local dialect is called baicoli.

Berliner

Berliner

A Berliner or Krapfen is a German jam doughnut with no central hole, made from sweet yeast dough fried in lard or cooking oil, with a jam filling, and usually covered in powdered sugar. Sugar was very costly until the 16th century, and early doughnuts were usually stuffed with savory fillings like cheese, meat and mushroom. When imports from Caribbean sugar plantations made sugar more affordable, fruit preserves gained in popularity. In 1485, the first German-language cookbook to be published in printed form Kuechenmeisterei was published in Nuremberg and remained in print at least until 1674 with 20 editions . It was one of the first cookbooks printed using the Gutenberg press and contains the first known recipe for a jelly doughnut, called Gefüllte Krapfen made with jam-filled yeasted bread dough deep-fried in lard. It's unknown whether this innovation was the author's own or simply a record of an existing practice. The yeast dough contains a good deal of eggs, milk and butter. For the classical Pfannkuchen made in Berlin the dough is rolled into a ball, deep-fried in lard, whereby the distinctive bright bulge occurs, and then filled with jam. The filling is related to the topping:[citation needed] for plum-butter, powdered sugar; for raspberry, strawberry and cherry jam, sugar; for all other fillings, sugar icing, sometimes flavoured with rum. Today the filling usually is injected with a large syringe or pastry bag after the dough is fried in one piece.

Bignè

Bignè

Zeppola , sometimes called frittelle, and in Sardinia italianized zippole or zeppole sarde from the original Sardinian tzípulas, is an Italian pastry consisting of a deep-fried dough ball of varying size but typically about 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter. This fritter is usually topped with powdered sugar, and may be filled with custard, jelly, cannoli-style pastry cream, or a butter-and-honey mixture. The consistency ranges from light and puffy, to bread- or pasta-like. It is eaten to celebrate Saint Joseph's Day, which is a Catholic feast day. Zeppole are typical of Italian cuisine, especially that of Rome, Naples and Lecce. Zeppole originated in Ancient Rome when people started frying dough and putting sugar or cinnamon on it. However, the zeppole that is around today, was created in the eighteenth century. These zeppole either have sugar, cinnamon, or chocolate with them. They are also served in Sicily, on the island of Malta, and in Italian communities in Canada and the United States. The Sardinian tzipulas, even though they are often italianized to zeppole, are somewhat different. Zippole are eaten in Sardinia to celebrate Carnival. They can be seen with different ingredients and different shapes. Zippole differ from zeppole since you use a funnel to put the dough into the oil. Zippole then come out as different shapes due to the spiral motion used with the funnel. Zeppole are known by other names, including Bignè di San Giuseppe (in Rome), St. Joseph's Day cake, and sfinge. Zeppole are traditionally consumed during the Festa di San Giuseppe (Saint Joseph's Day), celebrated every March 19, when zeppole are sold on many streets and sometimes presented as gifts.

Bignè di San Giuseppe

Bignè di San Giuseppe

Zeppola , sometimes called frittelle, and in Sardinia italianized zippole or zeppole sarde from the original Sardinian tzípulas, is an Italian pastry consisting of a deep-fried dough ball of varying size but typically about 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter. This fritter is usually topped with powdered sugar, and may be filled with custard, jelly, cannoli-style pastry cream, or a butter-and-honey mixture. The consistency ranges from light and puffy, to bread- or pasta-like. It is eaten to celebrate Saint Joseph's Day, which is a Catholic feast day. Zeppole are typical of Italian cuisine, especially that of Rome, Naples and Lecce. Zeppole originated in Ancient Rome when people started frying dough and putting sugar or cinnamon on it. However, the zeppole that is around today, was created in the eighteenth century. These zeppole either have sugar, cinnamon, or chocolate with them. They are also served in Sicily, on the island of Malta, and in Italian communities in Canada and the United States. The Sardinian tzipulas, even though they are often italianized to zeppole, are somewhat different. Zippole are eaten in Sardinia to celebrate Carnival. They can be seen with different ingredients and different shapes. Zippole differ from zeppole since you use a funnel to put the dough into the oil. Zippole then come out as different shapes due to the spiral motion used with the funnel. Zeppole are known by other names, including Bignè di San Giuseppe (in Rome), St. Joseph's Day cake, and sfinge. Zeppole are traditionally consumed during the Festa di San Giuseppe (Saint Joseph's Day), celebrated every March 19, when zeppole are sold on many streets and sometimes presented as gifts.

Bizcocho

Bizcocho

Bizcocho is the name given in the Spanish-speaking world to a wide range of pastries, cakes or cookies. The exact product to which the word bizcocho is applied varies widely depending on the region and country. For instance, in Spain bizcocho is exclusively used to refer to sponge cake. In Uruguay, most buttery flaky pastry including croissants are termed bizcocho, whilst sponge cake is called bizcochuelo. In Chile, the Dominican Republic and Bolivia bizcocho refers to a sweet dough (masa) baked with local ingredients, similar to the bizcocho from Spain. In Ecuador the dough of a bizcocho can either be sweet or salty. The US state New Mexico is unusual in using the diminutive form of the name, bizcochito, as the name for a locally developed and very popular cookie. The word bizcocho comes from the Latin bis coctus, which means "cooked twice", that is why it was often soaked in wine, due to the low humidity it had. The Uruguayan sponge cake is frequently related to the German pastry. It is argued that it is a derivative of krapfen, which was brought by the German immigration that went to the Río de la Plata region.

Blancmange

Blancmange

Blancmange is a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe commonly made with milk or cream and sugar, thickened with rice flour, gelatin, corn starch, or Irish moss (a source of carrageenan), and often flavoured with almonds. It is usually set in a mould and served cold. Although traditionally white (the literal English translation of the name is "white eat"), blancmanges are frequently given other colours. Blancmange originated at some time during the Middle Ages from the older Middle Eastern muhallebi, and usually consisted of capon or chicken, milk or almond milk, rice, and sugar; it was considered to be an ideal food for the sick.[citation needed]

Bombolone

Bombolone

A bombolone is an Italian filled doughnut (similar to a Berliner, pączek, etc.), eaten as a snack food and dessert. The pastry's name is etymologically related to bomba (lit. 'bomb'), and the same type of pastry is also called "bomba" (pl.: bombe) in some regions of Italy. The etymological connection is probably due to the resemblance to a grenade or old-fashioned bomb and may today possibly also be regarded as a reference to the high calorie density of this pastry (i.e., a "calorie bomb").[original research?] While bomboloni may be primarily connected to Tuscany, they are traditional to other regions of Italy, although with slight variations on the recipe. In those areas that used to be under Austrian rule, such as Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the tradition of bomboloni is believed to have originated from that of Austrian "krapfen" (i.e., Berliner), and the recipe includes eggs, which are not found in the Tuscan variety. Pasticcerie sometimes have handwritten signs for them, and food writer Emily Wise wrote that visitors might not be as taken with hot filled doughnuts in an area with wild boar salami and sandwiches with truffle oil on offer, but that residents of Tuscany enjoy them even at the beach. They are also sold from carts on the beach and are a bit distinct from the filled doughnuts in other countries by having the filling put in from the top, where it is sometimes visible, rather than injected from the side.

Bonet

Bonet

Pudding or custard made with chocolate and amaretti cookies, and topped with rum-flavored caramel sauce and amaretti

Brownies

Brownies

A chocolate brownie, or simply a brownie, is a chocolate baked confection. Brownies come in a variety of forms and may be either fudgy or cakey, depending on their density. Brownies often, but not always, have a glossy "skin" on their upper crust. They may also include nuts, frosting, chocolate chips, or other ingredients. A variation made with brown sugar and vanilla rather than chocolate in the batter is called a blond brownie or blondie. The brownie was developed in the United States at the end of the 19th century and popularized there during the first half of the 20th century. Brownies are typically eaten by hand or with utensils, and may be accompanied by a glass of milk, served warm with ice cream , topped with whipped cream, or sprinkled with powdered sugar. In North America, they are common homemade treats and they are also popular in restaurants, ice cream parlors, and coffeehouses. One legend about the creation of brownies is that of Bertha Palmer, a prominent Chicago socialite whose husband owned the Palmer House Hotel. In 1893, Palmer asked a pastry chef for a dessert suitable for ladies attending the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition. She requested a dessert that would be smaller than a piece of cake, and easily eaten from boxed lunches. The result was the Palmer House Brownie, made of chocolate with walnuts and an apricot glaze. The Palmer House in Chicago still serves this dessert to patrons made from the same recipe. The name was given to the dessert some time after 1893, but was not used by cook books or journals at the time.

Brutti ma buoni

Brutti ma buoni

Bruttiboni, also known as mandorlati di San Clemente and brutti ma buoni , is a type of hazelnut or almond-flavoured biscuit made in Prato, Tuscany, and many other cities. These biscuits are made by incorporating meringue, which is an egg white and sugar mixture, with roasted chopped nuts. The biscuits are crunchy on the outside with a soft texture in the middle. As with many other Italian biscuits, their origin is disputed, but they have been made since at least the mid-1800s. In Prato, they are often sold with biscottini di Prato.

Buccellato

Buccellato

A buccellato is a Sicilian circular cake made from pastry dough filled with figs and nuts. In Sicily, it is traditionally associated with Christmas. It is not to be confused with the distinct but similar traditional Lucchese cake of the same name, the buccellato di Lucca, although both are ring-shaped sweet breads that contain candied fruit peels. Media related to Buccellato at Wikimedia Commons

Cannoli

Cannoli

Cannoli[a] is a Sicilian pastry consisting of a tube-shaped shell of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling containing ricotta cheese. Its size ranges from 9 to 20 centimetres . In mainland Italy, it is commonly known as cannolo siciliano (lit. 'Sicilian cannoli'). In culinary traditions across Sicily, regional variations in cannoli fillings reflect local preferences and ingredient availability. In Palermo, cannoli are decorated with candied orange zest, adding a citrusy sweetness to the filling. In Catania, chopped pistachios are favored, adding a distinctive nutty flavor and texture. Ramacca is known for its purple artichokes, which also feature as filling in some cannoli recipes. Italian cannolo and Sicilian cannolu is originally a diminutive noun meaning 'little tube', from canna, 'cane' or 'tube'.

Carrot cake

Carrot cake

Carrot cake is cake that contains carrots mixed into the batter. The origins of carrot cake is disputed. Published in 1591, there is an English recipe for "pudding in a Carret [sic] root" that is essentially a carrot stuffed with meat, but it includes many elements common to the modern dessert: shortening, cream, eggs, raisins, sweetener (dates and sugar), spices (clove and mace), scraped carrot, and breadcrumbs (in place of flour). Many food historians believe carrot cake originated from such carrot puddings eaten by Europeans in the Middle Ages, when sugar and sweeteners were expensive and many people used carrots as a substitute for sugar.

Cartellate

Cartellate

Christmas fritter, a honey and cinammon-topped pastry

Castagnaccio

Castagnaccio

Castagnaccio is a plain chestnut flour cake, typically found in the Tuscany, Liguria, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto regions of Italy and in the French island of Corsica. It is a typically autumnal dessert, made by a dough of chestnut, water, olive oil, pine nuts and raisins, and baked. Local variations may include other ingredients, such as rosemary, orange rind, fennel seeds, and other dried fruit. There are also variations on the thickness of the cake, and specific names are sometimes used locally to refer to such variations. For example, in Livorno, a castagnaccio 3 centimeters thick is called "toppone". Castagnaccio is best served with ricotta cheese, chestnut honey or sweet wines such as Vin Santo.

Castagnole

Castagnole

Carnival fritters

Cavallucci

Cavallucci

Cavallucci are an Italian Christmas pastry made with anise, walnuts, candied fruits, coriander, and flour. They are Sienese in origin, and the name translates approximately to 'little horses'. The chewy pastries are similar to a cookie or biscuit and traditionally use Tuscan millefiori honey as an essential ingredient in the dough. The pastries were originally imprinted with the image of a horse . They are a version of a pastry which is traceable to the reign of Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449–1492), when they were called "biriquocoli". Many hypotheses are associated with the origin of its name. According to the most popular version of the story, cavallucci were served to travelers on horseback as a source of nourishment for long trips. Along a similar vein, another speculation is that postal workers who delivered mail over long distances ate the pastries on a regular basis. Additionally surmised is that these sweets were the usual snack of servants who worked in horse stables of rich Italian aristocrats in Siena, a city which gained its fame for horse racing.

Charlotte Russe cake

Charlotte Russe cake

A charlotte is a type of bread pudding that can be served hot or cold. It is also referred to as an "icebox cake". Bread, sponge cake, crumbs or biscuits/cookies are used to line a mold, which is then filled with a fruit puree or custard. The baked pudding could then be sprinkled with powdered sugar and glazed with a salamander, a red-hot iron plate attached to a long handle, though modern recipes would likely use more practical tools to achieve a similar effect. The variant charlotte russe also called charlotte parisienne, created by the French chef Antonin Carême, uses a mold lined with ladyfingers and filled with Bavarian cream. Classically, stale bread dipped in butter was used as the lining, but sponge cake or ladyfingers may be used today. The filling may be covered with a thin layer of similarly flavoured gelatin.

Chiacchiere

Chiacchiere

Angel wings are a traditional sweet crisp pastry made out of dough that has been shaped into thin twisted ribbons, deep-fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Common to many European cuisines, angel wings have been incorporated into other regional cuisines by immigrant populations. They are most commonly eaten in the period just before Lent, often during Carnival and on Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent—not to be confused with "Fat Tuesday" (Mardi Gras), the day before the start of Lent (Ash Wednesday). There is a tradition in some countries for husbands to give angel wings to their wives on Friday the 13th in order to avoid bad luck. Ingredients used in the preparation of angel wings typically includes flour, water, egg yolk, confectioners' sugar, rectified spirit or rum, vanilla, and salt.

Chocolate

Chocolate

Chocolate or cocoa is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cocoa has been consumed in some form for at least 5,300 years starting with the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in what is present-day Ecuador. Later Mesoamerican civilizations also consumed chocolate beverages, and it was introduced to Europe in the 16th century.

Ciambellone

Ciambellone

Ring-shaped cake

Cicerchiata

Cicerchiata

Mini fried pastry balls in honey

Cotognata

Cotognata

Coviglia

Coviglia

Semifreddo, a semi-frozen mousse-like dessert, flavors include chocolate, coffee, strawberry, raspberry, hazelnut

Crème brûlée

Crème brûlée

Crème brûlée or crème brulée , also known as burnt cream or Trinity cream, and virtually identical to crema catalana, is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hardened caramelized sugar. It is normally served slightly chilled; the heat from the caramelizing process tends to warm the top of the custard, while leaving the center cool. The custard base is generally flavored with vanilla in French cuisine, but can have other flavorings. It is sometimes garnished with fruit. The earliest known recipe of a dessert called crème brûlée appears in François Massialot's 1691 cookbook Cuisinier royal et bourgeois, but its ultimate origins are unclear.

Crêpes Suzette

Crêpes Suzette

Crêpes Suzette is a French dessert consisting of crêpes with beurre Suzette ( pronounced [bœʁ syzɛt]), a sauce of caramelized sugar and butter, tangerine or orange juice, zest, and Grand Marnier, triple sec or orange Curaçao liqueur on top, flambéed tableside. The origin of the dish and its name is disputed. One claim is that it was created from a mistake made by a 14-year-old assistant waiter, Henri Charpentier, in 1895 at the Maitre at Monte Carlo's Café de Paris. He was preparing a dessert for the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (then Prince of Wales), whose guests included a beautiful French girl named Suzette. This story was told by Charpentier himself in Life à la Henri, his autobiography, although later contradicted by the Larousse Gastronomique. Different sources (like the Larousse Gastronomique) however doubt that Charpentier, rather than the head waiter, was serving the prince, because he would have been too young. A less fantastical version emerges from Elsie Lee's interview with him in the 1950s. There, Charpentier explained at length that "his complicated version began as the dish of pancakes with fruit sauce his foster mother made on very special occasions." The addition of liqueur was common among chefs in Paris at the time.

Croccante

Croccante

Brittle, made with almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts

Crostata

Crostata

A crostata is an Italian baked tart or pie. The earliest known use of crostata in its modern sense can be traced to the cookbooks Libro de Arte Coquinaria by Martino da Como, published c. 1465, and Cuoco napolitano (Neapolitan Cook), published in the late 15th century, containing a recipe (number 94) titled Crostata de Caso, Pane, etc.. A crostata is a "rustic free-form version of an open fruit tart" that may also be baked in a pie plate.

Crostata di frutta

Crostata di frutta

Crostata di mele

Crostata di mele

Crostata di ricotta

Crostata di ricotta

A crostata is an Italian baked tart or pie. The earliest known use of crostata in its modern sense can be traced to the cookbooks Libro de Arte Coquinaria by Martino da Como, published c. 1465, and Cuoco napolitano (Neapolitan Cook), published in the late 15th century, containing a recipe (number 94) titled Crostata de Caso, Pane, etc.. A crostata is a "rustic free-form version of an open fruit tart" that may also be baked in a pie plate.

Crostata di marmellata

Crostata di marmellata

Tart topped with marmelade

Cuccìa

Cuccìa

Cuccìa is a primarily Sicilian dish containing boiled wheatberries and sugar, which is eaten on December 13, the feast day of Saint Lucy, the patron saint of Syracuse. The dish is consumed in Sicily and in isolated pockets of southern Italy, as well as their communities abroad. It commemorates the relief from a food shortage in Sicily and the unexpected arrival of a cargo of wheat, which tradition says arrived in the port of Palermo on Saint Lucy's Feast in 1646. According to custom, bread should not be eaten on December 13; cuccìa should be the only source of wheat, and the primary source of nourishment for the day. Cuccìa is prepared differently from family to family and in different regions. Some make cuccìa as soup, others as a pudding. In Kansas City, Missouri, many Sicilian Americans prepare cuccìa as a hot cereal. Most traditional preparations add sugar, butter, chocolate, and milk. Ceci beans are also associated with the preparation of cuccìa, but more rarely, as are broad beans, almonds and ricotta. Within the Italian context, the term cuccìa is uniquely Sicilian and unrelated to similarly spelled Italian words, hinting at foreign origins. Cuccìa may owe its origins to Sicily's Byzantine period (535–965 AD) since a variant, koliva (κόλυβα in Byzantine Greek), is prepared in the Balkans. The most probable relative may be its most similar counterpart, kutia, a dish served throughout Ukraine, Russia, and Poland, and made from wheat or barley, honey and poppyseed. As in Sicily, this dish is eaten only during the Christmas season, and its basic preparation (boiled wheat and honey instead of sugar) remains strikingly similar.

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Dita degli apostoli

Crepes filled with sweetened ricotta cheese mixture

Ferratelle

Ferratelle

Thin waffle cookies or wafers

Floating island

Floating island

A floating island or île flottante is a dessert consisting of meringue floating on crème anglaise (a vanilla custard). The meringue used is baked in a bain-marie. It may be served at room temperature or chilled. Œufs à la neige ("eggs in snow", [øz‿a la nɛʒ]) is a similar dessert where the meringue is in egg-sized pieces and poached, rather than in one large baked piece. The earliest known English language reference to the dessert is in The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1747) by Hannah Glasse. Her recipe, entitled The Flooting Island [sic], is made with sweetened thick cream, sack and lemon peel whipped into a froth, then layered with thin slices of bread alternating with jelly, piled high with the stiffened froth. Fruits and sweetmeats are arranged in a ring around the edge of the dish that is presented as a centerpiece for the table with candles all around it.

Fraisier

Fraisier

Layered sponge cake with fresh strawberries and mousseline

Gelato

Gelato

Gelato is the common word in Italian for all types of ice cream. In English, it specifically refers to a frozen dessert of Italian origin. Artisanal gelato in Italy generally contains 6–9% butterfat, which is lower than other styles of frozen dessert. Gelato typically contains 35% air (substantially less than American-style ice cream) and more flavoring than other types of frozen desserts, giving it a density and richness that distinguishes it from other ice creams. In Italian, gelato means simply 'frozen' and is the generic word for any type or style of ice cream. In English, however, the term has come to be used to refer to a specific style of ice cream derived from the Italian artisanal tradition.

Gelato stracciatella

Gelato stracciatella

Sweet cream ice cream with small bits of chocolate

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Gialletti

Small yellow cornmeal cookies with lemon zest, dried fruit, traditionally diamond-shaped

Gianduia

Gianduia

Gianduja or gianduia is a homogeneous blend of chocolate with 30% hazelnut paste, invented in Turin during Napoleon's regency (1796–1814). It can be consumed in the form of bars or as a filling for chocolates. Gianduja is chocolate stretched with hazelnut butter. Similarly to standard chocolate, it is made in both plain and milk versions. It may also contain other nuts, such as almond. As a bar, gianduja resembles normal chocolate, except for the fact that it is significantly softer due to the presence of hazelnut oil, which is liquid at room temperature unlike cocoa butter. However, like conventional chocolate, gianduja is usually tempered. Chocolate hazelnut spreads are also notably inspired from gianduja. They tend to use, however, other ingredients, typically cocoa powder and vegetable oils rather than cocoa butter-based chocolate.

Gingerbread

Gingerbread

Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly as crisp as a ginger snap. Originally, the term gingerbread referred to preserved ginger. It then referred to a confection made with honey and spices. Gingerbread is often used to translate the French term pain d'épices (lit. 'spice bread') or the German and Polish terms Pfefferkuchen and Piernik respectively (lit. 'pepper cake' because it used to contain pepper) or Lebkuchen (of unclear etymology; either Latin libum, meaning "sacrifice" or "sacrificial bread," or German Laib for loaf or German for life, leben). Pepper is also referenced in regional names like Norwegian pepperkaker or Czech perník (originally peprník). The meaning of gingerbread has evolved over time. For centuries the term referred to a traditional European pastry, very like a modern cookie, traditionally used to make gingerbread men. In the United States the first known recipe for "Soft gingerbread to be baked in pans" is found in Amelia Simmons' 1796 cookbook, American Cookery.

Gogoși

Gogoși

Gogoși , known as pancove in Transylvania and pampuște in Bukovina, are Romanian sweet pastries similar to filled doughnuts. Gogoși is the plural form of the Romanian word gogoașă ([ɡoˈɡo̯a.ʃə]). Gogoși are pieces of dough shaped into a flattened sphere that are deep-fried in oil and optionally dusted with icing sugar. They have a fluffy and airy consistency, no hole and are often filled. Gogoși fillings include chocolate, apricot jam, strawberry jam, cream cheese, or feta cheese.

Granita

Granita

Granita , in Italian also granita siciliana ( Italian: [ɡraˈniːta sitʃiˈljaːna]), is a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and various flavorings. Originally from Sicily, it is available throughout Italy in varying forms. It is related to sorbet and Italian ice; however, throughout Sicily its consistency varies. Food writer Jeffrey Steingarten says that "the desired texture seems to vary from city to city" on the island; on the west coast and in Palermo, it is at its chunkiest, and in the east, it is nearly as smooth as sorbet. This is largely the result of different freezing techniques: the smoother types are produced in a gelato machine, while the coarser varieties are frozen with only occasional agitation, then scraped or shaved to produce separated crystals. Although its texture varies from coarse to smooth, it is always different from that of ice cream, which is creamier, and from that of sorbet, which is more compact; this makes granita distinct and unique. Common and traditional flavoring ingredients include lemon juice, mandarin oranges, jasmine, coffee, almonds, mint, and when in season wild strawberries and black mulberries. Chocolate granitas have a tradition in the city of Catania, but are also available in other parts of Sicily. The nuances of the Sicilian ingredients are important to the flavor of the finished granita: Sicilian lemons are a less acidic, more floral variety similar to Meyer lemons, while the almonds used contain a proportion of bitter almonds, crucial to the signature almond flavor. Another popular granita flavor is pistachio, an agricultural product of Sicily. Granita with coffee is very common in the city of Messina, while granita with almonds is popular in the city of Catania. Granita, in combination with a brioche enriched bread roll, is a common breakfast in summertime (the Sicilian brioche is generally flatter and wider than the French version).

Grattachecca

Grattachecca

Grattachecca is a shaved ice originating in Rome, Italy. Commonly sold in kiosks and bars as street food, it consists of hand-shaved ice topped with various flavors of sweet syrup. In contemporary times, some grattachecca vendors use a mechanical ice crusher, rather than shaving or grating the ice by hand; some vendors believe that using a machine is more hygienic compared to hand shaving the ice. The kiosk Alla fonte d'oro is the oldest in the city, and has served Romans and tourists since 1913. The kiosk uses machine-grated ice, rather than grating it by hand.

Gubana

Gubana

Sweet bread or cake made with dried fruit, nuts, candied lemon and orange peel, common during Christmas and Easter

Halva

Halva

Halva is a type of confectionery originating from Persia (now Iran) and widely spread throughout the Middle East and South Asia. The name is used for a broad variety of recipes, generally a thick paste made from flour, butter, liquid oil, saffron, rosewater, milk, turmeric powder, and sweetened with sugar. The word halva entered the English language between 1840 and 1850 from Romanian, which came from Ottoman Turkish: حلوى, romanized: helva, itself ultimately derived from Arabic: حلوى, romanized: ḥalwā, a sweet confection. The root in Arabic: ح ل و, romanized: ḥ-l-w, means "sweet". The original name for the confection was Persian: روغن خورديگ, romanized: rōγn xwardīg, meaning "oil food".

Kiflice

Kiflice

Kifli, kiflice, kifle, or kipferl is a traditional yeast bread roll that is rolled and formed into a crescent before baking. It is a common type of bread roll throughout much of central Europe and nearby countries, where it is called by different names. It is thought to be the inspiration for the French croissant, which has a very similar shape but is made with a different type of dough. Stale kipfel[which?] are used to make a sweet bread pudding called Kipfelkoch.

Krapfen

Krapfen

A Berliner or Krapfen is a German jam doughnut with no central hole, made from sweet yeast dough fried in lard or cooking oil, with a jam filling, and usually covered in powdered sugar. Sugar was very costly until the 16th century, and early doughnuts were usually stuffed with savory fillings like cheese, meat and mushroom. When imports from Caribbean sugar plantations made sugar more affordable, fruit preserves gained in popularity. In 1485, the first German-language cookbook to be published in printed form Kuechenmeisterei was published in Nuremberg and remained in print at least until 1674 with 20 editions . It was one of the first cookbooks printed using the Gutenberg press and contains the first known recipe for a jelly doughnut, called Gefüllte Krapfen made with jam-filled yeasted bread dough deep-fried in lard. It's unknown whether this innovation was the author's own or simply a record of an existing practice. The yeast dough contains a good deal of eggs, milk and butter. For the classical Pfannkuchen made in Berlin the dough is rolled into a ball, deep-fried in lard, whereby the distinctive bright bulge occurs, and then filled with jam. The filling is related to the topping:[citation needed] for plum-butter, powdered sugar; for raspberry, strawberry and cherry jam, sugar; for all other fillings, sugar icing, sometimes flavoured with rum. Today the filling usually is injected with a large syringe or pastry bag after the dough is fried in one piece.

Krumiri

Krumiri

Krumiri are a kind of biscuit which is regarded as the particular delicacy of Casale Monferrato, the city in north-west Italy where they were invented in 1878 by the confectioner Domenico Rossi. They are made without water from wheat flour, sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla, in the form of a slightly bent, rough-surfaced cylinder. This handlebar shape is said to have been chosen in honour of the extravagantly moustachioed Victor Emanuel II, the first king of united Italy. They may be eaten with—or dunked in—tea, liqueurs, wine, zabaione, etc. Krumiri were awarded a bronze medal at the 1884 Universal Exhibition held in Turin and the following year the manufacturers received a Royal Warrant to supply the Duke of Aosta. Warrants from the Duke of Genoa and from King Umberto I followed in 1886 and 1891. Today krumiri are among the Piedmontese specialities included in the Region’s official list of Prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale.

Lingue di gatto

Lingue di gatto

A cat tongue is a small biscuit or chocolate bar available in a number of European, Asian, and South American countries. The name comes from the fact that the biscuits are long and flat, somewhat like a cat's tongue. They are known locally as kočičí jazýčky (Czech), Kattentong (Dutch), kocie języczki (Polish), langue de chat (French), Katzenzungen (German), lingua di gatto (Italian), língua de gato (Portuguese), macskanyelv (Hungarian), lengua or lengua de gato (Spanish), limbă de pisică (Romanian) or lidah kucing (Indonesian). Cat's tongue cookies are sweet and crunchy. The original recipe most likely comes from 17th century France. They are produced from egg white, wheat flour, sugar, butter (sometimes) and vanilla. They are baked in the oven until cooked. Additional ingredients may include chocolate, citrus, and spices.

Linzer torte

Linzer torte

The Linzer torte is a traditional Austrian pastry, a form of shortbread topped with fruit preserves and sliced nuts with a lattice design on top. It is named after the city of Linz, Austria. Linzer torte is a very short, crumbly pastry made of flour, unsalted butter, egg yolks, lemon zest, cinnamon and lemon juice, and ground nuts, usually hazelnuts, but even walnuts or almonds are used, covered with a filling of redcurrant, raspberry, or apricot preserves. Unlike most tortes, it is typically single layered like a pie or tart. It is covered by a lattice of thin dough strips placed atop the fruit. The pastry is brushed with lightly beaten egg whites, baked, and garnished with nuts. Linzer torte is a holiday treat in the Austrian, Czech, Swiss, German, and Tirolean traditions, often eaten at Christmas. Some North American bakeries offer Linzer torte as small tarts or as cookies.

Macaron

Macaron

A macaron or French macaroon (/ˌmækəˈruːn/ MAK-ə-ROON) is a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meal, and often food colouring. Since the 19th century, a typical Parisian-style macaron has been a sandwich cookie filled with a ganache, buttercream or jam. As baked, the circular macaron displays a smooth, square-edged top, a ruffled circumference—referred to as the "crown" or "foot" (or "pied")—and a flat base. It is mildly moist and easily melts in the mouth. Macarons can be found in a wide variety of flavours that range from traditional sweet such as raspberry or chocolate to savoury (as a foie gras).

Marron glacé

Marron glacé

A marron glacé is a confection, originating in France consisting of a chestnut candied in sugar syrup and glazed. Marrons glacés are an ingredient in many desserts and are also eaten on their own. Candied chestnuts appeared in chestnut-growing areas in Europe shortly after the crusaders returned from the Middle East with sugar. Cooking with sugar allowed creation of new confectioneries. But marrons glacés as such (with the last touch of 'glazing'), may have been created only in the 16th century.

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Migliaccio

Semolina and ricotta cake with lemon

Mostaccioli

Mostaccioli

Mustacciuoli, also known as mustaccioli or mostaccioli, is a pastry originating in the Naples region of Italy, usually served at Christmas time. Mustaccioli takes the form of a parallelogram, and consist of a soft, spiced, cake-like interior, covered in chocolate. In recent years, they are many variations of mostaccioli sold in Naples, where the chocolate glaze may be replaced by a white chocolate frosting or icing sugar and candied fruit. Mustaccioli are often sold alongside other Neapolitan sweets including roccocò, raffiuoli, susamielli, and struffoli at Christmas time. Neapolitan mostaccioli were mentioned by Bartolomeo Scappi, personal cook of Pope Pius V as part of his pranzo alli XVIII di ottobre .

Mousse

Mousse

A mousse is a soft prepared food that incorporates air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture. Depending on preparation techniques, it can range from light and fluffy to creamy and thick. A mousse may be sweet or savoury. Sweet mousses are typically made with whipped egg whites, whipped cream, or both, and flavored with one or more of chocolate, coffee, caramel, puréed fruits, or various herbs and spices, such as mint or vanilla. In the case of some chocolate mousses, egg yolks are often stirred into melted chocolate to give the final product a richer mouthfeel. Mousses are also typically chilled before being served, which gives them a denser texture. Additionally, mousses are often frozen into silicone molds and unmolded to give the mousse a defined shape. Sweetened mousse is served as a dessert or used as an airy cake filling. It is sometimes stabilized with gelatin. Savoury mousses can be made from meat, fish, shellfish, foie gras, cheese, or vegetables. Hot mousses often get their light texture from the addition of beaten egg whites.

Mug cake

Mug cake

Small cake cooked inside a coffee mug, typically using a microwave

Nocciolini

Nocciolini

Very small hazlenut meringue cookies

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Ossa dei morti

Hard bone-shaped cookies, though other shapes are also common, traditionally made for All Souls' Day

Pain perdu

Pain perdu

French toast is a dish of sliced bread soaked in beaten eggs and often milk or cream, then pan-fried. Alternative names and variants include eggy bread, Bombay toast, gypsy toast, and poor knights . When French toast is served as a sweet dish, sugar, vanilla, or cinnamon are also commonly added before pan-frying, and then it may be topped with sugar (often powdered sugar), butter, fruit, or syrup. When it is a savory dish, it is generally fried with a pinch of salt or pepper, and it can then be served with a sauce such as ketchup or mayonnaise.

Pampapato di Ferrara

Pampapato di Ferrara

Dome-shaped fruitcake made with candied fruit, nuts, chocolate and spices, common during Christmas, from Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Pan di spagna

Pan di spagna

Pan giallo

Cake with dried fruit, nuts, rum, common during Christmas

Pandoro

Pandoro

Pandoro is an Italian sweet bread, most popular around Christmas and New Year. Typically a product of the city of Verona, pandoro traditionally has an eight-pointed shape. It is often dusted with vanilla scented icing sugar, which is said to resemble the snowy peaks of the Alps during Christmas. Pandoro appeared in remote times, the product of breadmaking, as the name, pan d'oro (lit. 'golden bread'), suggests. Throughout the Middle Ages, white bread was consumed solely by the rich, while the common people ate black bread. Sweet breads were reserved for the nobility. Bread enriched with eggs, butter, and sugar or honey as a sweetener were served in their palaces and known as royal bread or golden bread.

Panettone

Panettone

Panettone is an Italian type of sweet bread and fruitcake, originally from Milan, Italy, usually prepared and enjoyed for Christmas and New Year in Western, Southern, and Southeastern Europe, as well as in South America, Eritrea, Australia, the United States, and Canada. It has a cupola shape, which extends from a cylindrical base and is usually about 12–15 cm (4.7–5.9 in) high for a panettone weighing 1 kg (2.2 lb). Other bases may be used, such as an octagon, or a frustum with a star section shape more common to pandoro. It is made during a long process that involves curing the dough, which is acidic, similar to sourdough. The proofing process alone takes several days, giving the cake its distinctive fluffy characteristics. It contains candied orange, citron, and lemon zest, as well as raisins, which are added dry and not soaked. Many other variations are available such as plain or with chocolate. It is served in wedge shapes, vertically cut, accompanied with sweet hot beverages or a sweet wine, such as Asti or Moscato d'Asti. In some regions of Italy, it is served with crema al mascarpone, a cream made by combining eggs, mascarpone, and a sweet liqueur. Efforts are underway to obtain protected designation of origin (PDO) and denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) status for this product, but these have not yet been successful. Former Italian Agriculture Minister Paolo De Castro was known to be looking at ways to protect genuine Italian cakes from growing competition in South America, and exploring whether action could be taken at the World Trade Organization.

Panforte

Panforte

Panforte is a chewy Italian dessert containing fruit and nuts. It is similar to a Florentine but is much thicker and is a little like a lebkuchen. Known throughout Italy, it is an Italian Christmas tradition associated especially with the province of Siena. Panforte dates back to at least the 13th century, in the Italian region of Tuscany. Documents from 1205, conserved in the State Archive of Siena, attest that bread flavored with pepper and honey was paid to the local monks and nuns of the monastery of Montecellesi (modern Monte Celso, near Fontebecci) as a tax or tithe which was due on 7 February that year. Literally, panforte means 'strong bread', derived from the Latin fortis, which refers to the spicy flavour. Originally, the Sienese called it panpepato ('peppered bread'), due to the strong pepper used. The original dessert was composed of wheat flour, honey, spices, dried figs, jam and pine nuts and was flavored with pepper.

Panna cotta

Panna cotta

Panna cotta is an Italian dessert of sweetened cream thickened with gelatin and molded. The cream may be aromatized with coffee, vanilla, or other flavorings. The name panna cotta is not mentioned in Italian cookbooks before the 1960s, yet it is often cited as a traditional dessert of the northern Italian region of Piedmont. One unverified story says that it was invented by a Hungarian woman in the Langhe in the early 19th century. An 1879 dictionary mentions a dish called latte inglese (lit. 'English milk'), made of cream cooked with gelatin and molded, although other sources say that latte inglese is made with egg yolks, such as crème anglaise; perhaps the name covered any thickened custard-like preparation. The dish might also come from the French recipe of fromage bavarois from Marie-Antoine Carême in le pâtissier royal parisien, which is the same as the modern panna cotta, except that one part of the cream is whipped to make chantilly and included in the preparation before adding the gelatin.

Pastiera napoletana

Pastiera napoletana

Pastiera or pastiera napoletana is a type of Neapolitan tart made with cooked wheat, eggs and ricotta cheese, and flavored with orange flower water. It is usually eaten at Easter. Various writers repeat legends about the origin of pastiera. One story connects it to the siren Parthenope, whom the Neapolitans thanked for her sweet singing by giving her ricotta, flour, eggs, milk, spices and sugar; Parthenope gave these ingredients to the gods, who made pastiera out of it. Another story connects it to a spring celebration of the goddess Ceres. The modern pastiera was probably invented in a Neapolitan convent. The tale goes that unknown nun wanted that cake, symbol of the resurrection, to have the perfume of the flowers of the orange trees which grew in the convent's gardens. She mixed a handful of wheat to the white ricotta cheese, then she added some eggs, symbol of the new life, some water which had the fragrance of the flowers of the spring time, candied citron and aromatic Asian spices.[citation needed]

Polenta e osei

Polenta e osei

Sweet version: spongecake with a layer of hazelnut butter cream, filled with chocolate and hazelnut buttercream, and topped with marzipan

Profiteroles

Profiteroles

A profiterole , cream puff (US), or chou à la crème ( French: [ʃu a la kʁɛm]) is a filled French choux pastry ball with a typically sweet and moist filling of whipped cream, custard, pastry cream, or ice cream. The puffs may be decorated or left plain or garnished with chocolate sauce, caramel, or a dusting of powdered sugar. Savory profiterole are also made, filled with pureed meats, cheese, and so on. These were formerly common garnishes for soups. The various names may be associated with particular variants of filling or sauce in different places. Choux pastry dough is piped through a pastry bag or dropped with a pair of spoons into small balls and baked to form largely hollow puffs. After cooling, the baked profiteroles are injected with filling using a pastry bag and narrow piping tip, or by slicing off the top, filling them, and reassembling. For sweet profiteroles, additional glazes or decorations may then be added.

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