briciole

cartolina da Perugia: pinoccate / postcard from Perugia: pinoccate

(also called pinocchiate) A pinoccata (or pinocchiata) is a lozenge-shaped sweet made with zucchero e pinoli (sugar and pine nuts). Altrimenti detto (in other words), a pinoccata is pure indulgence. As you can see from the photo, pinoccate can be either white or brown (if cocoa powder is added to the two main ingredients). They are traditional Christmas sweets. When I was a child, my father, responsible party for the Holiday sweets' shopping, would by some for my mother, who loves them. I would take just a bite and did not need more, because pinoccate are intensely, intoxicatingly sweet. You can... Read more →

miele / honey

In the arnia (beehive), api (bees) produce miele for the apicoltore (beekeeper). We always had miele in the house, and we used it for two reasons: to treat sore throat (one teaspoonful eaten as is or added to a hot beverages) to drip over the version of strufoli (fried Carnival pastries) that is typical of Perugia. My mother makes very good strufoli and I am planning to get her recipe soon and try to follow it next Carnival (Carnevale). Strufoli are made in other parts of Italy as well, but they are different. Fried pastries of various kinds are a Carnival... Read more →

zuccata / candied zucca

head butt In Italian the word zucca is a widely used synonym for head, hence outside Sicily a zuccata is what happens when you knock your head against something or someone, voluntarily or by accident. The most famous zuccata in recent history is the one French soccer player Zidane gave to Italian player Materazzi during the final game of the 2006 World Championship, which the Italian team won. candied zucca Zucca maintains also its original reference to various types of squash. It is the word from which zucchini derived. The history of squash (both summer and winter) in Italy is very... Read more →

confetto / comfit

The word derived from the Latin confectum, meaning prepared. The traditional confetto is an almond coated in cooked fine sugar. The result is a white almond-shaped sweet that is given away in sets, hence use of the plural form, confetti, is more common. Confetti are also made with chocolate instead of almonds. They are given away (in small bags or boxes) to family and friends for special occasions, like weddings, christenings, graduations, etc. Confetti for weddings are white, for a baby are gender-colored (pink or light blue) and for graduation are red. Silver and gold confetti celebrate 25th and 50th years... Read more →