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Dec 23 - Jan 6, 2001 |
'Tis the season for Panettone
The Italian sweet bread has become the cornerstone of the Holidays for community
By Rita Simonetta
Originally Published: 2001-12-09
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Panettone
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Panettone. The Italian answer to fruitcake is sometimes regarded as a culinary punch line by some Italian Canadians, just as the infamous fruitcake is to Anglos. That's because this ubiquitous sweet bread cake is the number one present you can expect to get during a Holiday visit from your Zia Maria or compare Vito, only to have your mother repay the act of kindness by giving Zia Maria or compare Vito a Panettone when she does her Christmas rounds. In one of his skits, Australian-Italian comic Joe Avati jokes that if you put your signature on the bottom of a Panettone that you give away to relatives, you can guarantee that they will unwittingly return it to you during one of their Holiday visits.
All jokes aside, this citrus-infused bread is actually quite delicious on its own, and especially when accompanied by tea or espresso, and it's even better when toasted and dipped in hot milk.
In its most common and popular form, Panettone has a light-yellow to golden colour, a delicate flavour, a fruity aroma and a top shaped like a church dome. Basic ingredients include flour, yeast, raisins, sugar, butter, egg yolks, salt, candied citrus peel and water. However, a bevy of different versions exist, some of which include chocolate or liqueur filling.
Considering the fame and fortunes of this Christmas treat, there are continuing quarrels about who invented it and when. Gastronomic historians have suggested that the leavened sweet bread had its beginnings in Ancient Rome when a similar bread was enjoyed. Then, around the 15th century, Panettone, (in a more rudimentary form than we know it today) is said to have appeared on the scene somewhere in northern Italy. While there is not a consensus on this very important culinary matter, most of the evidence seems to point in the direction of Milan as the birthplace for this specialty cake.
So who invented it? Well, this too is in hot dispute. Since the process involved in making the seasonal treat is fairly complex and requires the use of equipment that no nonna (no matter how beloved or good of a cook) could have had in her possession in the past, many believe that professional bakers first developed it.
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