Posted on 12/25/2016 11:58:12 AM PST by nickcarraway
"Torrone qui, ottenere il vostro mandorle e miele caramelle fresca fatta qui!”
It’s a phrase I often heard at the Capo Market in Palermo, Sicily.
“Torrone here, get your fresh-made almond and honey candy here!"
Ahhh … Simple, rectangular, nougat candy prepared with almonds, egg whites, cane sugar and honey, the official candy of Sicily and very popular during the holidays.
I remember a few years back, when touring Sicily with our Slow Food Kansas City convivium, stopping in the small town of Erice and visiting the famous candy and pastry home of Maria Grammatico, where I enjoyed perhaps some of the finest handmade torrone ever. Those and her famous cannolis made the half-mile hike up the hill to her storefront well worth it. I still recall the flavor of Sicilian lemon in the honey-laden candy as I enjoyed a few pieces at an outside cafe while sipping Sambuca liqueur, a memory I will cherish forever.
I went back into my cookbook library and researched torrone and found that it dates back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, even though a lot of Sicilians will tell you it’s from the Arabs and the Middle Eastern influence because of all the sugar and honey brought to the island. And then there are the Venetians, who claim the candy was brought back to Venice via the Orient.
I agree with the researchers who credit the Roman Empire and Roman cookery.
Most Sicilians prefer the mixture of Bronte pistachios and almonds along with citrus flavoring or orange flower water, all wrapped in a wafer paper.
The soft nougat candy is not difficult to make, but the key is to make sure the sugar reaches a hardball stage during the preparation.
This Christmas, I am sharing my brother Leonard and sister-in-law Janine Mirabile’s recipe
(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...
I’d eat that.
L
I LOVE Turrone! I get it at the Italian deli.
I spent two Christmases stationed in Southern Italy - nobody makes Christmas pastries and other goodies like them.
There is a really good Italian bakery in St.Clair Shores, Michigan called Bommarito. Excellent Italian cookies. I come from RI and in Providence there is a section called Federal Hill— great Italian bakeries and delicatessens. The Ricotta and mozzarella are so much better than anything you can buy in the super market. I get so homesick.
Being of Italian descent, I would eat this tasty torrone every Christmas growing up on Long Island, NY with my extended family.
It’s hard to find this torrone candy here in Maine; once in a blue moon, we can find it in a local supermarket at Christmas, but not often.
Usually, we have to make our own if we want to have it at Christmas. I followed the link to the Kansas City Star and printed out the article and recipe.
Bookmark! Sicilian ancestry here, my Aunt made this at Christmas and now we’ll make it at our house too. Thanks!
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