Ossa di morto

Ossa di morto

Type	Sweet
Place of origin	Italy
Region or state	Sicily
Main ingredients	Flour, sugar, cinnamon, cloves
Media:Ossa di morto

Ossa di morto are Sicilian biscuits, included in the list of traditional Italian agri-food products (PAT) of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies. ^[1]

Also known as nucatoli, mustazzoli, ^[2] scardellini, ^{[3] [4]} scardellini, moscardini ^[5] or paste di garofano, ^{[4] [6]} they are prepared on the occasion of the commemoration of the deceased and have the shape of small human bones. ^[7]

Preparation

Both parts of the biscuit are made with the same dough, based on flour, water, sugar, and spices such as cinnamon and cloves: ^[8] the dough is prepared, shaped and left to rest for a few days, until the surface has dried completely. Then the biscuits are baked in the oven: the top will become white and hard, while the base, moistened, will be darker, soft, and caramelised, thanks to the sugar dripped from the top. ^[9]

See also

Media related to Ossa di morto at Wikimedia Commons

• Italy portal
• Food portal

• List of Italian desserts and pastries

References

1. Regione Siciliana. "Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali". Archived from the original on 2024-09-13. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
2. "Ossa di morto" . Retrieved 2024-10-11.
3. "Ossa di morto dolci / Scardellini biscotti tipici siciliani". 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
4. "Ossa di Morto: i biscotti più spaventosi della Sicilia" . Retrieved 12 July 2021.
5. "Ricordare i defunti nel mondo della cucina siciliana: le "ossa dei morti", dalle origini alla RICETTA". November 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
6. "Le ossa dei morti, dolci tipici siciliani". 31 October 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
7. Coria, G. (2018). Profumo di Sicilia. Ricette e tradizioni della cucina siciliana tratte da «Profumi di Sicilia» (in Italian). Cavallotto. p. 542. ISBN   978-88-86803-70-0 . Retrieved 2024-10-15.
8. "Biscotti ossa dei morti siciliani: ricetta e curiosità sul dolce e le sue origini". SicilyAddict (in Italian). 2022-10-10. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
9. Baldwin, Eleonora (2024-10-28). "Gli strani biscotti siciliani in onore dei morti: la storia delle Ossa di morto". Gambero Rosso (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-01-13.

Further reading

• Alba Allotta (18 September 2012). La cucina siciliana. Newton Compton Editori. pp. 608–. ISBN   978-88-541-4612-9 . Retrieved October 12, 2024.
• Joël Robuchon (2009). Larousse Gastronomique: The World's Greatest Culinary Encyclopedia. Hamlyn. ISBN   978-0-600-62042-6.
• Gary Hunter; Terry Tinton; Patrick Carey (2008). Professional Chef: Level 3 S/NVQ. Cengage Learning EMEA. pp. 339–. ISBN   978-1-84480-531-0.
• Glenn Rinsky; Laura Halpin Rinsky (20 March 2014). The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional. Wiley. pp. 149–. ISBN   978-1-118-06066-7.