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Type | Confectionery |
---|---|
Place of origin | Italy |
Region or state | Tuscany |
Main ingredients | Nuts, honey, sugar, fruits, spices |
Variations | Panpepato |
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. [1]
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 (panes melati et pepati) 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. [2] [3] [4]
Literally, panforte means 'strong bread', derived from the Latin fortis, [5] 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. [6]
The process of making panforte is fairly simple. Sugar is dissolved in honey and various nuts, fruits and spices are mixed together with flour and baked in a shallow pan. The finished disc is dusted with icing sugar. Commercially produced panforte often have a band of rice paper around the edge.
Many shops in Italy produce panforte, each recipe being their own zealously guarded interpretation of the original confection and packaged in distinctive wrapping. Usually, a small wedge is served with coffee or a dessert wine after a meal, although some enjoy it with their coffee at breakfast.
In Siena—which is regarded by many, if not most inhabitants of that city, as the panforte capital of Italy—it is sometimes said that panforte should properly contain seventeen different ingredients, seventeen being the number of Contrade (wards) within the city walls.
In 2013, panforte received the protected geographical indication (PGI) status. [7]
Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly savory to create desserts. In some parts of the world there is no tradition of a dessert course to conclude a meal.
Albanian cuisine is a representative of the cuisine of the Mediterranean. It is also an example of the Mediterranean diet based on the importance of olive oil, fruits, vegetables and fish. The cooking traditions of the Albanian people are diverse in consequence of the environmental factors that are more importantly suitable for the cultivation of nearly every kind of herbs, vegetables and fruits. Olive oil is the most ancient and commonly used vegetable fat in Albanian cooking, produced since antiquity throughout the country particularly along the coasts.
Fruitcake or fruit cake is a cake made with candied or dried fruit, nuts, and spices, and optionally soaked in spirits. In the United Kingdom, certain rich versions may be iced and decorated.
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In many European countries, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, there are various traditions surrounding the use of bread during the Easter holidays. Traditionally the practice of eating Easter bread or sweetened "communion" bread traces its origin back to Byzantium, Eastern Catholicism and the Orthodox Christian church. The recipe for sweetened or "honey-leavened" bread may date back as far as the Homeric Greek period based on anecdotal evidence from classical texts.
Coffee cake or coffeecake is a sweet bread common in the United States, so called because it is typically served with coffee. Leavenings can include yeast, baking soda, or baking powder. The modern dish typically contains no coffee. Outside the US, the term is generally understood to mean a cake flavored with coffee.
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Palestinian cuisine consists of foods from or commonly eaten by Palestinians or in the region of Palestine, whether in Palestine, Israel, Jordan, or refugee camps in nearby countries, or by the Palestinian diaspora. The cuisine is a diffusion of the cultures of civilizations that settled in the region of Palestine, particularly during and after the Islamic era beginning with the Arab Ummayad conquest, then the eventual Persian-influenced Abbasids and ending with the strong influences of Turkish cuisine, resulting from the coming of the Ottoman Turks. It is similar to other Levantine cuisines, including Lebanese, Syrian and Jordanian.
Ricciarelli are a type of biscuit originating in 14th-century Siena, Italy. It is considered one of the signature sweets of Siena, in addition to panforte, cenci, and cavallucci.
Algerian cuisine includes multiple flavors and influences, reflecting the country's history and position at the crossroads of the Mediterranean.
Panpepato or pampepato is a round, sweet cake typical of the province of Ferrara, Siena, the south Umbria and north of Lazio. Panpepato is a type of panforte. It is made according to traditional methods from various ingredients including fruits and nuts, such as almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, walnuts, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and zest of orange and lime, mixed according to the variants with or without cocoa, honey, flour or cooked grape must. The cake is then baked in an oven. After baking, it is covered with a layer of chocolate. It is usually eaten during the Christmas holidays. Once it was prepared in every family with recipes that differed slightly from each other, while today it is essentially a handmade product.
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The cuisine of Basilicata, or Lucanian cuisine, is the cuisine of the Basilicata region of Italy. It is mainly based on the use of pork and sheep meat, legumes, cereals and vegetables, with the addition of aromas such as hot peppers, powdered raw peppers and horseradish. The local gastronomy is, for historical-cultural reasons, typically peasant, based on simple recipes and on the culture of reuse, in particular of meat and bread.