Gourmet specialities
at Turin and in Piedmont
Turin and Piedmont have been famed for their confectionery industry ever since
ancient times. When writing of the Taurini, Pliny (I Century A.D.) stated
they used the seeds of the Alpine fir-tree mixed with honey to make a sweet
(called aquicelus), maybe the forebear of today's Turin nougat.
A place of honour among the lengthy list of sweet things produced at Turin ever
since last Century is occupied by chocolate, technically defined as a combination
of roasted cocoa and refined sugar mixed together at the appropriate temperature.
So let's start this rapid overview of the confectionery history of Turin from
this first ingredient.
Cocoa
Cocoa is obtained from the seeds of Theobroma cacao, a plant originating
from tropical America and now widely cultivated in Africa too. It was already
known to the Aztecs who consumed it as a liquid foodstuff called xocol ati.
It appeared in Europe during the 16th Century, imported through Spain by
Herman Cortès and was served as a drink.
This energetic foodstuff was introduced into Italy and to Turin by Emanuele Filiberto
of Savoy and gave birth to a new industry.
The plant...
The cocoa plant is an 8 to 10 metre high tree with large lanceolate leaves and yellow or reddish flowers. It bears fruit from 4 to some 50 years of age and picking is generally twice a year. The fruit (the cabossas) is egg-shaped and brownish in colour, 12 to 25 centimetres long. Its pulp contains tens of 15÷20 centimetre long, 10÷20 centimetre wide and 4÷10 centimetre thick seeds placed in 5 rows. These seeds are freed from the pulp, made to ferment and then dried, roasted and ground.
Bitter (fondant) and milk chocolate
The most famous product obtained from cocoa mixed with sugar is solid or fondant chocolate. It was created at Turin by Turinese Doret, who invented a machine for processing and refining cocoa paste. During the first years of last Century, the Swiss Cailler came to Turin to learn the secrets of the art (unlike what is normally believed to be true); on his return home he started producing the famous Swiss milk chocolate. Any good chocolate (just like any good coffee) is made with a clever mixed of different cocoa varieties.
Gianduja chocolate and the Giandujotto
Once again, what the whole world now calls Gianduja chocolate was invented at Turin. It's a mixture of cocoa, sugar and hazelnuts (originally only of the famous Gentile delle Langhe quality). The passage from this chocolate to the Giandujotto was very short indeed; Giandujotto chocolates originally had many different names, later forgotten. In 1867 Gianduja officially presented Giandujotti chocolates at the Turin Wine Show.
Gourmet specialities at Turin
Sweets
Turin, the beautiful town of sweets, as an old song in dialect puts it, boasts old established and quality companies in this field. The very word caramella (sweet) was only used in Piedmont until relatively recent days. The Lecca-Lecca (lollipop), the sweet's forebear, in the flat and round version in an octagonal package called Gianduja and sold in Turin confectioneries to announce the arrival of Carnival, is a typically Turinese product.
The art of pastry
With its over 400 workshops, Turin is also famous for its fresh and
dry pastry. It would be too long to give even a short list of the many Turinese
workshop specialities, so one name should suffice for all: the Bignola
(or bignè) cream puffs, especially the smaller ones, full of sweet smelling
creams and covered with coloured icing: And the town's tart the Giandujada,
made with hazelnuts and almonds with Giandujotto cream filling and praline
decorations.
Speaking of pastry, beside the zabaione egg-flip, we mustn't forget nougat,
the Galup type panettone basso with walnuts and almonds, the Biscotti di
Novara , Amaretti, torcetti and marrons glacés.
In ice creams too (though not a typical product of the town), Turin had something
to contribute to the world's gourmandise: Gelateria Pepino , an ice-cream
maker firm founded in 1884, produced the first chocolate covered take-away ice
cream on sticks, the so-called Pinguino', in 1937.
The pastry shops...
Many would deserve being mentioned; we shall cite but some of the most
famous ones: Stratta, Baratti, Platti, Falchero, Giordano, Avvignano, Dezzutto,
Sida, Rampini, Della Ferrera and Pfatisch-Peyrano, the refined quality of
whose products contributes to keep the prestige of Turin confectionery and
pastry tradition with colours flying full mast.
Last but not least, some 20% of Italy's industrial confectionery production comes
from Piedmont.