Biscotti, Cronstatine and Ciambellini from Conad
Waking up under the Tuscan sun is a morning like no other; the city has been awake long before you, especially the bakers. Breakfast in Italy is absolutely nothing like you would expect; instead of fatty meats and other proteins, here, sweets are the preferred start to the day.
One of the most important things to keep in mind of the food culture of Italy is that much of it is centered around proper digestion. That means eating the right thing at the right time in the right amount. The belief is starting the day off with sweets or having a pastry for a midday snack jump starts the digestive process and allows for a better dining experience later for the bigger meals. The selection for a morning treat or a snack is complicated by the variety of choice that this country offers. From biscotti (cookies) to cronstatine (think dense doughnut) or even ciambellini (a small pie often filled with a jam or chocolate), your choices are without limits, the only rule being it has to be sweet.
To start off, the most common sight at a home or near a café would be some kind of biscotti. Best served with a morning coffee, they are delightfully (and surprisingly) filling and light. The flavor can be anywhere from a gentle, bitter cacao or a tart citrus. The versatility of the biscotti is what makes it an easy thing to grab in the morning.
Even from the grocery store, the biscotti-limone was wonderful, both subtly tart and bitter. The cookie was dipped in a rich, dark chocolate that gave a contrast to the lemon-infused dough. The taste and texture were reminiscent of Italian wedding cookies in the states. The dough crumbles in your mouth and takes on a weird texture that is somewhere short of dry but not moist either. The tart of the lemon stays on your tongue throughout the entire enjoyment of the cookie, while the chocolate adds another dimension to the flavor by playing on the rich, savory flavors that dark chocolate brings out. Overall, a wonderful reminder of southern Italy easily accessible in the north.
The biscotti-cioccolato, while lacking in the same depth, played with a different set of rules. Here, the chocolate filling is the main attraction while the pastry shell is merely the medium of delivery. The chocolate filling is creamy and thick without being too rich. The first bite indulges the desire for chocolate of every sweet tooth. The cream spilled out from the sides and cracks in the shattered shell to fill every corner of your mouth. This biscotti will easily become a go-to snack either first thing in the morning or as a nice snack between meals.
"It is basically shortcake every day for breakfast." - Jake Sarey
Crostatine, however, is a beast unfamiliar to an American palate. It is an odd frankenstein-esque creation, being both slightly sweet and bland. The breakfast treat is reminiscent of a doughnut in shape, yet is set apart in texture. A crostatine is dry and crumbly, the sweetness nearly lost in the flour taste that is predominant in every bite. Though it doesn’t match the sweetness of biscotti, the texture and the small hint of sweetness makes it the perfect breakfast. The glaze of melted sugar gives it that hint of flavor to set you off on your day while the breading makes for a filling and perfectly textured morning meal. The breading comes crumbling off the crisp circle, melting away with a hint of butter that will remind you of certain Thanksgiving desserts.
Last on our list is ciambellini, a morning dessert pie. Often made of a similarly textured crust as biscotti, these mini pies are filled with a thin layer of whatever you want. Between chocolate and fruit jams, nothing is off the table. These lovely snacks are slightly more filling than biscotti, and yet otherwise, are strikingly similar in both flavor and texture with the only difference being the dryness of the small pies. Overall, I was only unimpressed with one thing I have tried: the ciambellini. The snack was not particularly bad, but instead had nothing to make it unique.
Storyteller: Jake Sarey
Editor: Alexis Martinez
Photographer: Kate Furney
Comments