Posts filed under 'Food Shops'
Although it is now the symbol of Christmas lunch and dinners all over Italy, Panettone is the ultimate Milanese Christmas dessert. Its origin is the subject of many legends, but what is certain is that it dates back to the XV century. It is shaped like a cylinder with a rounded top, it can be high (30cm) or low (15cm), and in its original recipe the dough contains eggs, butter, raisins and candied oranges. These days you can find it without candied fruit or raisins, or with chocolate chips and custard cream. But, as any true panettone lover would say, those may taste good…but they are not the real thing!
Italians normally have it at the end of a special meal (lunch or dinner) together with coffee or a sweet wine. When one feels really indulgent you can have some fresh mascarpone cream on the side. 
Panettone should not be heated before serving, but does, especially in the winter, benefit from a few minutes in a warm place, like in front of an open oven or on top of a radiator. Left-over panettone makes for a very delicious breakfast. You can find loads of industrially produced ones, and some of them are quite good but nothing beats the panettone which comes from one of the traditional patisseries in Milan. (more…)
admin in
Oct 25, 2008
Spring is here! Days are longer and warmer… which means more ice cream to me.
I’m very lucky to live a short walk from one of the best ice cream makers in the world. I’m talking about Grom.
Grom is a pretty young company, started by two thirty-somethings living in Piedmont and already active on the wine scene. They noticed that there was a gap in the market — nobody applied to ice cream making the same attitude that top restaurants have with cooking: buy the best and freshest ingredients. So they started their business venture and it’s going very well. (more…)
admin in
Apr 03, 2008
Italians invented espresso and cappuccino. Fantastic! Humanity will be grateful forever. Then we stopped there.
Why is it that every other country capitalized on our inventions, and now have more choices when getting a hot drink than the average Italian could ever dream of?
Our range is limited to espresso, espresso macchiato, cappuccino and caffelatte. No choice regarding the size, the type of milk or even the container.
I could possibly agree that what we have is the best, but I’m sure that there is space for some product proliferation (I’m a microeconomist after all, I know these things). More choice could not hurt the average Italian bar customer.
Starbucks is now present in so many countries (even Romania) but does not dare to enter the Italian market, fearing rejection from the espresso-purists. In the last couple of years Lino’s Coffee , a chain that offers a large variety of coffee drinks (using flavours even!), has started opening cafés in many Italian cities.
Who knows, if they are successful then maybe Starbucks could be convinced to step in as well?!
The day may not be too far away when, stepping out pushing the Bugaboo, I will find my fix of tall-skinny-hazelnut-wet-latte with just two pumps of syrup right around the corner!
-Michela
admin in
Nov 25, 2007
