Man Without a Sweet Tooth
After investigating and writing my thoughts about the noble tomato and a mouth-watering assortment of Italian cheeses, my next challenge is to delve into the sweet wonderland of Italian desserts. However, before I begin this blog, I must confess to you that I was born without a sweet tooth. Yes, you heard me right, not even a baby sweet tooth. In fact, I still have my original wisdom teeth. Hmm… I always said that with age comes wisdom, but only if you have been paying attention. But that’s another story. Anyway, this is my self-induced handicap for choosing to write a blog about Italian desserts.
But if I am going to share my research of this topic, you could do me a big favor. I would ask you to send me an email with the name of your favorite Italian dessert. Maybe you can convert me to indulge in your favorite treat? My direct email address is: leoneradomile@gmail.com I just need the name of your favored dessert and the reason why you love it. I will try it and let you know what happens. Now here’s a little info concerning my Italian Dessert blog.
A definition for the dessert course:
Dessert is a course that completes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and perhaps a beverage such as a liqueur or a dessert wine. As Americans, we get to enjoy a melting pot of desserts from a huge number of countries. In American society this could also include coffee, cheeses, or nuts.
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BC.
Sicilian cuisine in particular shows traces of many cultures that have existed on the island of Sicily over the last two millennia. Although its cuisine has a lot in common with Italian cuisine, Sicilian food also has Greek, Spanish, French and Arab influences.
Dessert categories:
Biscuits or Cookies, Cakes, Chocolates and Candies, Custards and Puddings, Deep-Fried Desserts, Frozen Desserts such as, Ice cream, Gelato, Sorbet, and Shaved Ice, Jellied Desserts, Pastries/Pies/Cobblers, Sweet Soups and Dessert Wines.
Here are 25 Italian dessert quiz questions with answers that are enjoyed throughout Italy. This is what many Italians in Italy say for GOOD LUCK. So as they say in Italia, in bucca al lupo. Before you begin the quiz, can you translate the above phrase into English? Send me an answer, leoneradomile@gmail.com
Now you can start the quiz:
1] A style of Italian dessert wine. Its name most likely originated from the wines used with the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
ANSWER: Vin Santo
2] An Italian pastry dessert of the Sicilian region. They are tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling usually containing ricotta.
ANSWER: Cannoli
3] A Neapolitan dish made of deep fried balls of dough about the size of marbles. Crunchy on the outside and light inside, often mixed with honey and other sweet ingredients.
ANSWER: Struffoli
4] Puffy fried chips of dough covered in powdered sugar. A bit of citrus or anise can be used to enhance flavor. Known as Liar’s Cookies in English.
ANSWER: Bugia
5] These sugar coated almonds are given out at weddings and baptisms (white coating), or graduations (red coating). Often wrapped in a small tulle bag to give as a favor to guests.
ANSWER: Confetti
6] A molded Italian ice cream made with layers of different colors and flavors, usually containing candied fruits and nuts.
ANSWER: Spumone
7] A fried Italian doughnut. Popular in southern Italy, also known as St. Joseph's Day cake. Popular at Italian festa’s like the San Gennaro festa in New York City.
ANSWER: Zeppole
8] Italians claim that in 1565, Bernardo Buontalenti, at the request of Cosimo de’Medici, invented a concoction of cold cream, zabaglione and fruit. As we know it today, what had Buontalenti invented?
ANSWER: Ice Cream
9] Italian waffle cookies made from flour, eggs, sugar, butter, and flavored with anise or anisette. They were originally made in the port city of Ortona, in the Abruzzo region of southern Italy. The name comes from the Italian word for "round" and "flat" (pizze).
ANSWER: Pizzelle
10] A class of semi-frozen desserts, typically ice-cream cakes, semi-frozen custards, and certain fruit tarts.
ANSWER: Semifreddo
11] A traditional Italian dessert containing fruits and nuts, it dates back to 13th century Siena in Tuscany.
ANSWER: Panforte
12] A brand name of a sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread.
ANSWER: Nutella
13] A type of hazelnut or almond-flavored cookie made in Prato, central Italy. Its Italian name translates to ‘ugly but good’.
ANSWER: Bruttiboni
14] Originating in the 1960s from the city of Treviso in Veneto. It’s a popular coffee-flavored Italian dessert, made of lady’s fingers and layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar, and mascarpone cheese, flavored with cocoa.
ANSWER: Tiramisu
15] From the royal court of Savoy and Piedmont came this most famous of all Italian puddings.
ANWSER: Zabaglione
16] Some of Italy’s sweetest wines come from this region where the hot sun concentrates the flavor of the grapes and makes them sweet. Dessert wines.
ANSWER: Sicily
17] Cupola shaped sweet bread loaf originally from Milan. A popular Christmas treat.
ANSWER: Panettone
18] Made up of blocks of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream side by side in the same container.
ANSWER: Neapolitan Ice Cream
19] An Italian baked tart or pie.
ANSWER: Crostata
20] A flourless traditional Italian chocolate and almond cake named for the island off the shores of Naples.
ANSWER: Torta Caprese
21] An Italian dessert layering custard and sponge cake, perhaps derived from English trifle.
ANSWER: Zuppa Inglese
22] A sweetened frozen dessert made with fruit (often from concentrates, juices or purées) that is similar to sorbet.
ANSWER: Italian Ice
23 The Italian word for ice cream. It typically contains less air and more flavoring than other kinds of frozen desserts, giving it a density and richness that distinguishes it from other ice creams.
ANSWER: Gelato
24] They are twice-baked, oblong-shaped, dry, crunchy, and dipped in wine. ANSWER: Biscotti
25] This white nougat has roots in ancient Rome and Spain. The Italian version is a winter and Christmas confection in Italy and first appeared in Cremona, Italy, in the early 15th century.
ANSWER: Torrone
I hope you scored at the very least 20 correct out of 25 questions. This gives you a percentage of 80% correct. Anything lower suggests that the Heritage Italian-American Style ebook be included on your MUST READ list.
