Panettone or Pandoro?, ilazed, italian culture, italian traditions

Do you know of Panettone and Pandoro? They are two Italian desserts typical of Christmas. Every year they can’t be missed on Italian tables, and often there is a debate on which one is the better dessert. But the choice is something that depends exclusively on personal taste! If you want to know more about these desserts, read this article called “Panettone or Pandoro?”

Christmas is just around the corner and like every year, the classic dilemma that grips the minds of Italians cannot be missed: Panettone or Pandoro?

Both are traditional Italian Christmas desserts and the choice of one or the other depends solely and exclusively on personal taste.

But when do these desserts date back to? Are they ancient? Where did they originate and at what event? Read on to find the answers to all these questions!

Panettone

Panettone is Milan’s Christmas dessert of which there are traces as far back as the end of the 15th century.

Its ingredients are: flour, sourdough, water, butter, sugar, eggs, raisins, candied orange, candied citron, vanilla, and lemon and orange peel.

As often happens when we talk about events far back in time, history mixes with myth. And this is how we find two legends that try to explain the origin of this cake!

1. The burnt cake

The Panettone is said to have been created to make up for the lack of cake at one of Ludovico il Moro’s banquets.

Legend has it that his pastry chef burnt the cake and that a boy named Toni used a previously set aside dough to create another one to serve to the duke. Hence the name Panettone is said to derive from the Milanese ‘Pan de Toni’ (Toni’s bread).

2. Requited love

This second legend tells of Ludovico il Moro’s falconer, who fell in love with the baker Toni’s daughter.

In order to spend more time with his beloved, he took on a job as an apprentice, but realizing the family’s situation of poverty, he decided to sell the duke’s falcons in order to procure the most delicious ingredients, such as sugar, citron and raisins to be used to secretly bake a cake.

The result was excellent, and this bread became so popular that not only did the duke forgive him for selling his falcons but he even managed to win the hand of Toni’s daughter, despite the social difference.

Pandoro

Pandoro is a Christmas dessert from Verona whose origin is irrefutable. In fact, we have a precise date, October 14th 1894, which marks the moment when confectioner Domenico Melegatti obtained a patent for the new cake from the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce of the Kingdom of Italy.

Needless to say, it was an immediate success. In fact, many tried to imitate it, and to take advantage of the opportune moment Melegatti (marketing genius) launched the “Sfida delle Mille Lire” (“Challenge of the Thousand Lira”): those who could find the right ingredients, replicating the pastry chef’s recipe, would win a thousand liras. However, no one took part.

Although Pandoro is a new cake, it can actually be considered an evolution of much older Veronese cakes, for example, the Nadalin!

Pandoro’s ingredients are flour, sugar, yeast, butter and eggs, but of fundamental importance are the four leavening stages.

Remember, however, that in addition to the goodness of the raw materials and the leavening, what makes this cake unique is its star shape.

In fact, it seems that at the moment of tasting it, when faced with the slice that reminded him of the ray of the sun, a shop assistant said: “L’è proprio un ‘pan de oro” (It is really a golden bread), hence the name Pandoro.

Conclusion

The Christmas period involves many rituals and traditions, and among these the tasting of typical products, desserts included, can’t be left out. The Panettone and Pandoro mentioned in this article are undoubtedly the best known and most widespread Italian Christmas desserts throughout the peninsula.

Do you know these desserts? Have you ever tried them? Which of the two do you prefer? Let me know in the comments! :)