A TRIP THROUGH the Sweet Mugello Territory

A TRIP THROUGH the sweet Mugello Territory Local confectionary traditions and delectable places: pastry stores and bakeries, revisited recipes by Chef Luigi Incrocci. Qui, GLOSSARY Bombolone: fried donut-like sweet fi lled with custard or jam. Cantuccini or biscotti di Prato: dry biscuits with whole almonds. Cenci: fried puff pastry sprinkled with icing sugar. Colomba: typical dove-shaped Easter cake covered in almonds. Frittelle: various types of fried dumplings (apple, rice, chestnut fl our…). Pane di ramerino: leavened buns with rosemary and raisins. Panettone: typical Christmas cake of Lombardic origin. Raviole: half-moon shaped biscuit with apricot jam fi lling. Schiacciata: fl at, light cake sprinkled with icing sugar. Spumini: meringue biscuits made with egg whites and sugar. Zeppole: fried dumplings with custard fi lling. 3 A trip through the sweet Mugello Territory 5 A cuisine that has been infl uenced by both history and geography: traditional sweets 9 The sweetest Mugello sweets 11 Sweets for sale in Mugello 18 The “sweet” taste of Upper Mugello 20 Sweets for sale in Upper Mugello 23 Recipes: the chef Luigi Incrocci revises traditional sweets 28 “Sweet” events index 1 IMOLA FAENZA BOLOGNA IMOLA BOLOGNA 610 306 65 Palazzuolo FAENZA Firenzuola sul Senio 503 302 A1 503 306 Popolano 65 Marradi Biforco Scarperia Crespino Barberino di Mugello Ronta BARBERINO San Piero exit a Sieve Vicchio 551 65 Borgo San Lorenzo Vaglia 302 FORLI' ROME FLORENCE motorway state road railway For information: COMUNITÁ MONTANA MUGELLO Mugello Tourist Offi ce Via Palmiro Togliatti, 45 50032 Borgo San Lorenzo (FI) Tel. +39 055 84527186 Fax +39 055 8456288 turismo@cm-mugello.fi .it www.mugellotoscana.it Mugello is not only renowned to tourists for its artistic and natu- ral beauty, but also for its tradition of foods and wines. This mini-guide means to examine a particular feature, the production of sweet foods. The area, in fact, is rich in bakeries and pastry shops that produce exceptionally fi ne sweet foods. What was once merely a family tradition has been passed down and professionalized. The charming pastry shops and the sweet smelling bakeries offer baked goods that follow “age-old” recipes using traditional ingredients or new and elaborate creatively produced sweet foods that do not so much stray from tradition as successfully enhance it. This booklet, prepared by the Comunità Montana Mugello, means to tempt the palate of those tourists who are visiting Mugello, whether for a long stay, a weekend, or just a day trip to one of the numerous local fairs and events that take place all through the territory. With this booklet we intend to promote a speciality that is particularly close to the hearts of anyone with a sweet tooth. Numerous local sweet foods will be made available to the traveller who wishes to visit Mugello: typical mountain cakes made with chestnuts and the marrone (the typical Mugello chest- a trip through the sweet Mugello Territory 3 nut), as well as crostate (pies), cantucci (dry biscuits made with almonds), biscotti (biscuits), frittelle (fried pastry), dolci al cucchi- aio (custards and puddings), millefoglie (creamy layer cake) or the original torte rinascimentali (Renaissance cakes). This handy pocket guide includes, along with a brief history of local sweet foods, a list of all the producers in Mugello - pastry shops, bars and bakeries - their addresses and the specialties they produce to provide customers with all the information they need. A famous international cook, Luigi Incrocci, whose origins lie in Mugello, has contributed greatly to the making of the guide by reviewing traditional recipes and giving them his own per- sonal touch. It is, after all, tempting literature for people with a sweet tooth and... an interesting way for gluttons to mix “business and pleas- ure”, so to speak, as they visit the homes of the Medici, parish churches, convents, the Art Nouveau itinerary, small museums, or simply take a walk or bike ride through the territory. Not only can they stop to enjoy a “sweet” snack, but they can also take a taste of the local cuisine home with them. 4 A cuisine that has been infl uenced by both history and geography: traditional sweets Although Mugello stands isolated by mountains and woods, and has been, for centuries, a mere rural extension of Florence, it is a land that has borne numerous infl uences. On one hand we fi nd Florence with its history and seigniories, and on the other the nearby Romagna and its lords, not to mention the Medici court, and its profound Christian fervour. All these things have infl uenced not only the history and character of Mugello, but also the cuisine. There are obvious traces of these infl uences in the abundant use of meat, much of which arrived in Florence from Mugello, or fi rst courses, which resemble those prepared in Romagna, and in the work of Pellegrino Artusi, who like this very valley, lived between Florence and Emilia-Romagna. And let us not forget the impor- tant Medici dishes, which were elaborated by cooks from all over the world who, especially during the times of Caterina, created specialities to be served in banquets in Cafaggiolo Castle. These specialities were then, thanks to the local kitchen help, adopted by the local population, who prepared them with the only ingredients they had at hand. These ingredients were fresh and abundant and always seasonal and offered, along with an exquisite fl avour, healthy and nutritional meals that were perfect for the hard work in the fi elds. Numerous special events, many religious, also offered dishes to enhance the feast during these holidays, and to celebrate the patron saint or the end of fasting. ( Sandro Botticelli, “Banchetto con le nozze di Nastagio degli Onesti” 5 The same can be said for the creation of sweets. Eggs, fl our, milk, butter, marroni chestnuts, honey and grapes have always been part of the local cuisine, and sweets meant feasts, and therefore an alternative to the daily meals that were essentially the same week after week. Almost every farm house had its own wood-fi red oven where, once the bread had been baked and the oven cooled slightly, excellent cakes could be made to be used for breakfast or breaks in the long work day. Until the post-war years, town holidays, religious holidays, the Carnival season and harvest feasts were a time in which housewives applied themselves the most and competed to make the best, most tasty cakes. Sweets were offered after Mass, often an occasion for young single men to court single women. Seasons were extremely relevant: with the grape harvest came a grape pie (grapes baked on fl attened bread dough) called schiacciata con l’uva, which was a nutritional food at harvest time, and also propitiating. With the cold winters came ( Above: pies and biscuits the easily preserved marroni chestnuts, especially in the Apennines, which can be eaten fresh - they are, in fact sweet by nature, and therefore no sugar is added - or, once dried, can be used as fl our for the preparation of various foods. Spring brought with it numerous different types of fruit and aromas, and was therefore perfect for making pies, biscuits, and sweets made with rice. In summer milk and eggs were abundant and, thanks to the 6 creativeness of certain cooks, a perfect ( Below: alchermes biscuits and sweets made with marroni 7 time to prepare fresh and nutritional custards and mousses. In the production of sweets, notwithstan- ding the difference in quantity and com- position, the distinction between rich and poor, lords and farmers seemed less pro- nounced because tastes and likes were similar. The Torta in Balconata (literally, the balcony cake), for example, which has only recently been rediscovered, is a strictly local recipe made with numerous spices, dried and candied fruit and nuts, and although it was created for the Medi- ci court, was widespread among the po- orer families in a less elaborate, less spicy yet equally appetizing version. A taste for sweets has been passed on through the ages along with an apprecia- tion for fi rst quality, delicious ingredients that make the production of sweet foods in Mugello reason for a stopover, if not a long stay, in which to appreciate the numerous bakeries and pastry shops in the territory. ( Above: torta in balconata ( Right: castagnaccio 8 The sweetest Mugello sweets In the recent past a number of devoted restaurant owners in cooperation with the Tourist Offi ce of the Comunità Montana Mugello have picked out a number of recipes from the traditional recipes rediscovered by Tebaldo Lorini, an expert in local customs. The purpose was to propose a typical Mugello menu that would bring out the importance of traditional foods and local products. Among the various recipes of traditional sweets we fi nd the particular zuccherini biscuits, which were placed in the Befana stocking and hung on the fi replace on the Epiphany, and which helped strengthen the teeth of small children, the berlingozzi, a Renaissance biscuit, which is, strangely enough, boiled and then baked, and also the bocche di dama, made with eggs, chopped almonds and grated lemon rind. Of the many desserts, one of the most famous was the latte alla portoghese, which was prepared in every household and suited to every meal. It is prepared by boiling milk and sugar, lemon rind and vanilla. Once the milk cools, well beaten eggs are added and the mixture is then baked in the oven in a bain-marie. A trip through the sweet Mugelloil territorio Territory 9 Given the richness of its chestnut forests, the area obviously made good use of its marroni chestnuts when preparing sweets.

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