It is nearly Christmas time and therefore the time for Italian Panettone! One of the most preferred Christmas sweets among Italians. Whether after dinner or for breakfast, the Panettone is popular with everyone - regardless of the generation.
The sales for Panettone and the different types have grown exponentially - across the globe.
Italians have become a bit more fuzzy and don't want the typical industrially manufactured Panettone; although it still sells well.
The demand for Artisan-produced Panettone has increased. And there are four main types which are most popular among Italians. Which one is your favorite?
The Classic Milanese Panettone
The classic Panettone was born in Milan. It is still the most appreciated type of Panettone by most Italians and according to recent estimates released by the National Confederation of Crafts and Small and Medium Enterprises (CNA), it also exceeds Pandoro in terms of satisfaction (respectively 46% against 37%). Will it be the same in 2020 too?
So how did the Panettone Milanese come about? The story Hotel Cavour in Milan shares is the most intriguing one: how the Panettone, or "the panaton" (as the Milanese people call it), was born, there are different versions, but the best story is the one about a cook at the service of Ludovico il Moro:
The legend tells that the cook of Ludovico il Moro, was instructed to prepare a sumptuous Christmas dinner to which many nobles of the district were invited. The banquet was a great success, but , at the time of the dessert, there was a problem: the dessert had been in the oven for too long and was burnt. To save the dinner, one of the servants named Toni proposed to prepare an alternative dessert using what was left in the pantry, which was a bit of flour, butter, some eggs, the lime zest and a few raisins. The cook, when pressed, agreed and went behind a curtain to spy the reactions from the guests. Unexpectedly, all of them were enthusiastic and the chef revealed the secret to the Duke, who wanted to know the name of that delicacy: "it is the “pan del Toni” (bread of Toni). Since then it is the "bread of Toni", the Panettone. So where are the best Panettone Milanese found - here a couple of suggestions:
The famous Princi chain could not fail to be present in the classification of the best panettone in Milan, the bakery and café that has now become an international brand, created by the homonymous Rocco Princi, the Calabrian owner who in less than 30 years has managed to approach the world of tradition Milanese, carving out a place in the ranking of the best desserts.
Considered by the Milanese as a real institution, there is also the Pasticceria Marchesi, located in a building from the mid-1700s in a delightful and refined small setting, where you can also drink one of the best coffees in Milan. A place defined as magical, enriched even more by the furnishings, which have preserved the typical atmosphere of the early 1900s, for years it has offered one of the most delicious panettone in Milan: soft, fragrant and fragrant.
The pastry shop in piazza San Nazaro in Brolo 15 is certainly another of the best places where you can delight yourself with the Milanese dessert. The famous Panarello brand, founded in Genoa in the nineteenth century, having nineteenth-century origins, has always been synonymous with goodness and quality, a fixed appointment for customers every year, who cannot help but buy the tasty panettone. A must for the Milanese Christmas tables.
The Panettone al cioccolato
A great variation of the Panettone is the one with chocolate. Whether it's milk or dark chocolate, with oranges or paired with cream, chocolate makes young and old go crazy for this Panettone at the table. And not just inside the panettone. Some of the best Chocolate Panettone include from Florence Rigacci' 48 - Cerbaia Val di Pesa, the Cremederi Panettone from Sal di Riso from Tramonti; and the Sicilian Chocolate Panettone from di Stefano.
Pistachio Panettone
In the last 5 years this Italian excellence produced above all in Sicily has delighted everyone's palates. Surely if you opt for a pistachio panettone the expense increases compared to the traditional panettone. But what better occasion than Christmas to stimulate trade a little more in times of crisis?
What are some of the best Panettone al Pistacchio? For example from Fiasconaro - Green gold panettone
Panettone with pistachio cream to spread, covered with white chocolate and pistachio, packaged by hand.
Panettone al Limone
The lemon cream is delicate and goes perfectly with an excellent limoncello. Maybe the latter we can also prepare it at home so that we do not miss anything. Here are the most loved panettone by Italians. Such as from Pasticceria Gambardella, their handmade panettone: in every slice you will discover the real taste of the tradition, both in the classic recipe with almond and in the lemon or pear and chocolate ones.
The most expensive panettone of all time: with gold and diamonds, it costs 500 thousand euros
More than limited edition unique items. Two panettone with a cost of over 500 thousand euros each. The traditional dough with flour, sugar, butter, eggs and mother yeast is embellished with saffron and chocolate of a precious Equadoreño cocoa cru and edible gold flakes. But this is certainly not enough to raise the price so much. Those of the pastry chef Dario Hartvig, of the Pasticceria del Borgo in Carmagnola (To) were commissioned respectively by a Russian oligarch and an Indian millionaire and will be covered with a 22-carat gold leaf and decorated with diamonds.
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