Easter is yet to come with its ritual doves and we are already talking about Panettone. In fact, for some time now, the Milanese and Christmas dessert par excellence has ceased to be Milanese to become a national heritage and has ceased to be Christmassy because it tends to be offered and consumed throughout the year.
In fact, the Italian pre-selections for the Panettone World Cup, the international competition on leavened products par excellence that took place last year in Lugano, start in March. The games will be opened by Italy, the homeland of panettone, which will host three pre-selection moments: appointment on Saturday 19 March 2022 for the selections of Central Italy in Gustar Pistoia, Saturday 2 April 2022 in Villa Terzaghi at the Maestro Martino Association in Robecco on the Naviglio for the Northern selections and on Saturday 30th April in Reggio Calabria for the Southern Italy selections.
To evaluate the panettone in the three Italian pre-selection appointments, a jury of great professionals and experts in the world of pastry and catering. A maximum of 30 participants are admitted for each event: only the best 10 for each selection will then pass on to the Finale Italia scheduled for May in Brescia, in which the finalists who will enter the international competition scheduled in Milan from 4 to 6 November 2021 will be decreed. .
The first edition of the Panettone World Tour
Meanwhile, at the beginning of this month, on the occasion of the Feast of San Biagio, protector of the throat, the first edition of the Panettone World Tour took place, a tour of the Panettone world conceived by the Panettone World Cup and dedicated to the Milanese dessert.
The peasant tradition has it that on the morning of February 3 the family has breakfast with the last surviving panettone of the Christmas holidays. The dessert is attributed with "miraculous" properties capable of preserving from ailments of the throat.
In live streaming, the laboratories of the master pastry chefs of 14 countries in the world from East to West were visited in different languages with interviews, films and many curiosities. A unique opportunity to get to know experts from all over the world directly in the laboratories where they work with passion every day.
Sourdough, dough, forming leavening, cooking and cooling, secrets and advice on Panettone were the topics covered during the meetings, followed on the Facebook/YouTube pages of CMPanettone, of the associated schools, of its institutional and commercial partners and on those of all affiliates around the world. At the helm of the delicious virtual journey were Mastro Piff, creator of the Panettone World Cup, and Livia Chiriotti of Pasticceria Internazionale.
The live broadcast started from Melbourne in Australia, at 8.30 in the morning Italian time, and then traveled from East to West, passing through Japan, Italy, France, Switzerland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Canada, USA, Brazil. All with the aim of spreading the culture of this unique product.
Consumption of panettone abroad extends throughout the year
If the Christmas holidays are an opportunity to bring it to the table, the habit of finding it in pastry shops throughout the year is increasingly making its way from Brazil to Ireland, Switzerland and the United States of America.
In the United States of America, panettone has established itself more and more in recent years, the most appreciated is the traditional Milanese one followed by the gianduiotto chocolate one, as stated by Joseph Settepani from his New York patisserie Bruno Bakery. Panettone is found on American tables during the Christmas holidays together with typical sweets such as stollen and ginger biscuits, but it is also present during the other great national holiday: Thanksgiving Day.
In Ireland, Iced Fruit cake, Plum pudding, and Mince pies for Christmas cannot be missing for Christmas, but in recent years the traditional panettone has also found its honored place on the table. The Irish began to get to know the Milanese dessert thanks to the first imports that could be bought in department stores but over time they began to appreciate the artisanal one more and more, as Master Baker Jimmy Griffin explains.
Brazil is the largest exporter of Panettone outside Italy
Brazil records the production and use record: over 450 million panettone are consumed every year and the habit of having the leavened cake on the table has crossed the borders of the Christmas holidays and can be enjoyed throughout the year. In addition, Brazil exports about 10 million panettone to North America. Peru follows, which produces and consumes over 35 million of them every year. Other major producers in South America are Argentina and Uruguay where the traditional panettone is more appreciated but also the chocolate one. The panettone competes for the table during the Christmas holidays with the typical product the Bolo de Reis, similar to the Portuguese one with which it is celebrated on January 6th.
