Italy’s artisanal amaretti biscuits are not as bitter as their Italian name implies.
Itineraries to discover amaretti biscuits
Italy is a treasure-trove of artisan products, many of which date back centuries yet are as popular today as they day they were first produced. What better to plan an itinerary to discover towns and regions producing Italy’s famous amaretti biscuits? They have a unique flavour and link three Italian regions: Piedmont, Liguria and Sicily.
Piedmont and Liguria compete for the original recipe
Amaretti can be hard or soft and, although basically sweet, they range from decidedly bitter (amaro means bitter in Italian) to slightly bitter, the differences in consistency and flavour depending on the regional recipe and two regions, Piedmont and Liguria, compete for the original recipe. The Piedmontese tradition dictates that the amount of bitter almonds be slightly more than half the amount of sweet almonds, and Piedmont’s best amaretti are to be found in Mombaruzzo, Acqui Terme and Sassello.
Amaretti biscuits can be found on shelves all over the world
The story goes that the delicious Amaretti di Mombaruzzo biscuits first saw the light of day when a young man called Francesco Moriondo, who worked for the royal House of Savoy, fell in love with a young woman of Sicilian origin. She was a pastry chef in the royal household and her speciality was an almond cake. They married they settled in the Piedmontese town of Mombaruzzo where they opened a small pastry workshop. Her almond biscuits soon attracted the attention of other confectioners who began to produce them, turning them into a true local delicacy.
Mombaruzzo and Acqui Terme in Piedmont produce amaretti
Amaretti di Mombaruzzo are delicious biscuits made with simple and genuine products, using no flour just egg whites, sugar, almonds and the extract from the pits of apricots which gives them their pleasant bitter flavour. And the soft Amaretti from Acqui Terme? They are similar to those of Mombaruzzo, but use only sweet and bitter almonds and sugar. And once they are cooked and cooled they are put into candy wrappers, which retains their fragrance and softness. Moving on to Acqui, the secret of their amaretti is the careful balance of the almonds and the sugar. The Acqui production method has not changed over the years, and it too does not use either preservatives or additives.
Sassello in Liguria is also famous for amaretti
Heading further down to Liguria we find the Amaretti del Sassello, the production of which only started in the 19th century, but thanks to their quality they soon joined the more established amaretti on shelves around the world. Exclusive tours to discover the process of making amaretti and the charming little towns that produce them can be enjoyed through the Consorzio Sistema Monferrato and the ViA(E) per Viaggiare Network. For information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
