You probably know everything about the English morning meal. Do you know what an Italian breakfast is? Those who like to start the morning with a hearty meal, such morning food can disappoint, and fans of sweets and coffee, on the contrary, inspire. In a word, it can scare or amaze (the tradition of breakfast in Italy is very far from ours), but it will not leave anyone indifferent.
What do Italians eat for breakfast?
Residents of the boot peninsula never eat a hearty breakfast. Another habit of the local population is early waking. Then they go to a bar, but not to drink a glass of some strong drink in the morning, but coffee. Yes, in Italy, in the mornings, coffee is served not only in cafes, but also in bars, and in most cases with milk. And here they know many interesting ways to prepare this divine drink. But for coffee it is customary to eat light pastries, not necessarily sweet. And those who are too lazy to go to a bar, and it is unlikely that they will bake pies early in the morning, eat coffee sandwiches with cheese, butter or with something meat, such as ham and sausage. However, still in the first place is a traditional Italian breakfast - delicious and fragrant croissants, which are called canollo here. And of the types of coffee, most Italians prefer cappuccino. But believe me, it doesn’t have the taste that we get when we dissolve in a glass of boiling water a bag labeled cappuccino.
Italian coffee
As has already been said in the mornings, the inhabitants of this southern country prefer not to binge to the dump, they just drink an invigorating drink and have a snack with freshly baked pies with or without filling. Italian coffee is of the following types:
- Caffe corto. This is a very strong espresso. Its price in bars and cafes is a little more than one euro. It is served in very small thimble cups.
- Caffe lungo is a less strong coffee.
- Caffe doppio. To taste it is one and the same as espresso, only it is double.
- Cappuccino - This type of drink is made with the addition of milk. It is almost twice as expensive as espresso.
- Latte macchiato is a variation of the previous species, only it has more milk and very little coffee.
As you can see, the choice among lovers of Italian coffee is very large, and everyone can find an option to their taste. If this invigorating drink is contraindicated for someone, then it can always be replaced with another, no less refreshing, that is, tea. And today in Italy they can offer you barley “coffee” - a drink close to it, but not containing caffeine. Its name is Orzo. It costs almost twice as much as regular coffee, especially if a cappuccino is made from it.
Italian Breakfast Traditions
It is very difficult for Russians to understand how, before the beginning of a hard day's work, you can eat just one small bun, drink a glass of coffee with milk and eat plenty. If we talk about breakfast in a cafe, then this is a very quick process: I arrived, ordered, after 5-7 minutes, steaming coffee will be on your table, and fragrant pies are baked in all Italian cafes in the morning or brought from nearby bakeries. By the way, you can always buy something awesome in the nearest bakery, come home and, comfortably sitting on the balcony, eat it with a cup of coffee with milk and then run towards the work day. Nevertheless, true Italians who value their comfort turn their Italian breakfast into a whole ritual. They become guests of the same bar and come here every morning for many years. Here all staff knows them, and other loyal guests. Here they spend their morning interestingly reading morning newspapers and exchanging news with other visitors. This is Italian! Beautiful, tasty, fragrant and warm! By the way, if you are interested, then bars and cafes in Italian cities open at 5 in the morning and at dawn everyone can get a real Italian breakfast. By the way, most sconces do not bake cakes, but work with specialized perkarny, which deliver boxes of delicious cakes daily early in the morning. Naturally, the very first visitors get the freshest and still warm cakes. They melt in the mouth and give consumers incredibly pleasant emotions.
Types of Cakes
I must say that each of the regions of the country has special types of cakes. However, all of them are distinguished by one main feature: Italian pastries are incredibly tasty and light. The classic, of course, are croissants with various fillings: chocolate, various creams, jam or jam. There are also varieties without filling, and they are called cornetto. By the way, you are probably surprised, because you still thought that a croissant is a French cake. In second place in terms of popularity are cannolo siciliano (cannolo siciliano). If you have not tried it yet, you have lost a lot. This is an incredibly delicious, crispy cream-filled tube made from Ricotta cheese and candied fruit. As you understand from the name, the homeland of this delicious cake is the island of Sicily, and for its inhabitants it is considered its real pride. In Italy there are other types of this baking, for example, canollo fritto, etc. Sfogliatella is the next in the list of the best cakes in the country.
History of the Sfoliatella
It was first begun to be prepared by the confectioners of the Salerno province of the Campania region. The story goes that once in the local monastery of Santa Rosa da Lima, after making bread, there was a little dough. And then one skilled nun, without thinking twice, added candied fruits, sugar, limoncello to him and began to bake sweet bread from him to please the monks with an Italian breakfast. It turned out very tasty and everyone was delighted with it. In 1818, the Neapolitan pastry chef Pasquale Pintauro, once having learned from the inhabitants of Salerno the recipe for this cake, modified it. Thus, the modern variation of the spholyattella was born.
A few more varieties of cakes for an Italian breakfast
Diplonatica is a pastry that is famous throughout the country. This cake is made of two types of dough - biscuit and puff, and glued with custard or chianti cream. Legend has it that this expensive and delicious cake was first prepared for the famous Duke of Milan, Francesco Sforza. This was a diplomatic gift. Hence its name. Bombolone Cake is a Tuscan treat. It is made from soft dough, which is fried in oil and sprinkled with sugar. “Ah, donuts,” you probably thought, and you weren’t mistaken. Bombolone is actually very similar to our traditional donut. And it also happens with or without filling. No need to say that they are very high in calories. You understood it yourself.
Italian breakfast at home
You understand that not all residents of the Apennine Peninsula have breakfast in bars. So what exactly do they prefer to eat in the morning at home? To be honest, the very principle of breakfast is the same - coffee and pastries or a sandwich, but nothing more. Of course, making a real cappuccino at home is difficult, so it is replaced with coffee with milk, and cakes are replaced with ready-made cookies or croissants, which can be bought at a supermarket or a specialty bakery at bakeries. The most popular cookies are almond amaretti, coconut or wine - cantucini. Less demanding Italians seize coffee with ordinary bread, while some crush it directly into a cup of milk, and then catch the pieces with a spoon. By the way, in the country there are many varieties of bread - from ordinary white to karazau - the famous bread of Sardinia. Whoever doesn’t like sweets for breakfast, eat pizzettas. And for those who are reverent about their figure, cornettes with bran, or the most ordinary muesli, are produced in the country. Sometimes coffee is replaced by juice.
Children's breakfast in Italy
And what do little Italians eat in the morning? It should be reported that the Italian children's breakfast is almost the same as that of adults. Some parents take their kids to the cafe. Instead of coffee, they drink hot chocolate or milk, eat donuts or everyone’s favorite chocolate croissant. Little Italians adore nutella, various jams, and sweet pastries, especially in the southern regions. And, of course, they, like all the children of the world, adore yoghurts, sweet cheesecakes, corn flakes, etc. Therefore, it is rarely possible to see an uninhabited baby here.
How to make a famous cannoli cake: recipe
There are many Italian recipes for breakfast, and among them in the first place is the method of preparing traditional cannoli. To do this, you need the following ingredients: white wine vinegar or wine (30 milligrams), a teaspoon of cocoa powder, as much ground coffee and cinnamon, a glass of flour, 1 tbsp. tablespoons of marsala, salt 5 grams, melted fat (1 tablespoon), one egg, 1 full tablespoon of icing sugar and peanut butter for frying. The cream is prepared from ricotta (¾ kg), a glass of sugar, chocolate chips and candied fruit. This is an Italian breakfast, the recipe of which you already know, is prepared as follows.
Dough
Mix all the dry ingredients needed for the dough, and then introduce the liquid ingredients. The result should be an elastic and soft dough. Form a lump from it and cover it with food, in order to clean it for an hour in the refrigerator. After cooling, roll it 1-2 mm, then cut the ovals with a glass or a special recess. Then they need to be wrapped around steel mold tubes, greased with protein and roasted in peanut butter. After redness, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the deep fat and put on a paper towel and allow the oil to drain.
Cream
Add sugar to ricotta, mix thoroughly and cover with cling film, put in the refrigerator for an hour. After that, wipe the mixture through a sieve and add candied fruit and chocolate chips. Instead of ricotta, you can use marsala, and replace sugar with powder.
Finishing touches
After the tubes have cooled, fill them with cream using a pastry bag. For decoration, you can use pistachios, candied fruits or candied cherries. Here is the most popular Italian breakfast ready.