''Frittola'' (''frittula'' in Palermitan dialect) is a traditional Sicilian

street food Street food is food sold by a Hawker (trade), hawker or vendor on a street or at another public place, such as a market, fair, or park. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...

from the

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

region of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is similar to the ''frittole'' from

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

, but seems to use calf parts instead of

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

. The waste left from the slaughter of mechanically processed calves includes bones that are ground for industrial use, and pieces of

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

boiled at high temperature in large silos. After the meat is cooked it is pressed to remove

moisture Moisture is the presence of a liquid, especially water, often in trace amounts. Moisture is defined as water in the adsorbed or absorbed phase. Small amounts of water may be found, for example, in the air (humidity), in foods, and in some comme ...

and formed into bales. This process, similar to

lyophilization Freeze drying, also known as lyophilization or cryodesiccation, is a low temperature dehydration process that involves freezing the product and lowering pressure, thereby removing the ice by sublimation. This is in contrast to dehydration by m ...

(freeze drying), can preserve the ''frittoli'' for years. The ''frittularu'' "revives" the ''frittoli'' by frying it with

lard Lard is a Quasi-solid, semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering (animal products), rendering the adipose tissue, fatty tissue of a domestic pig, pig.

and placing it in a large wicker basket (the ''panaru'') and a cloth of flavorings such as

bay leaf The bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used as a herb in cooking. It can be used whole, either dried or fresh, in which case it is removed from the dish before consumption, or less commonly used in ground form. The flavour that a bay lea ...

, and pepper. It is served by hand and placed on a sheet of waxed paper or in a bun or

focaccia Focaccia is a Flatbread, flat leavening agent, leavened oven-baked Italian cuisine, Italian bread. In Rome, it is similar to a type of flatbread called (). Focaccia may be served as a side dish or as sandwich bread and it may be round, rectang ...

. ''Frittola'' was once transported by

donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...

, but is now sold from three-wheeled vans.Diego Gambett
The Sicilian Mafia: the business of private protection
page 209 One author describes the dish as "oil fried fat and

cartilage Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. Semi-transparent and non-porous, it is usually covered by a tough and fibrous membrane called perichondrium. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints ...

". An 1869 book reports ''frittola'' in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, although this most likely refers to a sweet or savoury fried dough rather than the meaty version from Palermo.William Henry Davenport Adam
The queen of the Adriatic: or, Venice past and present
page 239

References

Palermitan cuisine Cuisine of Sicily {{Italy-cuisine-stub

See also

References