''Ricciarelli'' are a type of

biscuit A biscuit is a flour-based baked food item. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be savoury, similar to crackers. ...

originating in 14th-century

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

, Italy. It is considered one of the signature sweets of Siena, in addition to '' panforte'', '' cenci'', and '' cavallucci''.

Background

Legend holds that they were introduced by Ricciardetto della Gherardesca in his castle near

Volterra Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods. History ...

upon his return from the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

. He purportedly said that the "foreign biscuits curled like the Sultan's slippers". The modern biscuit does not exhibit curling. In medieval times, they were known as ''marzapanetti alla senese'' or ''morzelletti''. They acquired the name ''ricciarelli'' in the 1800s. An alternative etymology, from the

Treccani Institute Giovanni Treccani for the publication of the Italian Encyclopedia (), also known as Treccani Institute or simply Treccani, is a cultural institution of national interest, active in the publishing field, founded by Giovanni Treccani ...

Italian encyclopaedia, indicates that the word
ricciarèlli
' derives from ''rìccio'', meaning 'hedgehog', perhaps for the original form. Particularly when coated with sliced almonds, the biscuit looks like a hedgehog.

Preparation

Today, the biscuits are made using an

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...

base with

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

, and

egg white Egg white is the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens, it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms a ...

. When prepared in the traditional method, the almonds are ground with a

milling machine Milling is the process of machining using rotary cutters to remove material by advancing a cutter into a workpiece. This may be done by varying directions on one or several axes, cutter head speed, and pressure. Milling covers a wide variety of ...

, and the finished mix is formed into numerous oval- or lozenge-shaped biscuits of about each that are set aside for two days before baking. After baking, they are removed from the oven and allowed to cool for 15 minutes, to prevent the biscuits from breaking, before transferring them to wire racks. They may be baked with

rice paper Rice paper is a product constructed of paper-like materials made from different plants. These include: *''Thin peeled dried pith of Tetrapanax papyrifer'': A sheet-like "paper" material was used extensively in late 19th century Guangdong, China ...

, which is trimmed to the shape of the biscuit after they have cooled. The rough and crackled surface is usually lightly sprinkled with confectioners' sugar, and may also be covered in

dark chocolate Dark chocolate is a form of chocolate made from cocoa solids, cocoa butter and sugar. It has a higher cocoa percentage than white chocolate, milk chocolate, and semisweet chocolate. Dark chocolate is valued for claimed—though unsupported— ...

. ''Ricciarelli'' are typically consumed at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

, served with a

dessert wine Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a mea ...

such as

Vin Santo Vin Santo (; ) is a style of Italian dessert wine. Traditional in Tuscany, these wines are often made from white grape varieties such as Trebbiano and Malvasia, although Sangiovese may be used to produce a rosé style known as "Occhio di Pernic ...

or Moscadello di Montalcino. Pomarance style

' are typical of Val di Cecina and use similar ingredients but differ by having similar an uneven round shape and being served on a sacramental bread. Packaged biscuits sold at retail are traditionally enveloped in a blue paper tissue depicting two winged horses from the Etruscan Archeological Museum in Volterra.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book, title=Ciao Italia in Tuscany, last=Esposito, first=Mary Ann, publisher=

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...

, date=November 2003, isbn=0-312-32174-0 {{cite book, title=Ciao Italia in Tuscany: Traditional Recipes from One of Italy's Most Famous Regions, last=Esposito, first=Mary Ann, publisher=

, Macmillan, year=2007, isbn=978-1-4299-0410-0 {{cite book, title=I dolci delle feste , editor-last=Fichera, editor-first=Paolo, publisher=Touring Editore, date=October 2004, isbn=88-365-3063-X {{cite book, title=Authentic Tuscany , publisher=Touring Editore, year=2005, isbn=88-365-3297-7 {{cite book, title=Itinerari: Siena e il Senese , year=2005, publisher=Touring Editore, isbn=88-365-3149-0 Cuisine of Tuscany Italian desserts Biscuits Almond cookies Christmas food

Background

Preparation

See also

References