La Biblioteca del Gusto
Volume 15 · Biscuit mix
Sicilian almond (16%), Piedmont hazelnut, lemon from Southern Italy and Sicilian orange, on a rice flour base. Add it to shortcrust dough for citrus-scented biscuits.
In Sicily, almond sweets have Arab roots. Almond paste, biscuits, sugared almonds: the almond is at the centre of the island's pastry making. In 1872 Giuseppe Bianca published a manual on growing almond trees in Sicily.
This volume brings that tradition into a simple gesture. Add it to the dough and the biscuit changes.
In Sicily the almond tree has historic areas, such as the one between Noto and Avola, in the south-east, on warm, dry soils. The harvest runs from July to September: the branches are beaten and the almonds fall onto sheets. The thick shell protects them and preserves their aroma.
The hazelnut is the Tonda Gentile Trilobata from Piedmont. Lemon and orange are citrus fruits from the South. The rice flour is Italian.
Sweet and fragrant. The almond gives roundness, the hazelnut a toasty note, the citrus lightens. In the oven the aroma opens up and fills the kitchen.
Italian ingredients, with origin, almond percentage and nutritional values stated on the label. Contains nuts.
