Local Aromas and Borghi Magazine
We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Borghi Magazine, a prestigious Italian publication dedicated to uncovering the hidden gems of Italy’s charming borghi villages. Through the pages of this stunning monthly bilingual Italian-English magazine, you’ll embark on a journey across Italy, exploring over 300 small towns you might never have discovered otherwise.
Our debut article is featured in the February 2020 edition of Borghi Magazine. Read on for a taste of Italian Carnival food traditions.
Italian Carnival Food Traditions
As soon as the Christmas and New Year festivities conclude, Italy eagerly embraces its next annual celebration: Carnival. Held between mid-January and February, Carnival (Carnevale) historically represents a period of indulgence, culminating on Fat Tuesday (Martedì Grasso), which signals the beginning of Lent.
Derived from the Latin term for ‘farewell to meat’, Carnival was traditionally a time of excess before the fasting and abstinence of Lent. Facing forty days without meat, eggs, or dairy, people indulged in rich, fatty, and sweet foods, leading to the creation of special recipes that are still enjoyed today.
For many Italians, Carnival is synonymous with sugary delights, though there are also savory dishes, often brimming with meat and cheese, savored in various regions. In Campania, Migliaccio di polenta combines cornmeal with salami and provola cheese before being baked. Neapolitan Lasagne di Carnevale is a decadent lasagne featuring sausage, meatballs, ricotta, and boiled eggs.
However, it is the sweet treats that truly define Italian Carnival. Many are fried in pork fat and coated in sugar to amplify the indulgence. The most ubiquitous are strips of fried pastry dusted with icing sugar, known by various names depending on the region: frappe, chiacchiere, crostoli, galani, cenci, and bugie, to name a few. Other delightful offerings include castagnole (small fried dough balls rolled in sugar), fritelle or fritole (sugary fritters with pine nuts and raisins, sometimes filled with custard), bignè (choux pastry buns, fried or baked, filled with pastry cream), zeppole (fried ring doughnuts), and struffoli or cicerchiata (tiny balls of fried dough covered in honey and colorful sprinkles).
Like all major Italian festivals, Carnival is steeped in culinary history and time-honored traditions that remain vibrant today. Wherever you find yourself in Italy during this festive period, immerse yourself in the spirit of Carnevale and savor some of these delightfully indulgent local specialties.
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