Torroni Natalizi in Campania
The Christmas torrone -- soft, crunchy, and the torroncino Strega
The torrone is the Christmas sweet that arrives on December 8th and stays until Epiphany -- the whole arc of the Italian Christmas season, from the Feast of the Immaculate Conception to the Befana, is framed by its presence at the end of every meal. Not as a grand finale or a formal dessert course, but as the thing that appears on the table after the fruit and the dried nuts, alongside the mandarins and the rococò and the mostaccioli, available to be broken off and eaten slowly while the conversation continues. The torrone is always there. Whether or not you take a piece at any given meal is optional; its absence from the table would be noticed.
There are many types, and in Campania the range is wider than in most of Italy. The torrone morbido napoletano -- soft, white, made with honey, sugar, egg whites, and roasted hazelnuts or almonds, yielding when bitten rather than shattering -- is the everyday version, gentle on the teeth and consistent in flavor. The torrone duro croccante -- the crunchy version, caramelized sugar and honey with whole almonds, golden and brittle and enormously satisfying in the way that things that shatter when you bite them always are. The torrone ai frutti e spezie, with pistachios and candied citrus and cinnamon and vanilla, more elaborate and more aromatic. And the Torrone di Benevento PGI, the protected designation torrone of the province of Benevento just inland from Campania, made with honey and local hazelnuts in the soft version that is considered among the finest produced anywhere.
A particular favorite of mine, and one that is essentially impossible to find in the United States, was the torroncino Strega -- small individual torrone pieces made with Liquore Strega, the golden herbal liqueur produced in Benevento since 1860, whose distinctive flavor (saffron, mint, fennel, and dozens of other herbs in a complex formula that remains a trade secret) perfumes the torrone with something that is recognizably and specifically from that small corner of Campania. Liquore Strega and the torrone it flavors deserve a post of their own and will get one. But the torroncini Strega were a specific Christmas memory -- small, individually wrapped, immediately recognizable by flavor, findable at the right pasticceria in the province and essentially nowhere outside it.
The production of torrone involves a combination of technique and patience that makes it one of the more demanding confections in the traditional repertoire. Honey and sugar are cooked slowly together in a copper pot until they reach the correct temperature and consistency. Egg whites are beaten to soft peaks separately. The hot syrup is poured slowly into the egg whites while beating continuously, creating a stable foam that sets as it cools. The nuts are folded in, and the mixture is spread into molds and left to cool and firm. The texture of the finished torrone -- whether soft or hard -- depends on the sugar concentration achieved during cooking and the ratio of honey to sugar. More honey produces a softer result; more sugar and a higher cooking temperature produce the shattering crunch of the duro version.
The torrone was also given as a gift -- wrapped in paper and ribbon, a symbol of good wishes and family bonds. In many Campanian families it is still this, alongside the panettone and the chocolate: the sweet that expresses the affection and the good wishes for the year ahead. The finest version you find in Campania, from a good pasticceria in Benevento or Avella or San Marco dei Cavoti, has a quality that commercial packaged torrone cannot approach. If you are ever in the province during December, stop. The quality makes the difference.
Buon Natale —
e piccoli boci per grandi valori.
