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The word originates from the medieval Latin word biscoctus, meaning "twice-cooked/baked." It defined oven baked goods that were baked twice, so they were very dry and could be stored for long periods of time. Pliny the Elder boasted that such goods would be edible for centuries. Such nonperishable food was particularly useful during journeys and wars, and twice baked breads were a staple food of the Roman Legions.[1]
[edit]Italy
The first documented recipe for the biscuit is a centuries-old manuscript, now preserved in Prato, found by the eighteenth-century scholar Amadio Baldanzi. In this document, the biscuits are called of Genoa.
Although commonly used to indicate the biscuits of Prato, biscotti di Prato, in modern Italy they are also known widely by the name "cantuccini". These names actually suggest other similar regional products of Italy. The term cantuccini is most commonly used today in Tuscany, but originally refers to variations or imitations which deviate from the traditional recipe in a few key points such as the use of yeasts, acids (to make them less dry) and flavourings. Rusks are larger, longer biscuits, rustic bread dough enriched with olive oil and anise seeds.
The confusion on the name may have been born from the fact that on the old sign (still present) of "Biscottificio Antonio Mattei," the leading manufacturer of biscuits of Prato, is written just below the name of the shop: "Manufacturers of cantuccini," which at the time were one of the major products of the biscuits. The sign has remained unchanged, and after such a long time people are accustomed to associate the name "cantuccini" with the biscuits.[2][3] typical ofSardegna and Sicily.
[edit]Europe
Through Middle French, the word was imported into the English language as "biscuit", although in English as in Italian "biscuit" does not refer specifically to a twice-baked cookie, but applies to any type of biscuit.
In Spain, carquinyoli (Catalan: [kərkiˈɲɔɫi], plural carquinyolis),[4] are made with whole or sliced almonds, typical of Catalonia and also associated with the regions of Aragon. In Batea, La Fatarella, and Prat de Comte, all inland municipalities of Catalonia, in the Terra Alta they are also called carquinyols.[5] Biscotti are traditional also in some inland towns in Valencia, where they are called rosegons or rosegós.[6] In Minorca, carquinyols are square shaped and do not include whole almonds. One Catalan food writer states that carquinyoli is derived from the French croquignole.[6] Croquignole, another name for these biscotti, is a French word of Germanic origin.
[edit]North America
In North America, where "biscuit" has taken on other meanings, twice-baked cookies are known as biscotti.
[edit]Recipe
Following rediscovery of the original recipe by Prato-based pastry chef Antonio Mattei in the nineteenth century, his variation is what is now accepted as the traditional recipe for biscotti. Mattei brought his cakes to the Exposition Universelle of Paris of 1867, winning a special mention.
The mixture is composed exclusively of flour, sugar, eggs, pine nuts; and almonds that are not roasted or skinned. The traditional recipe uses no form ofyeast or fat (butter, oil, milk). The barely wet dough is then cooked twice: once in slab form, and after cutting in sliced form, with the second baking defining how hard the biscotti are.
Traditionally in Italy, biscotti di Prato are sold together with another sweet speciality of Prato, the bruttiboni. Served after dessert, they are usually combined with orange juice.
[edit]Modern variations
Today the regional variations of the original are still adhered to, but the modern mass-manufactured biscotti are in actual fact closer to cantuccini, variations of biscotti.
Modern biscotti recipes often contain nuts (traditional almonds plus hazelnuts, pistachios, and pine nuts are popular choices) or spices such as anise or cinnamon.
Modern recipes include adding baking powder and spices to the flour. The nuts are then added to allow them to be coated, with the skins being left particularly when using almonds and hazelnuts. Separately, eggs are beaten together, and then any wet flavouring (e.g., almond extract or liquor), before being added to the dry ingredients. Following twice baking (once in long slab form, secondly in cut sliced form), the biscotti may be dipped in a glaze, such as chocolate.[7]
[edit]Use
Being very dry, biscotti traditionally are served with a drink, into which they may be dunked. In Italy they are typically served as an after-dinner dessert with a Tuscan fortified wine called vin santo.
Outside of Italy, they more frequently accompany coffee, including cappuccinos and lattes, or black tea.
In Spain, carquinyoli are usually served with a small glass of a sweet dessert wine, such as muscat ormoscatell.
[edit]Culture
In the Catalan city Vic, "Carquinyoli" is also the name of a ceremonial figure who orchestrates an annual summer fiesta in honor of the patron saint Albert of Sicily.[8] In Vilanova i la Geltrú, biscotti with almonds are called currutacos and are most typically associated with Palm Sunday, when they are used to ornament the palm leaves that are distributed to worshipers.[9]
Biscotti are much used as an ingredient in a variety of traditional dishes.[10] In Catalonia, such dishes include rice with sardines[11] and rabbit with snails.[12] They are also used in sauces with onions (specifically calçots).[13] In coastal Baix Llobregat, biscotti are used in the sauce for a dish of duck stuffed with turnips.[14]
[edit]See also
- Bizcocho (disambiguation)
- Biscuit
- Biskotso
- Bizcocho
- Mandelbrodt
- Zwieback
- Rusk
- Hardtack
- Crouton
- Catalan cuisine
- Pignolo (disambiguation)
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