Panforte: a typical sweet from Siena
Posted on 13. Oct, 2010 by admin in Archive, Food & Wine
Panforte is a typical sweetmeat from Siena, known and highly considered throughout the world.
In Tuscany it is eaten mainly at Christmas. According to tradition, its precursor was Panmelato, a type of flat bread made with wheat flour, honey and seasonal fruit.
It was the religious clergy who first made these sweets like the Camaldoli nuns of Montecelso (near Fontebecci) and the arrival of spices from the orient in the XIII century played an important role in the preparation of these traditional sweetmeats.
Tradition tells two tales of the transformation of Panforte from Panmelato, each involving in one way or another a nun. The first from the Middle Ages when the city of Siena was under siege; Sister Berta – worried by the conditions of the inhabitants of the city undernourished and starving – prepared a highly energetic sweet with honey, candied peel, almonds, spices and a lot of ginger. The second tale is more romantic: a certain Sister Ginevra – enclosed in a nunnery for reasons of love – while baking panmelato heard the voice of her loved one Messer Giannetto da Perugia in the street below. She believed him dead in the Crusades and so, caught up in her emotions, she started to throw into the usual mixture not only fresh fruit but also candied peel, spices and pepper, thus creating a rather spicy and strong smelling dessert.
Aphrodisiac properties were also attributed to Panforte; according to the old folk, Panforte helped “to hold the family together” and prevented arguments between husband and wife.
The name Panforte most probably has mediaeval origins because in that period it was made not from candied fruit but fresh fruit left to dry in the oven. Thus, we can imagine that after some days, the fruit would become “strong tasting” or even slightly bitter, giving rise to the name Panforte.
The most famous producers of Panforte were the old families of spice traders and pharmacists who jealously coveted their family recipes. Today, we have three varieties of Panforte, known as white (bianco), black (nero) and Margherita.
The first type is prepared by making a dough from flour, sugar, almonds, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, honey and candied orange and citron peel.
The black Panforte involves the substitution of the candied citron with candied melon and the addition of cocoa and chili pepper. Panforte is shaped by hand and baked in the oven at 200°C to then be packaged by hand. When baked, Panforte Bianco is dusted with icing sugar whereas Panforte Nero with cocoa.
Panforte Margherita has royal origins. In 1879, Margherita di Savoia and Umberto I — then King and Queen of Italy — visited Siena to follow the Palio. The master of ceremonies who followed every movement of the royal couple considered the Panforte “too strong for the royal palate” and therefore requested that the black pepper be substituted with pumpkin and vanilla. This gave rise to a delicate variation of the Panforte Bianco, named “Panforte Margherita”, in honour of the sovereign. This dessert is usually accompanied by Vin Santo or a glass of Moscadello di Montalcino.
Siena is also famous for its Gioco del Panforte which takes place during the Christmas period and recalls old country games; the “Gioco” involves throwing a Panforte loaf onto a table at a distance of 4 to 5 metres. The winner is the participant who manages to make his Panforte land nearest the edge of the table without making it fall on the ground.
