The sweet love affair between Perugia and chocolate begins with a kiss. Not just any kiss, but a mouth-watering chocolate Baci (Italian for kisses). Baci is a delicious mound of hazelnut layered in a special dark chocolate, and wrapped in messages of love from celebrated writers and poets. It is one of Europe's most famous chocolate treats and it has propelled its maker, Perugina, and its rustic Italian home, Perugia, into a household name among chocolate aficionados.
Famous as Europe's chocolate capital, Perugia's narrow, medieval streets and allies are brimming with bakeries, confectionaries, and candy shops. The city is home to the internationally renowned Eurochocolate Festival, an annual festival held every October which attracts over one million visitors who come to celebrate the creativity, love, and joy that is unique to Perugian chocolate. At the heart of Eurochocolate is an open air confectionary of chocolate nuggets, bars, cakes, pastries, and drinks -even chocolate beauty products and aroma therapy products can be found amidst the treats. The festival is held in the historic center, the oldest and most romantic section of Perugia, where medieval architecture and sculptures seem to rise up, like trees, around the Piazza Italia and along the Via Mazzini. Ghosts of the Etruscan and Roman past haunt Perugia's landscape, giving it a unique depth and beauty that visitors can admire while nibbling on their favorite morsels. Artistic creations and sculptures formed out of pure chocolate adorn Perugia's cobbled streets and winding passageways during the event, incorporating Italy's well known artistic flare into the festivities.
How profound is Perugia's love affair with chocolate? Natives of the city would insist that Perugia and la cioccolata are soul mates. In many ways, Perugia's love of chocolate is exemplified by Hotel di Perugia, the world's first hotel dedicated to chocolate (its interior design is a grand homage to the cocoa bean and its products). There is also the Perugian not-for-profit organization Compagnia del Cioccolato which aims to encourage the creation and appreciation of chocolate across the globe, and works with the European Union to ensure that impure additives, such as palm oil, are not used in the making of chocolate. Perugia's love affair even inspired its chocolate connoisseurs to attempt to set the world record for the largest chocolate bar this fall during the Eurochocolate 2008 Fest.
Perugia, of course, is more than just a haven for cocoa devotees. Dating back to 900 B.C., it is the largest city in the Italian region of Umbria and serves as the region's capital. Although large and cosmopolitan when compared to its Umbrian neighbors, Perugia still retains the charm of ancient Italy, and still practices rich culinary traditions that have been passed down through the centuries.
One such tradition is Ciaramicola - a red Easter cake with white icing and candy sprinkles. This ring-shaped cake has five mounds representing Perugia's five historic quarters. It is a long standing tradition for engaged women to give Ciaramicola to their fiancés on Easter Sunday to show their love and affection.
Another traditional dish, Torcolo di San Costanzo, is a dessert made to honor St. Constantius, a patron saint of Perugia. It has been called a poor man's sweet because of its simple, affordable ingredients of pine nuts, raisins, and dried fruit, but it is no less delicious than many a more expensive treats. Its ring shape and its exterior of decorative candy represent St. Constantius' gem necklace, which slipped off from his neck before he died a martyr's death in 170 A.D.
These traditional dishes and the Eurochocolate Festival have given the hilltop city of Perugia a tasty image and, more importantly, culinary pride. As George Bernard Shaw said, “There is no love greater than the love of food,” Perugians would no doubt agree.
Ciarimicola
Ingredients:
- 1 lb flour
- 3 egg yolk
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- Lemon peel of ½ lemon
- 2 egg whites
- ¼ cup alchermes liqueur
- 1 packet yeast
- Multi colored sprinkles
Grate lemon peel. Place flour, sugar. ¼ cup softened butter, lemon peel. Blend well. Add in alchermes and blend in. Dissolve yeast in 1 cup of warm water, add into dough. Blend into a smooth dough.
Form the dough into a ring. Place on a pan that has been buttered an dusted with flour. Bake for 40 minutes. Beat egg whites into stiff peaks. Remove ring from oven. Place whipped egg whites on top. Bake for another 2 minutes. Remove from oven, cool and sprinkle with colored springs.
