Piparella. Dry and spiced almond biscuit, characteristic of both shores of the Strait of Messina. In the Messina area it is often cut like a Tuscan cantuccio. In Villa San Giovanni and Reggio Calabria, the ‘ostiata’ piparella is used instead, cut thin and diagonally.
The ancient tradition now comes to light again thanks to the recovery of authentic, local, and natural ingredients. In an innovative project that entrusts to the web a new perspective of revival.
Premium ingredients
The ingredients of the piparella are so simple as to exclude this typical sweet from the qualification of ultra-processed foods, in the Nova classification.
Almonds and honey, flour, cloves and cinnamon, orange peel or essence (or lemon or mandarin, depending on the pastry school). Besides sugar and a minimal amount of lard, the fat of the confectionery tradition of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Three days of processing
The secret of the characteristic taste and fragrance of the piparella lies in the double baking. The first time, in the oven for 20-30 minutes, immediately after shaping the dough into a loaf or small fillet, strictly by hand. Then the resting (at room temperature, for 24 hours), followed by thin slicing, by hand, and stewing for another 24 hours.
Three days of processing are required to obtain a unique product – literally ‘twice-baked’ – handed down for generations in the pastry schools on both shores of the Strait. Each workshop, based on the ancient recipe, maintains its own identity distinguished by slight variations kept among the secrets of the elder master pastry chefs.
The name
The piparella name (in dialect pipareddha), perhaps derives from the dark, woody color of the base loaf. Or perhaps from black pepper (pipi niru), which appeared in the spice mix of the oldest recipe. Or again, according to some, from the cooking method that once took place in wood stoves. Which ‘smoked like pipes’ and thus intoxicated the rooms, with the typical aromas and roasting scents typical of the calumet, for two whole days.
The Piparella of Villa San Giovanni (RC) is registered in the register of Traditional Agri-food Products (P.A.T.) of the Calabria Region. It would also deserve a municipal denomination (De.Co.) to allow, as seen, the registration of a collective trademark. It is also promoted by Slow Food and featured in the basket of products Tyrrhenian of the GAL (Local Action Group) Batir.
LaPiparella.com, ‘tradinnovation’
LAPIPARELLA.COM is the project developed by the Ancient Pastry Shop of the Strait. A group of young pastry chefs committed themselves to innovate the product by recovering its authentic tradition, under the guidance of the oldest master pastry chefs and industry experts.
The ‘tradinnovation’ is the result of a process lasting several months, in search of:
– precious ingredients and strictly Made in Italy. Like the Italian and Calabrian almond instead of the Californian one, type 1 flour from local stone mills, instead of 00. And orange honey from the Amaroni (CZ) beekeepers, instead of ‘industrial’ wildflower honey,
– optimal times and methods of cooking and resting, razor-sharp knives for the ‘perfect cut’.
Nutritional profile
The nutritional profile of ‘La Piparella’ confirms the validity of the ‘tradinnovation’ also in this aspect. 100 g of product in fact provide:
– fats 17.8 g
– of which saturated fats 2.5 g
– carbohydrates 44.4 g
– of which sugars 21.2 g
– dietary fiber 7.3 g (-> rich in fiber)
– proteins 8.7 g
– salt 0.01 g
– 362 Kcal.
Well appreciable values, compared to the average values of the best-selling dry biscuits in Italy whose average energy value is 433 kcal per 100 g. (1)
Research and development
Innovate in tradition also means developing aromatic variants and new products to enhance the Piparella and its territorial identity:
– the aromas are those of organic chili pepper from Calabria, Calabria licorice, Zibibbo wine from Costa Viola, bergamot from Reggio Calabria,
– the nutraceutical Piparella is under development, thanks to organic Italian goji,
– Piparella ice cream and dark chocolate are on the horizon.
Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) Source Italian Food Union, based on IRI sales data 2019. The energy value of La Piparella, -17.6% compared to the average of the best-selling dry biscuits in Italy, is presumably due to lower carbohydrate content and higher fiber content. But both these items curiously escape the 'comparative table' of UnionFood. See https://www.unioneitalianafood.it/claims-comparativi-prodotti-da-forno/
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT – Food Times) and Égalité.
