![Panna Cotta-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Panna_Cotta-2.jpg)
Panna cotta (
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
for "cooked cream") is an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
dessert
Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and ...
of sweetened cream thickened with
gelatin
Gelatin or gelatine (from la, gelatus meaning "stiff" or "frozen") is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also ...
and molded. The cream may be aromatized with
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
S ...
,
vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia'').
Pollination is required to make the p ...
, or other flavorings.
History
The name ''panna cotta'' is not mentioned in Italian cookbooks before the 1960s,
[Luigi Carnacina, Luigi Veronelli, "Panna Cotta," ''La Cucina Rustica Regionale'' 1:156, 1977, based on ''La Buona Vera Cucina Italiana'' (not seen), 1966][Camilla V. Saulsbury, ''Panna Cotta: Italy's Elegant Custard Made Easy'', p. 14] yet it is often cited as a traditional dessert of the northern Italian region of
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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. One unverified story says that it was invented by a Hungarian woman in the
Langhe
The Langhe (; ''Langa'' is from old dialect Mons Langa et Bassa Langa) is a hilly area to the south and east of the river Tanaro in the province of Cuneo and in the province of Asti in Piedmont, northern Italy.
It is famous for its wines, chees ...
in the early 1900s. An 1879 dictionary mentions a dish called ''latte inglese'' 'English milk,' made of cream cooked with gelatin and molded, though other sources say that ''latte inglese'' is made with egg yolks, like
crème anglaise
''Crème anglaise'' ( French for "English cream"), custard sauce, pouring custard, or simply custard is a light, sweetened pouring custard used as a dessert cream or sauce. It is a mix of sugar, egg yolks, and hot milk usually flavoured with vani ...
; perhaps the name covered any thickened custard-like preparation.
It could also come from the
French recipe of ''fromage bavarois'' from
Marie-Antoine Carême
Marie Antoine (Antonin) Carême (; 8 June 178412 January 1833) was a French chef and an early practitioner and exponent of the elaborate style of cooking known as ''grande cuisine'', the "high art" of French cooking: a grandiose style of cookery ...
. Actually, this recipe that we can find in ''le pâtissier royal parisien'' is the same as the modern ''panna cotta'' with the difference that one part of the cream is whipped to make
chantilly
Chantilly may refer to:
Places
France
*Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department
**US Chantilly, a football club
*Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly
United States
* Chantilly, Missou ...
and included to the preparation before adding the gelatin.
The
Region of Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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includes panna cotta in its 2001 list of traditional food products. Its recipe includes cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, gelatin,
rum
Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...
, and marsala poured into a mold with caramel. Another author considers the traditional flavoring to be peach
eau-de-vie
An ''eau de vie'' ( French for spirit, §16, §17 literally " water of life") is a clear, colourless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation. The fruit flavor is typically very light.
In English-speakin ...
, and the traditional presentation not to have sauce or other garnishes.
Panna cotta became fashionable in the United States in the 1990s.
Preparation
Sugar is dissolved in warm cream. The cream may be flavored by infusing spices and the like in it or by adding rum, coffee, vanilla, and so on. Gelatin is dissolved in a cold liquid (usually water), then added to the warm cream mixture. This is poured into molds and allowed to set.
The molds may have
caramel
Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard.
The process of caramelizatio ...
in the bottoms, giving a result similar to a
crème caramel
Crème caramel (), flan, caramel pudding or caramel custard is a custard dessert with a layer of clear caramel sauce.
History
The origin of crème caramel (also known originally as flan) can be traced all the way back to the Roman Empire. O ...
. After it solidifies, the panna cotta is usually unmolded onto a serving plate.
Although the name means 'cooked cream,' the ingredients are only warm enough to dissolve the gelatin and sugar.
Italian recipes sometimes call for ''colla di pesce'' 'fish glue,' which may literally be
isinglass
Isinglass () is a substance obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish. It is a form of collagen used mainly for the clarification or fining of some beer and wine. It can also be cooked into a paste for specialised gluing purposes.
The ...
or, more likely, simply a name for common gelatin.
Garnishes
Panna cotta is often served with a
coulis
A coulis ( ) is a form of thin sauce made from puréed and strained vegetables or fruits. A vegetable coulis is commonly used on meat and vegetable dishes, and it can also be used as a base for soups or other sauces. Fruit coulis are most often ...
of
berries
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...
or a sauce of
caramel
Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard.
The process of caramelizatio ...
or
chocolate
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...
. It may be covered with other fruits
or
liqueur
A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...
s.
Related dishes
Bavarian cream
Bavarian cream, crème bavaroise or simply bavarois is a dessert consisting of milk thickened with eggs and gelatin or isinglass, into which whipped cream is folded. The mixture sets up in a cold mold and is unmolded for serving. Earlier versions ...
is similar to ''panna cotta'' but usually includes eggs as well as gelatin and is mixed with
whipped cream
Whipped cream is liquid heavy cream that is whipped by a whisk or mixer until it is light and fluffy and holds its shape, or by the expansion of dissolved gas, forming a firm colloid. It is often sweetened, typically with white sugar, and ...
before setting.
Blancmange
Blancmange (, from french: blanc-manger ) is a sweet dessert popular throughout Europe commonly made with milk or cream and sugar thickened with rice flour, gelatin, corn starch, or Irish moss (a source of carrageenan), and often flavoured ...
is sometimes thickened with gelatin or
isinglass
Isinglass () is a substance obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish. It is a form of collagen used mainly for the clarification or fining of some beer and wine. It can also be cooked into a paste for specialised gluing purposes.
The ...
, sometimes with starch.
Panna cotta is sometimes called a custard,
but true
custard
Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency fro ...
is thickened with egg yolks, not gelatin.
See also
*
List of Italian desserts
This is a list of Italian desserts and pastries. Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian desserts have been heavily influenced by cuisine from surround ...
*
Fruit fool
A fool is an English dessert. Traditionally, fruit fool is made by folding puréed stewed fruit (classically gooseberries) into sweet custard. Modern fool recipes often skip the traditional custard and use whipped cream. Additionally, a flavourin ...
References
{{Cuisine of Italy
Italian desserts
Puddings
Gelatin
Cuisine of Piedmont