Panna cotta ( Italian for "cooked cream") is an Italian

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), 1966Camilla 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 , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. 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 French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

recipe of ''fromage bavarois'' from Marie-Antoine Carême. 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 , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

includes panna cotta in its 2001 list of traditional food products. Its recipe includes cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, gelatin, rum, 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. 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 E ...

or, more likely, simply a name for common gelatin.

Garnishes

Panna cotta is often served with a coulis 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

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 ...

Related dishes

Bavarian cream 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 with ...

is sometimes thickened with gelatin or

, 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.

References

{{Cuisine of Italy Italian desserts Puddings Gelatin Cuisine of Piedmont

History

Preparation

Garnishes

Related dishes

See also

References