History Class XII Ch. 3 Kinship, Caste and Class (1).pptx
Arabic influence on Sicilian cuisine brought sweets like cannoli and sfinci
1. Arabic influence on Sicilian cuisine
The culinary
language of Sicilian is
full of Arabisms,
especially concerning
sweets, sweet dishes
that are fried, and
sweets containing
raisins, almonds,
ricotta, and/or
semolina.
2. CUBBAITA
For example, there is
cubbàita, an almond
nougat made with
honey and sesame,
from the Arabic
qubbayta, a kind of
dried confection
made with raisin juice
and other ingredients.
3. SFINCI
The famous Sicilian
sfinci, are beignets
associated with the
festival of St. Joseph,
derived from the
Arabic isfanj, a yeast
dough fritter eaten
with honey.
4. Sfinci is
mentioned in
Palermo in 1330
where it is sold
by the sfingiari.
It is still made to
this day in Sicily,
Tunisia and
Morocco.
5. Cassata
Cassata (siciliana) is a
traditional sweet from
the area of Palermo.
Many authors think that
the name ‘cassata’
comes from
‘qashatah’, the Arabic
word for ‘deep bowl’,
in which possibly the
sweet was made .
6. It consists of round sponge cake (Pan di
spagna) moistened with fruit juices or liqueur
such as Maraschino and has a filling of
ricotta cheese mixed with sugar, pistachios,
cinnamon, candied fruits and chocolate or
vanilla.It is covered with a shell of marzipan,
pink and green pastel colored icing, and
decorative designs. It is finally topped with
candied fruit ,depicting cherries and slices of
citrus fruit characteristic of Sicily.
7. ARANCINE
Arancine are formed
of cooked and
flavoured rice shaped
around a core of
chopped meat filling.
The balls are then
coated with
breadcrumbs and
deep fried to a crisp.
8. Rice (as well as oranges) was
introduced during the Arab period. Of
course, rice cultivation requires water.
The Arabs built innovative and very
efficient irrigation systems in Sicily.
Moreover,arancina rice is flavoured and
coloured with saffron, a spice which
was more prominent in medieval Arab
cuisine.
10. CANNOLI
Cannoli are Sicilian
specialities made from a
disc of rolled fried pastry
– known as the scòrza –
stuffed with sweetened
sheep’s ricotta mixed
with candied fruit and
sometimes with the
addition of pistachios,
hazelnuts and pieces of
chocolate.
11. The pastry is made from a mixture
of flour, white wine, sugar and lard.
It is thinly rolled around cylindrical
metal tubes and deep-fried in lard.
They originated in the town of
Caltanissetta. The name
Caltanissetta is said to derive from
the Arabic Qalat al Nissa which
roughly translates ‘Fort of the
Women’.
12. The area was for long occupied by
the Saracens. One theory has it that
cannoli were first made by the
women working in a Saracen harem
and they were banana shaped, filled
with ricotta, almonds and honey with
a clear allusion to the virtuous
qualities of the Sultan.
13. The area was for long occupied by
the Saracens. One theory has it that
cannoli were first made by the
women working in a Saracen harem
and they were banana shaped, filled
with ricotta, almonds and honey with
a clear allusion to the virtuous
qualities of the Sultan.
14. SORBETTO
Italian sorbetto goes
back through French
(sorbet) to the
Turkish sherbet ( a
sweet lemonade).As
the original drink
contained fruit and
was often cooled with
snow it became a
frozen dessert .
16. Ice cream
Perhaps the first real
version of ice cream
was created by the
Arabs in the 10th
century when, for the
first time, they used
milk as a main
ingredient instead of
the traditional fruit
juices.
