Posted on
March 19, 2010 by
Stile Mediterraneo
Zeppole are pastries that in Puglia we traditionally eat on March 19th to celebrate Saint Joseph day. You can only find these delicious zeppole patries in March. Therefore if you are in Puglia and you miss them….you’ll have to come back next year!
I and Marika have always loved Saint Joseph day. March 19th is our father’s anniversary (whose name is Giuseppe or Joseph) and is also Father’s day in Italy. So lots of things to celebrate on this day. Since we were young, every year on March 19th our father’s friends have given him big trays with huge zeppole pastries. And when we say huge….we mean it!
Because of their size, it is always very tricky to eat zeppole without getting some lemon cream all over the face!
Zeppole are made of a baked or deep fried dough, topped with lemon pastry cream and chocolate cream. Usually they are 2.1 inches in diameter! You can also find a smaller version, but given that they are only made once per year, you’d rather have the huge ones!
Do you celebrate Saint Joseph day? what do you do?
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Tags: Italian holidaysItaly eventsitaly sweetsPuglia sweetszeppole pastres
Category
Cakes & Desserts, Cooking tip, Puglia, traditions, travel tips
Posted on
January 25, 2010 by
Stile Mediterraneo
If you come to Puglia in February, you should definetely not miss one of the Carnival celebrations which take place almost everywhere in Puglia.
The
Carnival in Putignano is one of the oldest, dating back to the end of the 14th century. It became very famous because it was the longest, starting on December 26th and ending on the Shrove Tuesday, in February.
This year there will be lots of concerts, exhibitions and events almost every day from
January 31st until February 21st. However, the parades are the main attractions, which take place every Sunday and on Tuesday Feb 16th (Martedì Grasso). Masked people dance in the streets following huge trucks where famous politicians made of papier machè throw sweets at kids.
Anther beautiful, and less “crowded” (only locals know about it!!), Carnival parade is the one taking place in Gallipoli. This year there will be two parades on Feb 7th and 14th in the main streets.
In addition to the parades, one of the best parts of the Carnival celebration in Puglia is tasting all the delicious sweets which are only made during this holiday. The most traditional Carnival sweets are a kind of Confetti, called “Ricciareddi“, made of almonds and sugar, with a very funny curly shape and in many different colors. You can only find them at Carnival time!
Also, very traditional are the “
Chiacchiere“ fried or baked pastry strips, covered with icing sugar; and the
“Struffoli”, fried little balls covered with honey.
All these sweets are supposed to be for kids, but they are so good that it is impossible to resist!!
Tags: Gallipoliitaly carnivalitaly sweetspuglia carnivalputignano carnival
Category
cuisine, things to do in Puglia, traditions
