| Traditional
Products
Sardinian bread and biscuits/cakes
Bread, rich in religious significance, was, for thousands of years,
the primary and often the only food in Sardinia. Invoked, venerated
and produced by housewives (every fireplace has an oven) with
complex rituals and prayers, it is always at the centre of the
most important occasions, closely followed by the many varieties
of sweets and cakes, these too produced with flour according to
an ancient recipe.
The most common bread types are: the pan’ e trigu (grain),
“su civraxu” (black bread), “su moddizzosu”
(a spongy, dome-shaped loaf made to honour the saints).
The confectionery, made of basic ingredients like flour, sugar,
almonds and honey, offers infinite possibilities.
Linked to celebrations or anniversaries, they characterise the
most important meetings of the religious calendar and social life.
Some traditional sweets have almost completely disappeared: for
example, the “zarminos”, meringues intended for wedding
banquets or baptisms, or the “is posus” bread (the
spouses’ bread), a mix of almonds and honey covered with
flowers made from the same mix. Others, however, have survived
into the C21st and can still be found at celebrations and feasts.
Customary on All Saints’ and All Souls is the “pan’
e sapa”, a mix of dried fruit, almonds, cinnamon and orange
zest mixed with grape juice concentrate, the must cooked on a
low heat until it becomes like a thick syrup. On the same days
the “papassinos” are also prepared, diamond-shaped
biscuits covered with icing, made of wheat flour, eggs, sultanas,
pine nuts and nuts, while during the carnival period “zipulas”
(fried cakes) are prepared.
Originating in the Logudoro region, though served up and known
now throughout Sardinia, are “sebadas”, a giant ravioli
covered with hot honey, filled with freshly soured cheese and
flavoured with grated lemon rind.
Almost everywhere are both amaretti cookies made of an almond
mixture and the crumbly “bianchittus”, small meringues
with toasted almonds and lemon zest. The “pirichittus”,
white and very light, are made of eggs, olive oil and flour.
Not to be forgotten are the delicious “pardulas”
(cheese tarts), made of fresh ricotta and puff pastry.
Finally, the fragrant “sospiri”, called “gueffus”
in the south of Sardinia: these are small balls of ground almonds
mixed with sugar, lemon and orange-flower water.
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