 | |
| Type | Pudding |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Region or state | Piedmont |
| Main ingredients | Cream,sugar,gelatin,vanilla |
Panna cotta (Italian:[ˈpannaˈkɔtta];Piedmontese:panera cheuita[paˈneraˈkøjta];lit. 'cooked cream') is anItaliandessert of sweetened cream thickened withgelatin and molded. The cream may be aromatized withcoffee,vanilla, or other flavorings.[1]
The namepanna cotta is not mentioned in Italian cookbooks before the 1960s,[2][3] yet it is often cited as a traditional dessert of the northern Italian region ofPiedmont.[4][5] One unverified story says that it was invented by a Hungarian woman in theLanghe in the early 19th century.[6] An 1879 dictionary mentions a dish calledlatte inglese (lit. 'English milk'), made of cream cooked with gelatin and molded,[7] although other sources say thatlatte inglese is made with egg yolks, such ascrème anglaise;[8] perhaps the name covered any thickened custard-like preparation.
The dish might also come from the French recipe offromage bavarois fromMarie-Antoine Carême inle pâtissier royal parisien, which is the same as the modern panna cotta, except that one part of the cream is whipped to makechantilly and included in the preparation before adding the gelatin.[9]
The Piedmont region includes panna cotta in its 2001 list of traditional food products.[10] Its recipe includes cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, gelatin,rum, and marsala poured into a mold with caramel.[11] Another author considers the traditional flavoring to be peacheau de vie, and the traditional presentation not to have sauce or other garnishes.[12]
Panna cotta became fashionable in the United States in the 1990s.[13][14]
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.[2] The molds may havecaramel in the bottoms, giving a result similar to acrème caramel.[15][16] After it solidifies, the panna cotta is usually unmolded onto a serving plate.
Although the name means 'cooked cream',[17][16] the ingredients are only warm enough to dissolve the gelatin and sugar.[3] Italian recipes sometimes call forcolla di pesce ('fish glue'), which may literally beisinglass or, more probably, simply a name for common gelatin.
Panna cotta is often served with acoulis ofberries or a sauce ofcaramel orchocolate. It may be covered with other fruits[18] orliqueurs.[2]
Bavarian cream is similar to panna cotta but usually includes eggs as well as gelatin and is mixed withwhipped cream before setting.[19]
Blancmange is sometimes thickened with gelatin orisinglass, and sometimes with cornstarch.[20]
Panna cotta is sometimes called a custard,[3] but truecustard is thickened with egg yolks, not gelatin. A lighter version substitutes cream withGreek yogurt.[16]
Media related toPanna cotta at Wikimedia Commons
Panna Cotta with Red Fruit Sauce at the Wikibooks Cookbook subproject
