It’s not Carnival in Veneto without the typical frittelle, or fritole, small soft doughnuts filled with with raisins, custard (or better crema pasticcera), chocolate or maresina (a slightly bitter herb you find only in the Vicenza area that gives a lovely bitter-sweet contrast to the frittella).
MEET THE BAKERS BEHIND THE MAKING OF FRITTELLE
To understand all the secrets behind the preparation of this quintessential Venetian treat we have chosen one of the best bakeries in the province of Vicenza, Il Chicco di Grano, in Arzignano, where Carlo and his mum Marina welcomed us into their laboratory and showed us what it takes to prepare frittelle. Marina has been baking with her husband Giuseppe for over 27 years and a few years ago she opened Il Chicco di Grano with Carlo, her son, an excellent baker with a passion for combining tradition and innovation. As soon as we walked into the laboratory we were overwhelmed with the smell of frittelle and pastries. Carlo was frying them with an innovative machine that cuts the dough into small round balls and pours them into peanut oil. Incredible to see how many frittelle they produce for such a small bakery, over 1,000 frittelle every day! “Up until two years ago”, Marina says, “I used to cut the dough manually with the sac a poche, which was a huge strain to my wrists and in fact now I can’t twist them any longer. Luckily now we have this incredible machine that cuts them all automatically and by setting the speed it makes them bigger or smaller, which saves us a lot of time and effort.” After frying them they are all left to rest in huge trays and whilst the ones with raising and maresina just need a touch of sugar to be served, the empty ones are filled with “crema pasticcera” or chocolate. But let’s go back to the story of the frittella.
FRITTELLE: THE OLDEST RECIPE OF THE VENETIAN CUISINE
La frittella, or fritole in dialect, started in Venice back in the 14th century. People loved them so much that they were proclaimed national desserts of the Serenissima Republic (the Republic of Venice) in the 1700s. Its recipe is reckoned to be the oldest document in Venetian cuisine and is held in the National Library Casanatense in Rome. But making frittelle was a very serious business at the time, opened to just a few lucky ones: the fritoleri, an enclosed corporation, that like gondoliers and glass makers, was only accessible to sons or daughters of fritoleri.
At the time, fritoleri kneaded eggs, sugar, flour, pine nuts and raisins on a wooden table in the streets so people could see they were preparing a genuine product; they were then fried in oil, butter or lard. Fritoleri came to be highly regarded and are even cited in works of Venetian literature, such as the famous comedy “Il Campiello” by Carlo Goldoni, where the protagonist, Orsola, is a fritolera. When the Venice Republic fell, the corporation dissolved, but the fritoleri remained active in the streets of Venice until the end of the 19th century, before disappearing altogether.
Luckily the tradition of eating frittelle has not disappeared and is widespread all over Veneto, changing slightly in taste or filling from one city to the next. Thank you Carlo and Marina for the time and for sharing your family history and passion with us.
