Top 3 Sicilian Nuts

Produced within the Sicilian province of Catania, Pistacchio Verde di Bronte refers to the pistachio nuts of the Napoletana cultivar (also known as Bianca or Nostrale), grown in the fertile volcanic soils around Bronte, a small town settled at the foot of Mount Etna. Since pistachio trees were brought to Italy from the Middle East, in Sicily pistachio is called frastuca, which is adopted from the Arab word fustuq. The versatile Bronte pistachios are traditionally used for preparing a wide variety of sweets and pastries such as cannoli, cassate, torroni or the famous fig and nuts Christmas cake called Bucellato Siciliano. As for savory dishes, Bronte pistachios are the essential ingredient of the aromatic pesto di pistacchi pasta sauce, and they're also used for flavoring mortadella and other charcuterie products. To indulge in many other typical Sicilian pistachio delicacies, an event not to be missed is the Sagra del Pistacchio, held every September in Bronte.Expand

Almonds are the world's most widely grown and consumed tree nut, and Italy is one of the major producers. Particularly rich in aroma and flavor are those cultivated in sunny Sicily, where almonds are the most widely grown fruit after olives. There are many varieties, all related to prunus amygdalus, and the most praised varieties are Pizzuta, Fascionello Romana, Cavaliera and Bonifacio nº 1. They can be either sweet or bitter - the sweet ones are widely used in confectionery, while small quantities of the bitter ones give a typical flavor to certain types of biscuits and liquors. Sicilian almonds are harvested in July and the majority of orchards are located in the province of Siracusa, especially around the cities of Noto and Avola. In Sicily, almonds symbolize good fortune, so it is no surprise that sugar-coated almonds called confetti are a traditional gift at weddings. They are also the leading stars of many local sweets such as biancomangiare, a Sicilian almond pudding, bacioni di Taormina, torrone, amaretti, pasta di mandorle, cassata siciliana or the famous frutta di Martorana, colorful marzipan-based sweets shaped into fruits and vegetables.Expand

Although almonds originated in Asia, nowadays some of the best ones are grown around Avola, a city and comune in the sunny province of Syracuse. They can be either sweet or bitter - the sweet ones are widely used in confectionery, while small quantities of bitter almonds give a unique flavor to certain types of biscuits and liquors. Only three sorts are grown under the prestigious name of mandorle di Avola: Pizzuta, Fascionello, and Romana, also known as Corrente d'Avola. Pizzuta has a hard shell enclosing a symmetrical, reddish-brown seed and it is mostly used for high-quality confectionery products such as sugared almonds and pasta reale, similar to Fascionello, a bit less elegant, but equally delicious sort, while Romana often hides irregularly-shaped twin-seeds inside the shell, and it is usually used for pastries. Harvest time is between July and August, but all three sorts have a thick shell that preserves their flavor and quality, so they can be enjoyed all year-round.Expand