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Il Funghetto di
Offida
This
product is called “funghetto” but it has nothing to do with
mycology.
One
of the most renowned typical product of Offida (which boasts among its
deliciousness even the “chichiripieno”) is a confectionery speciality:
it’s a kind of small cake, generally with a rounded look, which presents
a surface with white spots (empty in their interior)
similar to a mushroom cap. For this reason this product has been
called “funghetto” which dirves mad children and adults for its nice
look and, above all, for its delicious flavour.
So
much excellence derives chiefly for a secret ingredient which copyright is
manteined with great care by the inhabitants.
It is a black substance of tough consistency with a sweet taste in which
are soaked those parts similar to a mushroom cap.
The
compound is based on a mixture of flour, water, sugar, egg whites and some
aniseeds. The cake is prepared forming with a dough some small balls
which, after being dried, are arranged on
metal moulds of different shapes and put in the oven. With the high
temperature the egg white coagulates, the sugar becomes a caramel colour
and dissolves itself in the space included among the balls that, in this
way, empty themselves completely.
The
result is a bakery product which maintains unchanged for a long time its
characteristics thanks to the high conservability of the ingredients.
In fact it lasts for many weeks and its unique taste remains intact and
delicious.
But
the “funghetto” of Offida isn’t just a simple cake or a
luxury sweets. Its history is long and glorious; it has accomplished an
important function thanks to the characteristic of long lastingness of its
energy. The inhabitants of Offida have exploited this property in periods
of famine, war, siege or journey. It’s sufficient to soften it and heat
it up in the oven or flames: the “funghetto gives back all its
properties and the unmistakable taste.
The
origin and the starting period of its production is unknown: only a local
historian, Carlo Arduini, in the book “historical memories of Offida”
published in 1844, mentions the lace industry and
the pasta productions using
for them the term “funghetti”. At present these cakes with mushroom
shape are commercialised in every shop in the village. The “funghetto”
of Offida in also included on the list together with 90 marchigian
products considered as the Italian tradition that must be preserved. This
is a guarantee which permits us to taste this cake even in the future and
a form of protection against any possible imitation.
© 2001 Liberation Ventures Ltd.
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