Le "chiacchiere" di Carnevale

Anyone who has enjoyed the pleasures of a big, family-style Italian meal knows that, no matter how much you’ve eaten, no proper meal is complete without a little something sweet. The traditional meal for Carnevale—a day dedicated to rich foods and celebrations—is certainly no exception to the rule. The Italians love crafting beautiful and delightful desserts for holidays. In fact, many holidays have sweet treats that are specially-made only around the time of the holiday. This makes the dolci (desserts) of Carnevale and many other holidays a much-anticipated treat!

So are you wondering what special desserts you’ll find in Italy during Carnevale? Let’s take a look at a few traditional ones enjoyed during this time of year. The most common are different shapes and varieties of fritelle (fritters), but—in keeping with the spirit of Carnevale—there might just be a surprise in store for you!

Chiacchiere
The most popular Carnevale dessert—one that you will find throughout the Peninsula as well as in Sicily and Sardegna—are the thin, fried ribbons of sweet pastry dough topped with powdered sugar or honey. In much of southern Italy they are often called Chiacchiere, a fun Italian word meaning “chatter” or “chitchat,” but most Italian Americans will know them by their older name – guanti (pronounced by many as “e wands”). That’s not the only two names by which you’ll find these delightful treats, though! Few desserts in Italy can boast quite so many names as this one, and as you travel around the boot region-by-region you’ll often find this same dessert called by many different names. In Rome they’re called frappe, while in the Piemonte area you’ll hear Bugie (lies), and traveling down through the Abruzzo and Marche you’ll find them in the pasticceria (pastry shop) as cioffe and sfrappe respectively (and the list goes on and on)!

While the name changes, the dessert is essentially the same regardless of where you find it. Although Chiacchiere connoisseurs will notice subtle differences in the flavor from the north to the south, most often the different regional of family variations depend on what type of wine or liqueur is added to the batter. Sometimes it will be a few drops of the intense grappa, vino bianco (white wine) or regional specialties like Marsala in Sicily or Vin Santo in Tuscany. On the Sorrentine Peninsula in Campania, home to two special varieties of lemons, you might just find a drop of the locally made limoncello and lemon zest.

Castagnole
Another Carnevale favorite in southern Italy are the small spoonful-sized fried dough balls called Castagnole. The name comes from their small, round shape, which is reminiscent of a castanga, or chestnut, rather than for a chestnut flavor as you might expect. You’ll often find piles of these sweet treats dusted with powdered sugar appear on the table after the grand Carnevale meal, although they can (and are!) enjoyed anytime of the day!

Sanguinaccio
This dessert for Carnevale is not for the faint of heart. Sanguinaccio is a rich chocolate pudding flavored with cinnamon and, yes you guessed it, sangue (blood)! It was traditionally made in southern Italy, especially Campania, after the annual pig slaughter that happened in the cold winter days leading up to Carnevale – as we talked about last week here on The italyMONDO! Blog. Today it is rare to find the pudding made with pig’s blood. (But perhaps that isn’t such a bad thing after all?) The cinnamon pudding is often served with Chiacchiere – often considered an inseparable pair for many people!

These are just a few of the traditional desserts prepared each year for Carnevale. You’ll find many others as you travel through different regions of Italy during this time of year. Wherever you’ll be celebrating Carnevale this year, why not add an Italian touch by trying your own hand at making Chiacchiere. Here’s a helpful video with instructions for making Chiacchiere in the Neapolitan tradition.

After all, it’s not Carnevale without at least a little bit of extravagance!

Would you like to learn how to make chiachiere, castagnoli and sanguinaccio while visiting the village where were ancestors were born in Italy – and even meeting living relatives in the process? Contact us and find out how italyMONDO! can help create a vacation of a lifetime for you and your family!

Photo Courtesy of “DIGISEA” at Flickr