Description

Ricciarelli are a typical Sienese dessert made with almonds, sugar, egg whites. Ricciarelli are prepared with a coarse-grained almond paste similar to marzipan, kneaded for a long time and enriched with candied orange peel and vanilla flavouring.

The mixture thus obtained is cut into small lozenges in the shape of a grain of rice which are placed on a wafer leaf. After baking in the oven, the rough and cracked surface is coated with icing sugar.

Born in the fourteenth century in the Tuscan courts, following ancient oriental origins.

Legend has it that it was the knight Ricciardetto Della Gherardesca who introduced these sweets that reminded him of the shoes with curled toes typical of Middle Eastern footwear (hence the name "ricciarelli") on his return from the Crusades, in his castle near Volterra.

In recent times, variants enriched with chocolate on the surface have been produced.

Currently they are mainly appreciated as a Christmas cake, but in Sien they are available all year round!. They are consumed with dessert wines, in particular with Moscadello di Montalcino Vendemmia Tardiva and with Tuscan Vin Santo.

It is the first confectionery product for Italy to have European protection. In March 2010, the Ricciarelli di Siena denomination was recognized as a protected geographical indication (PGI).