Glossary
C
cartellate A traditional Christmas sweet from Apulia, prepared both at home and in bakeriers. Cartellate is a yeasted dough flavored with olive oil and wine, shaped like a flower, and fried in hot olive oil. Once patted dry, cartellate are dipped into a hot syrup (usually grape must, sometimes honey) and cooked until they float to the surface. They are then dusted with cinnamon and confectioner's sugar and served at room temperature.
cassata all'abruzzese This spectacular cake was born in Sicily, where it took its name from a deep, rounded bowl called quasat in Arabic. Abruzzo's cassata consists of four layers of sponge cake imbibed with centerbe, each spread with nougat, croquant, or chocolate pastry cream, and it is a specialty of the town of Sulmona.
casoeûla Traditional Milanese dish for the cold fall and winter months, made of Savoy cabbage and pork. Usually accompanied by steaming polenta.
cassola For this old Roman Jewish desset, fresh ricotta is beaten with sugar and eggs, then cooked like a pancake in a hot pan with a little olive oil until golden on both sides. When done, cassola is firm and brown on the outside, soft and creamy on the inside. Some elaborate variations include cinnamon, cognac, or grated lemon zest.
castagnaccio Classic Tuscan winter cake, deriving its name from castagna or "chestnut" since the cake is made from chestnut flour, sugar, olive oil, and spices.
cavatelli Made with semolina flour, water, and salt, the pasta is cut into 1" pieces, the center is flattened so that the borders curl upon themselves, forming a characteristic oval shell shape. Cavatelli are one of the most popular pastas in southern Italy and are served with meat, fish or vegetable-based sauces.
cavour, alla Sliced meat served over fried or baked slices of polenta, at times also accompanied by chicken liver purée or grilled mushrooms.
cedro A very large fruit that resembles a big lemon found only in the southern part of Italy. The harvest is between October and December, but the fruit, prized for its aromatic peel and essential oils, is used year round. After candying, the peel is used in a variety of desserts.
celeria Also called sedano rapa (celery root) or sedano di Verona (Verona celery), this root's flesh is tender and aromatic, with flavors reminiscent of celery stalks, parsnip and parsley. It's popular in autumn dishes from Northern Italy, especially in the Piedmont and Verona areas.
centerbe A strong digestive from Abruzzo made from infusing a variety of medicinal herbs in alcohol for at least one month.
chitarra Literally "guitar"; a wire apparatus for cutting sheets of fresh pasta in order to form square-shaped maccheroni or spaghetti.
ciambella This word can refer to any ring-shaped cake, big or small, including donuts. Ciambelle vary widely in their ingredients, but always contain flour, eggs and a leavening agent. Two classic ciambelle are torcolo, a braided cake from Umbria with raisins and candied fruit, and buccellato, a Tuscan cake with anise and raisins.
ciambotta vegetable stew made with potato, tomato, eggplant, onion, and peppers
cibreo A Tuscan stew of chicken giblets, very popular in nineteenth century cooking. According to Pellegrino Artusi's 1891 recipe, the giblets are stewed in broth with butter, salt and pepper, then topped witha sauce of egg yolk cooked with lemon juice, flour and broth.
confetti (1) Sugar-coated, or Jordan, almonds, traditionally presented to guests at weddings; (2) Anything that looks something like confetti (i.e., small and multicolored-for example, small chopped-up vegetables used as a garnish).
cornetto Croissant, roll; a crescent-shaped bread likened to the croissant, but with dough different from that used in the French-style flaky pastry.
cotechino A sausage which was first produced in Emilia and later in Veneto as well. Made from pork and lard, it was originally wrapped in pigskin. A favorite of Rossini and very popular in Rome, cotechino is most often served on lentils.
cotognata An ancient sweet made from purée of quince cooked in sugared water until it obtains a rosy color. Left out to dry for two day, it is then cut into shapes, cubes or lozenges, rolled in crystallized sugar, and stored in glass jars.
crescenza A mild, fresh cow's milk cheese from Lombardy. Crescenza has a delectable, creamy taste and texture and is very spreadable. Crescenza must be consumed immediately as it will quickly turn sour.
crespelle The Italian version of crêpes, crespelle are made with eggs, milk, flour, and a touch of olive oil (some prefer butter). The ingredients are cooked into nearly transparent disks on an ungreased griddle. Crespelle can also be sweet if sugar is added to the batter.
crostini When bread is sliced into rounds or squares, toasted or grilled, and topped with various spreads and ingredients, it becomes crostini. These flavorful appetizers can feature all kinds of raw or cooked vegetables, cheeses, cured, meats, and seafood. Crostini can be served cold or warm, served with drinks or as a finger food before a meal.
crudo Raw, rare; for salami and fish, the term often means "cured."
culatello A very expensive and rare cured meat, culatello is a product of Parma. Generally formed into an oval, and weighing as much as seven pounds, culatello is made using a posterior muscle of a pig's haunch (the same haunch that is used for prosciutto). Culatello is made from very lean meat and required, during its very long aging, a humid climate - just the opposite of prosciutto, which has much more fat and needs to mature in a very dry atmosphere.
** Glossary created with the help of "Dictionary of Italian Cuisine", written by Maureen B. Fant and Howard M. Isaacs. (The Ecco Press: New Jersey, 1998).
