I realize this isn’t a beauty post and probably belongs on a food blog more than on what passes for a beauty blog. But I just had to share one of my favourite indulgences every year, at about this time, when the fairy lights and faux Christmas trees are going up in malls everywhere.
Panettone.
An Italian sweet fruit bread loaf, this is the Italian equivalent of a Christmas Fruit Cake. It comes out around Christmas time, and is somewhere between bread and brioche and is absolutely delicious! Panettone brings back a lot of nice memories for me because the first time I had it was on my first trip to Italy!
I was student and for Christmas holidays, some friends and I went off to Italy. We ended up spending Christmas in Rome and we stayed at a little pensione just opposite an alimentari – a grocery store – where they had boxes and boxes of these Panettone in their window. It was quite pricey, as I recall but I’d see local Italians buying them up and as an impoverished student, it wasn’t easy to spend that sort of money on what was a fruit bread!
However, on Christmas Eve, we came back to our pensione room to find the lovely owner had deposited huge boxes of Pannetone on our beds as a Christmas gift! That was so sweet of them!
As a sort of personal tradition, I pick up a box of Panettone every year. They come in different sizes – popular sizes are huge 1kg ones but they also come in smaller 100g sizes which is just about the size of a muffin. There are many different brands too.
Locally, they are pricey as they are imported in from Italy (those taste better than local bakery attempts). A small 100g Panettone retails for about RM10 on average. Big 1kg ones are about RM30-40 on average. But they are delicious on their own, or lightly toasted, and go very well with coffee in the mornings. The sweetness is tempered by the bitter brew and this is part of the reason I look forward to Christmas each year – it starts for me with the first sighting of Panettone! 😀
I just picked up my first this year yesterday – noms! 😀
Do you enjoy eating Panettone too? Or perhaps you have always wondered what it is in those trapezoid boxes but never tried them? I realize its early, but there are no other festivals leading up the Christmas for us here, so I guess we start early! 😀
Paris B
p/s I realize this is all very random but I’m a bit uninspired by cosmetics or fashion lately. What does inspire me always, is food so you may expect to see some food related posts pop up from time to time in the future on weekends 😉
LeGeeque says
November 20, 2011 at 8:40 amAlways good to have a little bit of variety in your posts. Which is why mine is a mishmash of things 🙂 A very early Merry Christmas, PB 🙂
Paris B says
November 21, 2011 at 9:17 amYay for early Christmas! It means I get to enjoy more of these 😉 yeah I guess it’s never a good thing when I get bored eh? So will everyone else! 😀
Tracy@Beauty Reflections says
November 20, 2011 at 8:43 amI love this stuff!! So good.
I’d love to see food posts as I’m uninspired by food lately myself. I get like that sometimes. Bored with food.
Paris B says
November 21, 2011 at 9:18 amThanks Tracy and these are delish aren’t they? I rarely get uninspired by food lol! My first love probably but terrible for the waistline 😛
Sukie says
November 20, 2011 at 9:06 amHello Paris!
I love Panettone too, upon discovering them during my trip to Switzerland during Christmas last year! We were at a supermarket when many people (mostly families, I noticed) grabbed boxes of this lovely cake/bread so we decided to get one ourselves and oh my, it sure is yummy! I’m looking forward to buying another one this year and I am excited to see this in Malaysia! =)
Paris B says
November 21, 2011 at 9:20 amHi Sukie! How have you been? I didn’t realize it was also available in Switzerland but that’s great that you managed to get a taste of it… And that you like it too! We have had it here for a few years and it usually comes in about now. I do find the ones here a little dry but it’s to be expected since they do have to fly in all the way from Italy 🙂
Sukie says
November 21, 2011 at 9:45 amHello! I have to say I pretty much went through hell and back but I’m hoping to settle down now *crosses fingers*. Funny how these things seem to be available all over the world! =)
Isabel says
November 20, 2011 at 9:12 amAnything related to travel and food is always good! 🙂
Have not tried panettone but have always wanted to so I might get one this year. We have stollen as well. So plus the sangria ;O) we’re going rather international for Christmas this year LOL!
p/s: I already feel fat thinking of all that rich food!
Paris B says
November 21, 2011 at 10:44 amHaha did the sangria attempt go well? I haven’t tried stollen myself! I keep meaning to and then the season slips past. I better not let it slip past again this year!
xin says
November 20, 2011 at 9:20 amI got a box of it too last year when I went over to friends house for xmas party, so sweet of them to have prepared one for us each 😀
Paris B says
November 21, 2011 at 10:45 amWah so nice of your friends! They’re pricey here too but its delicious right?
Stephanie/Yukaeshi says
November 20, 2011 at 1:41 pmOh where did you get this? 😛 I’m tempted to try it out, having grown up in Labuan we don’t get these Christmas festivities often (If at all), so Christmas is a relatively “new” tradition for the past 5 years I’ve been in West Malaysia (I miss out on quite a lot of the standard Christmas-sy stuff) 🙂
Paris B says
November 20, 2011 at 9:55 pmYou can get it at most supermarkets. I’m not sure about the hypermarkets but you can definitely get them at Cold Storage where I got mine, or Village Grocer or the more upmarket supermarkets.
Stephanie/Yukaeshi says
November 20, 2011 at 10:56 pmThanks! 🙂 Will try out the Village Grocer in Giza first 😀 I love fruit cake! Hopefully this will be yummier 😛
Jamilla says
November 20, 2011 at 3:55 pmPannetone, and Biscotti!!
Paris B says
November 21, 2011 at 10:49 amPerfect combination for tea!
AT says
November 20, 2011 at 4:28 pmI don’t like panettone myself as i find it dry, but what i absolutely *love* is your account of it. There’re certain things we do that will bring back fond memories (of happy times, of overcoming trying times etc) in our lives and by replaying (songs, buying certain things or making it a ‘tradition’ etc), we keep these memories alive.
Paris B says
November 21, 2011 at 10:50 amYes indeed! Some things just stick in your mind forever 🙂 Do you have a similar sort of memory?
xiao says
November 20, 2011 at 5:45 pmI need to get a box when I get home! Where do you get yours? 🙂
Paris B says
November 20, 2011 at 9:54 pmYou can get it at most supermarkets like Cold Storage, Village Grocer… The more upmarket ones that do imported stuff 😉
peach_ says
November 20, 2011 at 9:06 pmLove the story behind your Panettone Christmas tradition. I *never* mind reading and discussing food! 😀
Paris B says
November 21, 2011 at 10:51 amHeehee awesome! So glad to find foodies in our midst 😉 I’ll have random sort of pictures and posts to come then 😀
Saphy says
November 20, 2011 at 9:07 pmWhere do you get this bread from o.o? Have never seen it around anywhere @_@”
Paris B says
November 21, 2011 at 10:52 amYou can find them in most supermarkets. Look in the imported section. Cold Storage will definitely have it 🙂
AnT says
November 21, 2011 at 10:12 amOooo Yummyyyyy 🙂
Thanks for posting some Christmas yummy here 😀
Have you tried the chocolate one? Perugina Baci il Dolce Panettone Cake? That’s my favourite 😀 Nom nom nom 😀
Paris B says
November 23, 2011 at 9:59 amI’ve seen it but never tried it! I think I will the next time I go to the supermarket. Sounds yums!
Reena says
November 21, 2011 at 10:40 pmI definitely love it when christmas season comes! I just enjoy everything that comes with it… and the panettone looks delish! 🙂 advance happy xmas!!! 🙂
Paris B says
November 23, 2011 at 10:35 amYay! Christmas is such a pretty season and I guess it helps that it’s at the end of the year so we all start winding down 😀
Bugsy says
December 14, 2011 at 1:05 pmi got mine the other day after reading your post… removed the red box immediately after i reached home to hide the “this bread is expensive” look. Then fed my hubby some without telling him how much it costs, guess what ?? He liked it n said “hou seik”…. YAY !! now i can feel free to get more… ( but still need to remove the box 1st ) haha !
Paris B says
December 14, 2011 at 5:09 pmLOL!! I loved this story Bugsy! 😀 I’m glad you and your husband enjoyed the Panettone… even if you have to sneak around a bit 😉
Claire says
November 10, 2012 at 9:05 amWhen there is something about cakes (ok, food in general :P) or cute animals, I don’t care if it is makeup or not 😀 I don’t like panettone that much but my lovely ones eat it all the time now, lol.