Panettone triumphs from Canada to Qatar
The Sigep Observatory dedicated to Christmas 2021 puts the spotlight on panettone: the undisputed king of Italian laid tables is increasingly requested by international ones. The Observatory, for twenty years an emanation of SIGEP – The Dolce World Expo of Italian Exhibition Group (from 22 to 26 January at the Rimini fair), has collected product trends from some of the great pastry and ice cream makers in the country, the artisan panettone in fact, which in Italy in 2020 covered 52% of the Christmas sweets market for a value of 109 million euros. «Recipe that has conquered the world. From the local Lombard culture, the panettone has managed to migrate to all regions of Italy to the rest of the globe, spreading the quality of our craftsmanship. Raisins and candied fruit decorate the Milan panettone and make the scent of each slice unique and recognizable all over the world », says the great pastry chef Iginio Massari. For the former pastry world champion Luigi Biasetto, «Panettone with pistachio dough or with caramel and gianduia are the flagship products of this Christmas. In times of relative uncertainty like these, sugar gives comfort and if the volumes reach 150 percent last year it is a sign that there is a demand for conviviality and sharing. ” Salvatore De Riso, president of the Italian Master Pastry Chef Academy, produces 16 different types of panettone: «We ship them everywhere, up to China and Canada. The “chocolaty”, with dark chocolate in the mixture and candied apricots with vanilla, is the novelty for 2021 that we have customized and made to taste the Emir of Qatar Al Thani, our customer for four years ». «The world has fallen in love with panettone – explains Roberto Perotti, master baker from Brescia, president of the Richemont Club Italia building and, from this year, of the Richemont Internazionale – because it is rich and with a complex process that starts from the mother yeast. The version with four chocolates, dark, milk, white, which is visually lost in the dough but can be felt on the nose and ruby, will be the surprise of this Christmas. A success also driven by online sales channels ». Claudio Gatti, president of the Master Yeast and Panettone Masters Academy, tells the Sigep Natale Observatory: «This dessert is seeing a strong increase in demand compared to previous years, even from abroad. In Europe, especially in France and Switzerland, but also on the Asian market: China, Hong Kong, Singapore. A tendency to purchase quality from small Italian artisans “. For Eugenio Morrone, world ice cream champion at Sigep 2020, it is time for abundant raw materials: «To fill the panettone, I recommend pistachio ice cream or the blend of Venezuelan and Malagasy chocolate with rum. Or the “wrong” zabaglione, made with passito instead of Marsala ». In the Rimini laboratory of Roberto Rinaldini, pastry chef of the Academy of Italian Pastry Masters, an idea for a “literary” Christmas: “We have created a panettone dedicated to Dante, in honor of the 700th anniversary of the death of the Supreme Poet, stuffed with creamy vegan with pistachio, wild strawberries and semi-candied cherries, covered with cremino glaze and pistachio grains ». The first Pastry Queen in history, Sonia Balacchi, offers tasty but healthy desserts. «This year’s panettone is made from wholemeal flour and perfumed with a mix of citrus fruits. It is possible to customize the dessert with different types of ice cream fillings and with a selection of cremino glazes, available in my new showroom just opened in Riccione ». Artisan pastry and ice cream, sectors aggregated under the same ATECO code, in 2020 saw 17,514 businesses with 65,000 employees; equal to one fifth (20.2%) of the 86 thousand food craft businesses and 1.3% of the national craft industry. Pure ice cream parlors, aggregated to the serving outlets, on the other hand, in 2019 saw 39 thousand points of sale active for a value of over 4 billion euros (sources: Confartigianato Alimentare, Fipe).
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