Panna cotta

Lore & Background

The name panna cotta is not found in Italian cookbooks before the 1960s, yet it is often cited as a traditional dessert of Piedmont. One unverified story claims it was invented by a Hungarian woman in the Langhe in the early 19th century. An 1879 dictionary mentions a dish called latte inglese ('English milk'), though the established canon holds that latte inglese is a custard sauce made with egg yolks, not gelatin. The dish may also derive from the French recipe of fromage bavarois by Marie-Antoine Carême, but Carême's bavarois typically includes egg yolks and is a custard-based dessert, not simply cream, sugar, and gelatin.

Reader's Guide

Panna cotta became fashionable in the United States in the 1990s, but its roots are deeply tied to Piedmontese cuisine. The Piedmont region included panna cotta in its 2001 list of traditional food products, with a recipe that includes cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, gelatin, rum, and marsala poured into a mold with caramel. Another author considers the traditional flavoring to be peach eau de vie and the traditional presentation to have no sauce or garnishes. The dessert is often served with a coulis of berries or a sauce of caramel or chocolate, and may be covered with other fruits or liqueurs. Though sometimes called a custard, true custard is thickened with egg yolks, not gelatin. A lighter version substitutes cream with Greek yogurt. Related dishes include Bavarian cream, which usually includes eggs and whipped cream, and blancmange, which may be thickened with gelatin or cornstarch.

Did You Know?

• The name panna cotta is not mentioned in Italian cookbooks before the 1960s.
• One unverified story says panna cotta was invented by a Hungarian woman in the Langhe in the early 19th century.
• An 1879 dictionary mentions a dish called latte inglese, but it is a custard sauce made with egg yolks, not gelatin.
• Panna cotta became fashionable in the United States in the 1990s.