The Milano Files
The Milano Files champions the food, wine, beverage, and lifestyle culture of Milan - home to Italy's most electric food scene. Host Jaclyn DeGiorgio, who considers herself Milan's cheerleader-in-chief, is a food tour guide as well as a food, wine, and travel writer who's lived in the Lombard capital for over a decade. The fiercest champion for her adopted city and its surroundings you'll ever meet, Jaclyn celebrates Milan's, and most of Northern Italy's, overlooked, though no less noteworthy allure--especially on the food front.
The Milano Files
Rerelease - For the love of panettone with Nicola Olivieri
In honor of the Christmas season, Milan-based food writer and food tour guide Jaclyn DeGiorgio has decided to rerelease her panettone-themed episode from two years ago (season 1, episode 2), which includes an interview with Nicola Olivieri of Olivieri 1882. Show notes below.
If you’ve sworn off panettone because you think it’s dry, bland, cottony, and uninspired, then you haven’t tasted good panettone, true panettone–you most likely have only had the preservative-packed industrial versions. Indeed, these sub-par iterations give Milan’s emblematic leavened treat a bad rap abroad, but good panettone has the power to convert even the most seemingly unwavering haters. In honor of Christmas, host Jaclyn DeGiorgio pays homage to the beloved and misunderstood sweet bread. Nicola Olivieri, one of Italy’s finest bakers, weighs in.
Sources for the episode/items mentioned:
- Jaclyn’s blog post about artisan panettone in Milan.
- Nicola Olivieri of Olivieri 1882
- The Consorzio of Panettone's page about its origin legends and history
- Il panettone. Storia, leggende, segreti e fortune di un protagonista del Natale by Stanislao Porzio, published in 2007 --This is the book to read if you want to know more about panettone. I’ve learned tons from it over the years, and he even dives further into the origin tales.
- Cucina Milanese Contemporanea by Cesare Battisti and Gabriele Zanatta, published in 2020
- La Cucina Milanese by Fabiano Guatteri, published in 2004
Panettone competitions and events
- Panettone Day https://www.panettone-day.it/
- Re panettone https://repanettone.it/
- Panettone world championship https://www.panettoneworldchampionship.com/
- Panettone World Cup https://www.corman.pro/int/en/chefs/blog/the-panettone-world-cup-2022/
Where to find Olivieri 1882 panettone in the US:
Other:
- Motta and Alemagna are the two historic producers
- Giadia De Laurentiis recipe for panettone sformato
- Chef Lorenzo Cogo bio
- A look at cinepanettone
If you're visiting Milan and would like to book a food tour with Jaclyn when you're in town, send her an email: jaclyndegiorgiofoodtours@gmail.com
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