[Sca-cooks] Panforte was ( Re: Food gifts)

[Decker, Terry D.]

Pan-for'-tay is about right.  Someone with a better grasp of Italian might
give you a more correct pronunciation.

The name essentially means "strong bread," most likely from the use of
pepper as one of the spices.  The earliest references are from 13th Century
monastery accounts where the bread was part of the rents and fees taken in
by the monastery.  I've found no period recipes for panforte, but I suspect
it may have been similar to period gingerbread.

Bear

> Speaking of holiday gifts, last year I made the most awesome panforte
> from a recipe I found on the internet.  I took it to a couple of
> gatherings, and people raved about it.  Only problem is, I still can't
> figure out how to pronounce it correctly!  Any sugggestions?  :)
> Pan-fort sounded pretty silly.  Pan'-for-tay' sounded like
> something out
> of Blazing Saddles.  Pan-for'-tay sounded most likely right.
>
> -Magdalena vander Brugghe