[Sca-cooks] Cassata

[Terry Decker]

Here are a couple of quotes on the subject of cassata.

Bear


"There are agreat number of Sicilian desserts that bear the Arab imprint, 
and several that bear Arab names; of which the most famous is the 'cassata 
siciliana.'  'Cassata' comes from the Arab word 'qas'ah'. a large 
steep-sided terracotta  bowl used to mold this amazing cake; made of 
marzipan, sponge cake, and sweetened ricotta."

Simeti, Mary Taylor, "Pomp and Sustenance: Twenty-five Centuries of Sicilian 
Food", 1989.


"For centuries, all of the 'cassate' of Sicily were made by nuns in their 
convents, and there are stories that those nuns worked so hard before Easter 
that some even forgot their regular devotions.  They were busy making the 
quintessential Sicilian dessert that combines tastes brought by the Arabs 
with the 'pan di spagna' that came with the Spanish.  Some think that the 
word 'cassata' comes from the Arab 'qas'at'. big deep bowl; others 
convincingly argue that it comes from the old Sicilian word 'caseata';  from 
the Latin 'caseus' for cheese.

Field, Carol, "The Italian Baker", 1985.