The cannolo revolution from Arabia to Sicily

The Sicilian cannoli is a classic specialty of Italian pastry, and consists of a fried wafer filled with sheep’s milk ricotta, now famous all over the world.
Of ancient origins dating back to the Arab domination in Sicily, it was prepared to celebrate the carnival, but over time it has become a sweet of annual use and production.

According to tradition, the name “cannolo” derives from the fact that during the preparation, the wafer was rolled around the river reeds which, better than any other material, resisted to high temperatures during frying.
Another hypothesis wants the origin of the name to be associated with a joke that was made during the Carnival period; according to the tradition that has come down to the present day, the joke consisted in letting a drinking trough (the n.d.r. tap), the cream of ricotta instead of water, come out of the cannoli.

If we look even further back and look for the origin of this delicious cake, we find something in some of Cicero’s writings, but the official version is supposed to have been invented by the cloistered nuns of the Caltanisetta convent.

The Arab origins of the cannolo

The Arab origin of the cannolo is undeniable, and obviously the strategic geographic position of Sicily between the western and the Arab cultures was of fundamental importance.

The “Arab” version of the legend narrates that to create this delicacy were the women of the harem Kalt El Nissa which means “Castle of the women”, home to numerous harem of Saracen emirs.

These women, to deceive the time, during the absence of their husbands, dedicated themselves to the preparation of dishes and especially desserts.
And just during the various culinary experiments, the cannolo was created: an imitation of an Arab dessert similar to a banana, filled with ricotta almonds and honey. Moreover it seems that behind all this there is also an allusion to the sultan’s physical qualities!

With the end of Arab dominion in Sicily the harem emptied and the Muslim women who lived there converted to Christianity and retreated into the convents, bringing with them the old recipes and passing them on to their Christian sisters.

The lucky cannolo

Synonymous with fertility, the cannolo is able to drive away malice; the Sicilian tradition wants that the cannoli offered to relatives and friends must be 12 or multiples; in fact, the number 12 represents the months of the year and the lunar cycles, and to give them in this number means to wish prosperity and abundance.

Since we Neapolitans in fantasy and creations do not beat anyone, one of our last specialty created by our great pastry chef is the mega-cannoli Sicilian half a meter, with 120 cannoli mignon inside; in this way we have fully respected the tradition and we hope to have attracted so much prosperity and abundance for 2017!