Countdown to Christmas has officially begun and this year just like every other one, in addition to the rushing for the perfect gifts, one of the most important missions is the choice of a high quality panettone, which according to tradition is the protagonist at the table. The variety of choice is certainly not lacking, but for this reason, it has become essential to know how to recognize a high-quality panettone according to objective parameters, which allow you to be wary of bad imitations. Here is a step by step guide…
Photo credit: Wikipedia
How to Spot a High Quality Panettone?
1 – Scent: an intense and harmonious scent tells a lot about the choice of ingredients. In detail, the elements that participate in giving more than others a beautiful fragrance to the panettone are butter, vanilla beans and candied orange.
2 – Color: the intense and golden yellow color is an immediate synonym of goodness and quality ingredients, in particular of egg yolks from free-range hens and excellent butter, as well as the right balance of the two elements inside the dough.
3 – Consistency: a good panettone obviously must be soft – if once cut it returns to its original shape, it means that it has followed a correct leavening and all the preparation steps according to tradition.
4- Shape: aesthetics play an important role in making an initial assessment. A good panettone must come out of the cup and form a completely rounded dome – if it is flat it means that there was a cooking or leavening problem.
5- Alveolation: that is the cavities produced by the natural leavening of the panettone, which can be observed once cut. The cavity must be elongated and rather homogeneous – holes that are too large compared to the others are synonymous with leavening defects.
6 – Size of the ingredients: the larger the raisins and candied fruit, the more intense the flavors will be. The size is synonymous with the craftsmanship of the raw material, for example the candied orange peel should ideally be about 10 mm.
7- Quality of the ingredients: we left as the last but of course the quality of the ingrentiens is the first point… that’s why you can find products with very different price. So take a look at the box but the final evaluation will be given in the tasting phase! 🙂
Taste Italian Panettone: Buy Now!
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Maina Christmas Panettone
€14.90 -
Casa Rinaldi Classic Panettone – 750 gr
€22.00 -
Columbus Panettone without candied fruit – 1Kg
€18.90 -
Columbus Classic Panettone – 1 KG
€19.50 -
Classic Panettone Loison
€29.90 -
Original Classic Panettone – 700 gr
€14.90 -
Panettone Tre Marie – without candies
€26.90 -
Old Tradition Panettone – Tre Marie
€26.90 -
Without Candies Panettone
€29.90 -
Panettone – Classic “low” Tre Marie
€26.90 -
Maina Christmas Pandoro
€16.90 -
Classic Gluten Free Panettone – 600g
€12.90