Watch Chef Stefano ranking and describing the best (and worst) Panettone available commercially in the United States. This is a must-watch before you shop for your Christmas morning breakfast table! You may not be able to get all the highest ranked Panettone’s that Chef Stefano discusses, but you’ll know what to look for when you shop this year.
And here’s a longer-form blog from Chef Stefano for those of you who still like to read your food reviews:
“Here we go…It’s Christmas and Papa is going to go nuts for the Panettone”. My older kids never understood my passion for panettone when they were young. Now everyone in the USA is going nuts for these traditional Italian desserts. “Desserts” (plural) because the panettone has evolved from just flour, sugar, butter, eggs and raising agents to a rainbow of flavors including caramelized eggplants, chocolate, saffron, fresh berries, Asian spices, truffles and even glass jar versions (vaso cottura).
It’s that time of year, so if you happen to be in Italy, I wanted to share my top three Artisan panettoni:
Tiri is still my overall favorite (and still best rated in Italy in 2018). It’s located in Basilicata.
Bompiani, right by my mother’s house and childhood home, has the best traditional panettone in Roma.
Pasticceria Grue, also in Roma, has the best chocolate panettone I’ve ever tasked.
But this year, we won’t be in Rome for Christmas and chances are you won’t either. Given most of us are relying on local food shops and national chains for this year’s panettone, I rambled around Seattle this week trying every panettone I could find, including at large retailers like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, PCC, QFC and Town & Country. And, of course, I ordered some treats from Amazon. I judged based on visuals, olfactory, authenticity, richness and complexity, elegance. lightness, balance of flavors, and overall taste and memorability.
We hope this helps you fill your Christmas breakfast table! Happy Holidays from Cordova Food Design!
P.S. If you need to order your panettone online, we stand by Fiasconaro and Tre Marie (the latter is also available and delicioso in chocolate).
