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Amaretti morbidi di Voltaggio – The sweetest peaks of the Ligurian Apennines

Voltaggio, province of Alessandria. We are in Piedmont, but only according to today’s administrative criteria. In reality, here it is still Liguria, or rather Genovesato, that strip of land that is historically linked to Genoa and that rises from the sea to plunge over the Apennines towards the plains. For example, Voltaggio itself became part of the Republic of Genoa in the 12th century and only in 1859 did it pass to the province of Alessandria, thus becoming Piedmont. Even on a gastronomic level, this territory is a fluid area that is influenced by the two neighbouring regions; traditions, recipes and foods – Ligurian and Piedmontese – are reinterpreted according to local tastes.

But the history of the amaretti morbidi di Voltaggio (soft macaroon) starts even further north – well beyond Alessandria, Turin or Piedmont. It is 1899 and an acquaintance of Luigia Cavo, the town baker, brings her a present from France: a pastry made with almond paste. Luigia likes this pastry so much that she decides to invent her own version: she makes a first attempt based on the memory of the tasting and only after a few attempts can she finally be satisfied with her recipe.

Amaretti morbidi di Voltaggio prodotti dal Panificio Carrosio
Amaretti are a typical Italian pastry speciality and there are many local versions (those from Sassello or Saronno, to name but a few). One of the elements these sweets have in common is the use of almonds, although variants with hazelnuts, such as the nocciolini di Chivasso, also belong to this group.

Let us come to the present day. More than a century has now passed since that day in 1899 when Luigia Cavo fell in love with those pastries brought as a gift from France, and her amaretti continue to be made in the bakery in Voltaggio: at the Carrosio bakery, her great-grandchildren – Luca and Giovanna – keep alive the tradition of soft amaretti by preparing them just as their aunt did. But what makes these amaretti so special compared to all the others?

The shape, which makes them resemble little mountains, is so characteristic that it is difficult to confuse them, although paradoxically there will never be a Voltaggio soft amaretti that is the same as another because they are all formed by hand. This aspect is not an artistic quirk or an aesthetic choice but is due to a delicate stage during the preparation of the amaretti, when the dough is portioned onto the baking tray before baking: after they have been placed on the tray, the balls of dough are pinched with three fingers and in this way they will be baked evenly.

The choice of raw material is also important! Among the ingredients, the one that most defines the taste of the amaretto is the sweet almond, which Panificio Carrosio gets directly from Apulia: these sweet Apulian almonds are then chopped together with a part of bitter almonds and finally mixed by hand with egg white and icing sugar. The almonds must always be checked because if they are too fresh, there is a risk that, as soon as they are taken out of the oven, the amaretti will sag.

A few ingredients, a lot of responsibility: if the raw material is not excellent, you can immediately feel it. This is why for the production of Voltaggio’s soft amaretti we do not use armellinas, which are present in many of the amaretti recipes from other areas, because the Carrosio Bakery believes that while providing the characteristic ‘amaretto-like’ flavour, armellinas are of lower quality than bitter almonds. Armellinas, in fact, are not almonds but are the seeds found inside the kernel of apricots and peaches.

But in the end, how are these amaretti, good?! Of course they are! Unwrapping them, one is immediately overwhelmed by the scent of the almonds, and then at the first bite one discovers the fantastic contrast between the softness of the inside and the crunchiness of the outside: the surface, enriched by a light golden colour and the snowy white of the icing sugar, is wrinkled and uneven (due to the typical ‘pinching’ before baking).
 
Compared to amaretti produced in other parts of Italy, the soft ones from Voltaggio are just the right amount of sweet, not too delicate but not too sweet. In addition to the sugary sweetness that is well perceived on the palate, the fragrance of the Italian almonds stands out. 
 
Voltaggio soft amaretti can be served as a snack pastry to accompany tea and herbal teas or at the end of a meal to accompany coffee, but also paired with passito wines, Moscato, Marsala and dessert wines. Unwrapping a soft Voltaggio amaretto is the perfect after-dinner treat (and even if it ends up being two or three, we won’t tell anyone). 
 
In the unlikely event that the amaretti you had at home have exceeded the recommended date of consumption – which is about a month – and have therefore become a little dry, the advice is to refresh them by soaking them with a few drops of rum… and then try them with chocolate!
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