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Cooking Class: Cantucci, Traditional Biscotti from Tuscany with Gina Tringali

Cooking Class: Cantucci, Traditional Biscotti from Tuscany with Gina Tringali


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Can't make this time? A video recording will be sent to all participants after the seminar.

During the Roman Empire, biscotti - from the Latin ‘bis’ ‘coctum’ meaning ‘twice baked’ - were made and consumed by the Roman Legions during long marches. Their long shelf life and sustenance were key. At the collapse of the empire, the almond-flavored dessert disappeared until the Renaissance when cantucci re-emerge in Prato, Tuscany.
Today the classic almond studded cantucci are on the menu. In Tuscany, at the end of most meals chances are that you’ll be offered a small plate of cantucci served with vin santo wine. In today’s lesson, we’ll learn about the origins of cantucci and how flavors quickly changed and expanded incorporating anisette, amaretto and other spices and nuts into the dough.
In this hands-on cooking lesson, we will learn how to prepare cantucci. Led by food historian, sommelier, and home cook Gina Tringali, this interactive lesson will have you making cantucci like an expert. Designed to deliver a taste of Tuscany, participants will come away with an understanding of how to make this beloved biscotto and learn about different options to change and alter the traditional base recipe.
We're not giving away our secret recipe* just yet, but here are the items that you will need for the cooking class:
  • Flour
  • Sugar
  • Baking powder
  • Eggs
  • Vanilla extract
  • Whole unpeeled almonds
  • Medium-sized mixing bowl
  • Large-sized mixing bowl
  • Measuring spoons
  • Measuring cups
  • Spatula
  • Large mixing spoon
  • Handheld mixer or stand mixer or whisk/fork
  • Serrated knife or chef's knife for slicing
  • Baking/cookie sheets
  • Parchment paper
*Participants will be provided with a formal recipe, including measurements, prior to the class.

Gina is a food historian, coffee connoisseur and cook. Born into an Italian-American family, Gina spent countless hours in the kitchens of her mom and her Neapolitan and Sicilian grandmothers – watching, cooking, tasting – dreaming of living in Italy. In 2007 she relocated to Rome where she earned a Master's degree in Italian Gastronomic Culture from the Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata”, and became a certified sommelier and member of AIS. She also holds an MBA from NYU. Before relocating to Rome, she worked for Tom Colicchio's Craft family of restaurants in NYC in business development and marketing and she spent some time in the kitchen. Her writing appears on numerous food and travel publications.

This conversation is suitable for all ages.

90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.

Customer Reviews

Based on 11 reviews
82%
(9)
18%
(2)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
K
Karin (Cedar Park, US)
One More Time For Me

The class was so personal and fresh to enjoy, It just shows you that smaller venues are so much better to interact than the usual huge audience. Gina just showed us the ancient old technique of delicious Biscotti, and I sure will get right on it. Love to dump mine into coffee every morning and think I can do the baking again.

P
Peggy Brown (Apalachicola, US)
Italian cooking virtually is total fun!

If you want to learn to cook in Italy in your own kitchen, this is the way to do it! It's organized, fun and very interactive. The teacher is very adept at creating a relaxed learning environment in the virtual world. It was easy to forget that we were all on camera. Looking forward to others.

B
Bill (Woodbridge, US)
Biscotti, by Any Other Name (and there are a lot of them)

A great class, taught from Gina's kitchen in Rome!

Interesting all the variations of ingredients and when to eat and with what that evolved over the years with biscotti, even the name! Cooking is kind of like languages...never static.

Recipe and instructions were straightforward, easy to follow. Trick is cutting the slices so they end up intact. I followed Gina's grandmother's suggestion - browning each side of the slice. The slices harden up as they cool, but taste good in the end!

Next time, many variations to try - pine nuts with almonds, fennel & anise seeds with almonds, hazelnuts with chocolate pieces, orange zest with almonds, etc. Hard to go wrong!

S
Stefanie (Sacramento, US)
Gina's classes are great!

Gina's knowledge about the recipes, options and alternative, and the history is great. Her friendly demeanor is the best part. It's like cooking with a good friend!

D
Deb (Portland, US)
Wonderful class!

Gina did an excellent job of explaining the nuances and variations of making biscotti that I would not have known from just reading a recipe! Very responsive to questions. Highly recommended!

Customer Reviews

Based on 11 reviews
82%
(9)
18%
(2)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
K
Karin (Cedar Park, US)
One More Time For Me

The class was so personal and fresh to enjoy, It just shows you that smaller venues are so much better to interact than the usual huge audience. Gina just showed us the ancient old technique of delicious Biscotti, and I sure will get right on it. Love to dump mine into coffee every morning and think I can do the baking again.

P
Peggy Brown (Apalachicola, US)
Italian cooking virtually is total fun!

If you want to learn to cook in Italy in your own kitchen, this is the way to do it! It's organized, fun and very interactive. The teacher is very adept at creating a relaxed learning environment in the virtual world. It was easy to forget that we were all on camera. Looking forward to others.

B
Bill (Woodbridge, US)
Biscotti, by Any Other Name (and there are a lot of them)

A great class, taught from Gina's kitchen in Rome!

Interesting all the variations of ingredients and when to eat and with what that evolved over the years with biscotti, even the name! Cooking is kind of like languages...never static.

Recipe and instructions were straightforward, easy to follow. Trick is cutting the slices so they end up intact. I followed Gina's grandmother's suggestion - browning each side of the slice. The slices harden up as they cool, but taste good in the end!

Next time, many variations to try - pine nuts with almonds, fennel & anise seeds with almonds, hazelnuts with chocolate pieces, orange zest with almonds, etc. Hard to go wrong!

S
Stefanie (Sacramento, US)
Gina's classes are great!

Gina's knowledge about the recipes, options and alternative, and the history is great. Her friendly demeanor is the best part. It's like cooking with a good friend!

D
Deb (Portland, US)
Wonderful class!

Gina did an excellent job of explaining the nuances and variations of making biscotti that I would not have known from just reading a recipe! Very responsive to questions. Highly recommended!