The Use Of Honey In Italian Cuisine & Recipe Of Struffoli Honey Balls

The Use Of Honey In Italian Cuisine & Recipe Of Struffoli Honey Balls

The best quality honey comes from the excellence in the three-way collaboration between bees, beekeepers, and the environment. Honey was first introduced into the Italian culinary science by Romans. Today, honey is a prominent part of Italian cuisine, and you can even buy honey and jam online on authentic Italian food stores sourced from the heart of Italy.

The Evolution Of Honey In Italian Cuisine

Romans give a detailed description of honey was used in savoury dishes to make sauces that uplifted the taste of the common food. Honey was embraced with open hearts by Italians, and they used it fervently.

The use of pepper, garum of olive oil ranked above the use of honey in the cuisine. Honey was even used to dress all poultry from eggs, fish to even chicken meat. After the initial use of honey, as time progressed, so did its many culinary applications. They were used for cooking beans and stews, by the richly Lords as well as the peasants alike.

Today, honey is used in most Italian cuisine, but they take their prominence in being used in making desserts. However, in Southern Italy, honey is still used heavily in savoury foods as well. This primarily because Southern Italian cuisines were influenced heavily by Arab cooking. Arabs have a tendency to gravitate towards foods that are sweet and sour in their combination - honey and dates being the sweeter element.

Arabs influenced the use of honey in place of sugar in teas, even using it on loaves of bread, and elevating the ordinary bread as a result. It was also splattered all over any kind of barbecued ribs, making it oozy and juicy, combined with the flavour of spice and sweet at the same time. More plainly it was also used in making a drizzled dressing for salads. These are the couple of ways Arabs used honey, and it has also made its place in Italian cuisine in such away.

In ancient times, honey was considered a food of the gods. If you look at each bottle of honey, each one has a natural extraordinary aroma and flavour that comes from a different kind of floral source. Italian' honey tastes of Citrus and orange blossoms, chestnuts, sunflowers, eucalyptus, honeydew and dandelion. These are the prominent blossoms in the Italian regions.

Through this period, you can take the time to make a healthy treat for yourselves and your families, while on lockdown with this Italian Struffoli Honey Balls Recipe.

Struffoli Italian Honey Balls Recipe

Ingredients For Struffoli Dough

• Two and two-thirds cups of flour
• Three fourth teaspoon of baking powder
• Zest of an entire orange
• Pinch of salt
• Five and three fourths a tablespoon of melted butter
• Three eggs
• Three tablespoons of orange juice

Toppings For The Recipe

• Sprinkles of your choice
• Slivered almonds
• Ten and a half ounces of best organic honey

Directions To Make The Struffoli Italian Honey Balls

1. Take a large bowl and whisk together with the cups of flour, baking powder and salt.

2. As this combines, throw in the melted butter, orange zest, sugar and orange juice. Using a fork, mix this up until it's got a crumbly texture.

3. Now add in the eggs, one at a time and mix well to combine. As this gets thoroughly combined, place the mixture onto a lightly floured flat surface.

4. Add in an extra tablespoon of flour to help with the kneading process. Knead well to form a dough and let it rest for half an hour with a clean towel covering it entirely.

5. After the 30-minute mark, place the dough back on the same floured flat surface and roll into a thin rope-like the shape of a quarter-inch diameter.

6. Now cut them into small cubes and roll each of them into small balls. Try to make them the same size.

7. After this, in a medium-sized pot add about two to three inches worth of oil and heat it up to a temperature of 350 degrees F.

8. Add in the Struffoli balls, turning it a couple of times to evenly cook it and get a golden shade. Drain these balls on a paper towel, getting the excess oil off. Let the Struffoli balls cool down.

9. While the Struffoli balls are still cooling, in a large pan placed on a low flame, heat some honey until it gently warms and has a watery consistency.

10. Now, add in the Struffoli balls and coat them thoroughly with the honey. You may also add in the slivers of almonds and sprinkles at this moment and mix well.

11. Use these sticky honey Struffoli balls to make a shape of your preference. A dome-shaped pyramid is what most people go for. Stack them up as you please and enjoy the yumminess of this world-class Italian dessert - Struffoli Italian Honey Balls.

Enjoy these and let us know how the experience was!