The Eurovision Song Contest is back in 2022, held in Turin, Italy! Tune into the Australian exclusive primetime broadcast on SBS and SBS On Demand on 13, 14 and 15 May. For all the details visit , and join the conversation using #SBSEurovision
Pasta, pizza, gelato – you name it. Italy is one indulgent gastronomic nation. Each region has its own delicacies, and Piedmont, in the country's northwest, is no exception.
Turin, the capital of Piedmont, is so much more than the host city of this year's much-anticipated . It's also the home of culinary heroes.
Grissini
Let's start with an entrée, shall we? Grissini, meaning thin, crispy Italian breadsticks, has been eaten in Italy for centuries.
Some speculate that the popular appetisers' origins date back to the 1300s. But it's often associated with the Duke of Savoy, Vittorio Amedeo II, several centuries ago, according to travel guide . Because the duke had digestive problems, a local baker named Antonio Brunero from Turin was tasked to create something he could easily consume. Brunero supposedly gave ghersa, a traditional Turin bread, a twist by rolling the dough into thin, long strips and baking it until the bread was dry and hard. It was deemed a success and Italians have feasted on grissini ever since.
These days, there are countless variations of the snack. Some contain extra flavours, such as sesame seeds, olives, rosemary and sea salt, to name a few.
Traditional Italian bread.
GRISSINI RECIPES
Fennel grissini sticks
Chocolate
OK, so chocolate wasn't invented in Turin, yet the city is famously known as Italy's . That's because it's the epicentre of Italy's chocolate production.
The dates back hundreds of years to pre-modern South America. However, Italy's love affair with chocolate started in . The then Duke of Savoy, Emanuele Filiberto, presented the city with a cup of hot chocolate to celebrate the capital's move from Chambéry to Turin. Fast forward to the 1700s and bicerin – a small glass of coffee mixed with milk cream and cacao – was invented. Locals experimented further and realised they could turn the liquid treat into solid bars.
Soon, chocolate came in all shapes and sizes, such as pralines and bonbons. But it wasn't until 1865 that the first individually wrapped chocolate in history was created, the , and it happened in Turin. At the time, Piedmont's government had capped importing cocoa. To make a limited supply of chocolate stretch, chocolatier Paul Caffarel fused it with hazelnuts.
Who wants some chocolate? Source: The Chocolate Queen
Nutella
When it comes to spreads, Vegemite may be popular in Australia, but it's an Italian spread that woos tastebuds worldwide: .
Nutella was created after World War II when chocolate was a rare commodity. In 1946, Turinese pastry shop owner, , sought to create an affordable alternative to chocolate.
TRY THIS RECIPE
Chocolate hazelnut spread
The result was , a spread made of a small amount of cocoa and sugar mixed with hazelnut. It was shaped like a loaf that you could slice and butter onto bread. It then became SuperCrema, which was easier to spread.
In 1964 it evolved into Nutella and was put in the iconic glass jar, and the world has been going nuts for the brown, velvety spread ever since.
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ITALIAN FOOD
Italian bread pudding (pinza di pane)
