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5 Italian Christmas Staples

Christmas is just a few days away and this big holiday usually comes with a lot of nostalgia and tradition. Every family has traditions to look forward to every year. Eating certain foods, spending days baking with loved ones, going to certain events… that’s the beauty of Christmastime! It evokes a certain joy and something to look forward to or count on each year.

Whether you are making new traditions or upholding life long ones– tradition is important to us! We know that many traditions revolve around food and we love to be a part of your family traditions. 

One of our main goals is to keep tradition alive and we do this by having all the foods you grew up enjoying on Christmas! Here are 5 Italian Christmas Staples

Panettone

Panettone is a sweet bread, often filled with raisins and candied oranges (also available in a variety of other flavors), that is enjoyed as a dessert. It is an Italian holiday tradition to give panettone as a gift to be shared.

Cartellate

Cartellate are a classic dessert. Thin, fried dough that is coated with either honey or vino cotto, a fig syrup! The dough is made with simple ingredients, including wine. They are very common in the Puglia region and are said to resemble the halo around the infant Jesus or the crown of thorns Jesus wore during his crucifixion. We have both varieties imported from Italy.

Making your own? Although simple ingredients, the process is tedious, but another beautiful tradition shared by many families. We sell vincotto in stores!

Torrone

Torrone is a nougat candy found on many Italian dessert tables. Available in individual boxes, it is made with honey, sugar, and egg whites with toasted almonds or candied fruit!

Panforte

Panforte is a chewy cake dessert often made with fruit or nuts. It hails from Siena and is a dense, flavorful cake!

Cookies

Christmas cookies are a staple all around the world, but the type of cookie you prefer is what makes the tradition special! Italians have tons of special cookies which have memories linked back to Christmastime. Rainbow cookies, fig cookies, almond cookies… we have them all!

We hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas!

From Our Family To Yours

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Keeping Traditions Alive

 As a family owned and operated business, we are committed to helping you and your family keep traditions alive and teach younger generations. Whether meals, rituals, stories, amongst other things; we know how important traditions are. Two important Italian traditions are canning tomatoes and making wine!

The tradition of canning tomatoes can date back to the 1700s when people began putting their summer produce in jars as a way to preserve them and stock up for the winter. Since then, canning tomatoes has transformed into a yearly family get together. In late August, we truck in loads of locally grown, vine ripened tomatoes. Vine ripened is a key part of our tomatoes because some tomatoes are picked green and ripened through different processes. Our tomatoes are ripened fully on the vine, then picked. In doing this, they maintain the natural sugars crucial to making delicious sauce. In addition to the tomatoes by the bushel, we also sell jars and tools to aid in making the process easier. You don’t want to dirty your clothes, so pick up an “I Love shopping at Caputo’s Apron” to make it a clean process too   

Another important tradition amongst Italian-American families is wine making! The wine making tradition is an involved process that requires hard work and patience. We bring in a wide variety of wine grapes and juice every year for this custom. The juice comes from Italy and the grapes come from a grower in California. The grower has a specific process too when it comes to picking grapes. Our grower made the decision to leave the grapes on the vine to allow the sugar to continue to develop in the fruit. The sugar in the fruit is vital to the alcohol content that will be found in your homemade wine. We have tons of supplies for your wine making get togethers. From corks to bottles to pressers, we have the crucial tools you need to get your wine making process underway. We sell wine grapes out of our warehouse located in Carol Stream and out of our Elmwood Park store. Wine grapes will be available within the next few weeks!

Let us know how Caputo’s is involved in your family traditions. Comment down below with some of your family traditions or email us at events@caputomarkets.com with pictures and stories!

 

From Our Family To Yours