Bergamo Food specialties
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Bergamo Food specialties
Bergamo cuisineThe culinary tradition of Bergamo is often and wrongly neglected by the official food guides. Strongly influenced by the Venetian cuisine, it is mainly characterised by simple dishes but with strong tastes, reflecting the peasant nature of the people.
Bergamo has always been a poor territory, therefore the local people could only make use of the basic products coming from the earth. No wonder then, that still today the traditional cuisine is based on local products. Typical dishes are the "casonsei" and the "Scarpinoc", in addition to the famous "polenta" , which is often flavoured with a quality of cheese called Branzi, and can be served alone or with meat.
Casonsei: Casonsei is certainly the most appreciated dish of the Bergamo cuisine. It is prepared with home made pasta and meat filling. Originally, the preparation of this dish was a way to reuse the waste of bovine and pork meat, but in the course of the centuries the product has refined, and in the 19th century it has gained full honors, thank to the quality of both the pasta and the filling. The filling in particular became much richer respect to the traditional recipe, thanks to the addition of amarettos (almond sweets), sultan grape, pears and lemon peel.
Scarpinocc de Parre:
This is a culinary specialty coming from the village of Parre, situated in the Seriana Valley. The name derives from the shape of the pasta, which vaguely resembles the traditional shoes that the local people used to wear until not too long ago.
Polenta (potato porridge): a real inhabitant of this city would never accept to eat another polenta besides the Bergamo polenta. According to the old peasant recipe, the one and only polenta must be golden colored, hot, flavored and soft, and must be exclusively poured on the cutter plate. According to tradition, during cooking time some cheese is added (usually the Branzi, e quality of cheese coming from the valleys). Today polenta is often served as a side dish, accompanying meat, birds or mushrooms, while in the past it was meant as a single dish, very substantial, ideal for the poorest families, ad it was often sprinkled with fresh milk .
As for the cakes, once again Polenta represents the main element. The "Polenta e Osei"
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is a kind of cake, so called because it resembles the polenta when it is poured on the cutter plate. It consists of a soft sponge cake (Pan di Spagna) spread with sugar and maize flour, and garnished with little chocolate birds. You will find this cake only in Bergamo, so don’t miss the chance to get one in the many sweet shops in town and share it with your friends!
