Tiramisù: origin, curiosity and wine pairing
Tiramisù origin curiosity wine pairing
Tiramisù is without doubt the most famous Italian dessert in the world. As for other classic Italian recipes many are the regions that claim the paternity of this delicious dessert.
After an accurate analysis seems that Tiramisù comes originally from Friuli Venezia Giulia
and dates back to the XIX century. During that time in Italy, there were public houses where women used to relieve men from the stress of their personal life.
The legend says that the landlady of a public house in Treviso city centre conceived a very
energetic dessert made of whipped egg yolk and sugar to awake the clients at their arrival.
It’s said that the women used to welcome the guests with the dessert saying” Desso ve tiro su mi” which means “ Now I wake you up”.
After the successful experiment, the same recipe was added to the menu of an old local
restaurant in Treviso with the name “Tiremesu” which is just the slang of the currently
famous Tiramisù. The spread of Tiramisù in Friuli Venezia Giulia is proved by the presence in the same period of “Sbatudin” that was a traditional peasant recipe made of whipped egg yolk and sugar. At the beginning of the XX century were added to the original recipe cocoa, coffee, mascarpone and biscuits but the final version of Tiramisù was agreed only after the second world war with the ladyfingers replacing biscuits.
Tiramisù origin curiosity wine pairing
Nowadays Tiramisù, according to “Just Eat”, is the most delivered dessert in Italy and is
available in several different alternative flavours such as strawberry, pistachio, cream
etc…The 21st of March in Italy takes place the Tiramisù day and last February in Gorizia
was made the biggest Tiramisù in the world: 267 meters high.
Tiramisù is loved abroad as much as in Italy being present in 23 different language
dictionaries and it is known to be among the ten most popular Italian words in the world. Two indicative examples of how Tiramisù is appreciated come as far as from China where it is the most clicked word on the web and from Japan that was forced to establish mascarpone factories after being unable to satisfy the increasing internal demand.
Tiramisù is delicious to end a meal and can be enjoyed with a nice wine but it can be
challenging because of the strong taste and the presence of coffee. Therefore Tiramisù needs a wine with enough power in flavours but not too high in acidity like the “Cashmere”
passito Alto Adige DOC 2018. It is made only by the aromatic Gewurztraminer grape that,
after picked, is left to dry for four months to concentrate sugars. After a few months in
stainless steel tank, the result is a luscious wine with a strong nose of dry apricots and rose petals. On the palate, the sweetness and the high alcohol balance well the persistent dried citrus fruits aromas and the length of the wine in the mouth matches nicely the long-lasting taste of Tiramisù.
To sum up Tiramisù is just another Italian masterpiece that is not exactly sure from which
region comes from but there is no doubt it has been, is and will be loved from all the world.
Author: Riccardo Pepi
Tiramisù origin curiosity wine pairing
