Through Agrelma for the importers of sweet products a tour of Italy is as pleasant a way as any to discover or learn more about Italian pastries, biscuits, candies and cakes, just as an exploration of the universe of Italian confectionery provides numerous insights into the history, culture, customs and habits of the Italians themselves. It is a long history that really began when the first professional bakers appeared in Rome around the beginning of the third century BC. Passing references to confectionery by ancient writers give only a summary idea of the assortment of sweets enjoyed by the Romans.

However, the implements, equipment and layout of bakers’ and confectioners’ shops and workrooms uncovered at Pompeii and Herculaneum outside Naples, as well as the “mummified” remains of some of the pastries and loaves themselves, suggest that

the range of specialties was almost as broad as a modern shopper expects to find in a reasonably well-stocked store.

That demand was strong is proved by a monument near the main railroad station in Rome. The structure has been severely damaged during the last 2,000 years but it is still impressive and somewhat mystifying. Probably few if any of the millions of travellers who

have no doubt glimpsed it as their trains pulled into or left the station have any idea what it is or represents. Only the top of its white stone facade can be seen above the surrounding buildings and that part is pierced at regular intervals by round holes arranged in a rectangular band. The holes represent the openings of an ancient oven, for the monument is or was the tomb of Vergilius Eurysaces, a baker, and his wife, Atinia.

A frieze at the very top of the facade, invisible to train passengers, illustrates the making and baking of bread and other goods. It is clear from the size and elaborate character of his tomb and its position, near one of the main gates in the walls of ancient Rome, that Eurysaces was not ashamed of his connection with what was often scorned as a menial occupation and that baking was a lucrative business.

Once established, the confectionery tradition never faltered in Italy. The Empire fell and the country dissolved into numerous small and quarrelsome states. Pastry-making continued to flourish in each, although tastes and the bakers’ and chefs’ responses to them took different forms so that regional specialties developed. A surprisingly large

number of them have survived and they have changed little over the centuries. Flat heavy cakes in which exotic spices were used lavishly, partly because those flavorings were extraordinarily scarce and expensive, were characteristic of the Middle Ages. The Panforte and Panpepato of Siena are direct descendants of those preparations. Cakes and most pastries were dense and heavy in Roman times and the early Middle Ages because

honey was the principal sweetener. Sweet preparations became lighter and more delicate when refined sugar was introduced into pastry-making – around the time the Renaissance was taking shape. Sugar had been known for centuries previously but it had been used almost exclusively as a medicine. Largescale cultivation of sugar cane was initiated by the

Arabs who ruled Sicily for 300 years, from the ninth through eleventh centuries. Sugar produced on the island and in other Arab-ruled lands in southern Europe and the Middle East passed along the trade routes northward from the Mediterranean.

Other ingredients were progressively added to an increasingly elaborate culinary tradition. Cherries, plums and peaches were transplanted to the west from the Middle East by the Romans, while citrons, oranges and lemons made their appearance in southern Europe shortly before the time of Christ, first as ornamental shrubs and trees and then as

providers of fruit. The flavour and appeal of a whole host of traditional Italian pastries and confectionery products depends on the use of candied peel and marmalades. The growing taste for complex sweet preparations encouraged wider cultivation of hazelnuts, walnuts and especially almonds. Chocolate arrived from the New World in the 16th century and

was soon playing a vital role in the making of pastries and confectionery. In the 17th century, coffee was introduced from Ethiopia, by way of the Middle East and Venice, and almost immediately became the favourite beverage of Italians and many other Europeans as well as an important flavouring.

Over a span of 2,000 years, Italian cooks and pastry chefs have shown remarkable versatility in adopting each ingredient and innovation as it came along and incorporating it in their distinctive culinary traditions. They have constantly developed new preparations, while at the same time retaining the essence of the old. Many Sicilian pastries betray,

or proudly proclaim, their Arabic origins, delectable memorials of a time when Palermo was one of the richest and most highly civilized capitals in Europe.

Other cities and regions of Italy perfected their own roster of specialties, it’s possible find them at Agrelma , creating an assortment of pastries and confectionery products that may be unequalled for breadth, variety and quality.

About the Author:

Marketing Manager

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Food importers : Discovering the Sweet Side of Italian Life

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Inexpensive yet pack with so much goodies. That’s how we can describe the LG Cookie. With a brilliant 3.0″ LCD touch screen and an active flash UI, this phone proves to be a breeze to use. Along with the attractive display, the LG Cookie supports handwriting recognition and automatic screen orientation for the best viewing experience. Not to forget, it is equipped with a 3 megapixel CMOS sensor for superior photo quality.

First Impressions: the entire presentation is unfussy and exudes a sense of undemanding usability – an issue that many expensive touchscreens with a plethora of functional options have not been able to offer. However, to make it both sturdy and cheaper, the touchscreen is based on the resistive technology which means that glass is not used, making the screen a bit compromised in terms of intuitiveness. However, the pressure that has to be applied to move around the icons on the screen isn’t too demanding and once you get used to it, the entire process should not be uncomfortable, as the screen is responsive. Unlike many other touch screen cell phone, the LG Cookie has 3 physical buttons located below the display for quick one-touch functions.

Exploring Further: there are some smart conceptual elements in the KP500, like the home screen display widgets that can be easily moved around and then placed exactly where wanted. Widgets would include the all important calender, organizer, standard clock and shortcuts to other functions which the user may customize accordingly. Further, an interesting flicking option is provided, i.e. upon flicking left/right you gain access to the home page’s list of the recorded contacts in an easy-to-call thumbnail format. This is a smart way of reducing the dependability on the touchscreen operations and inducing something new. Users may choose to type using the on screen QWERTY keyboard or the standard keypad. Something that was not expected in the LG Cookie – hand-writing recognition that isn’t just a gimmick but actually works very well but it takes time to use it as the entire process is a bit tedious. It has the standard TransFlash micro-SD that supports up to 16 GB of memory. Bluetooth v2.1 is offered along with A2DP and it supports WAP 2.0, xHTML and HTML browsers.

Conclusion: LG Cookie does not pit itself against the iPhone. Instead, it offers itself as an alternative touch screen phone for users who want one without paying much of a premium. It should be recognized that the LG Cookie is not meant for comparison with the high end touch screen cell phones currently on the market. In light of this, this phone has done well in terms of functionality. With features such as photo viewer and a motion sensor, the LG Cookie tries to create a niche for itself in the market as a low-priced but high-performance touchscreen option and to a large extent, it does succeed in this attempt.

Sam Lee is a mobile enthusiast and runs the popular website Cellular Deals. For more cell phone deals and recommendations on choosing your next cell phone, go to => http://www.cellular-deals.com

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If someone on your gift list is a self-proclaimed coffee lover or coffee gourmet, then coffee gifts are a no-brainer. They are perfect for any holiday or special occasion, including birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, and Father’s Day or Mother’s Day. Do you know a coffee lover who could use a gift? Any coffee lover would appreciate gifts of various blends and so on. You have a lot of options when it comes to these gifts, so let’s examine what’s available.

Just like with any other gift, you should think about the recipient before buying anything. So we’ve established that they love their coffee. What else do we know about them? If they have something like a Keurig instant coffee machine, then you have a perfect gift. You can get them an assortment of various cartridges for the machine. There are also a lot of necessary accessories. What does the person like to eat with their coffee? Some commonly chosen accompaniment foods include biscotti, chocolate, cookies, and biscuits. This article is starting to make me very hungry… and thirsty!

When giving gifts, think hard about presentation. If the gift doesn’t look nice, it won’t have your intended effect on the recipient. If you’re going to buy the gifts online, only buy items with a picture and not just a text description. You want to be sure that you’re happy with the result. If you’re getting chocolate to go with the coffee, the best choice is dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is not only filled with healthy antioxidants and makes a lovely complement to a cup of hot coffee, it also has a long shelf life and you don’t need to worry about it spoiling.

Holiday gift baskets including coffee gifts are great for the holidays. During the Christmas season, giving the gift of coffee is always a safe bet that is sure to please your recipient. Valentine’s Day is another day to show love to your special lady by giving her chocolate with the perfect complement of coffee. If you want to cover all your bases, include some gifts in a basket of fruit and cheese. The sheer variety of gifts to give are dazzling, and it’s a little easy to go crazy-especially if you love it yourself. If you want to buy them that will be sure to make your coffee lover’s holiday, search online for all your options and think about personalizing the gift.

For more ideas about great coffee gifts, visit my simple coffee resource and guide: http://coffee-bean-direct.info

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