Easter Week: Sanguinaccio

Easter season is upon us and that means chocolate bunnies, egg coloring kits, lamb and sanguinaccio.  Sangui-what?  Unless you had an Italian grandparent who would extol its wonders or had the fortune of living near an old-school Italian baker, you probably have never heard of this rare, Italian dolci. It is best described as a chocolate pudding with an interesting twist.  Traditionally created during Lent, it consists (with some variation), of chocolate, cinammon, candied fruit, milk, eggs and . . .pig's (or beef) blood(!) 

Photo: Dark and luxuriously rich, sanguinaccio is a must for chocolate lovers.

Hopefully, you're not cringing yet.  Though it is prepared throughout Italy, it is most often associated with Naples.  Some research on sanguinaccio revealed a few interesting takes on it.  The Food TV Network offered two versions that had been featured on Mario Batali's "Molto Mario" show, but both were watered down versions that lacked the pig's blood. I also found a person on Chowhound.com who offered their take:

"From my childhood, I remember this as the blood pudding made at Eastertime by Italians near Naples.  The pudding is chocolate, strong chocolate and is very rich and smooth, with pinenuts and citron and blood from either a pig or a lamb (I expect lamb, since there are lots of baby lambs slaughtered at this time" - Aaron, Feb 9, 2006

In addition to the recipes, we also found an insightful web page by Rose Albrizio, who offered tips on how to work with the blood if you are attempting to make your own sanguinaccio.  Her article, which actually reads like Vampirism-101 instead of tips on preparing an Italian desert, offers some of the following:

1. Gather the blood as it drains from the slashed throat of the pig . . .
2. It is preferred to use the traditional method of pig slaughter to gather blood. If you can't and have obtained blood from a slaughter house then be sure to strain it, before cooking.
3. Do not store blood more than 24 hours before cooking."

Read further for Rose's tips here: http://www.angelfire.com/or/orio/blood2.html#chi

We had never encountered a bakery that made sanguinaccio until we moved to Hoboken and started going to Giorgio's Pasticceria, located on Hoboken's main drag, Washington Street.  Giorgio is an old-time Neapolitan baker who not only is still making sanguinaccio, but he does so using pig's blood, which is considered superior to the more often used beef blood.  Giorgio's sanguinacci is made with cocoa powder, milk, eggs, cinammon, candied fruit and the "sangue" -- blood.  So we picked up a container, brought it home and had a "Sunday Sauce" tasting.  Verdict is: we both liked it . . . a lot!  Nikki loves her dark chocolate so she was swooning from the first spoonful.  She describes it as luxuriosuly rich, with the candied fruit lending sweetness, texture and a bit of a liqueur taste.  There was also a prominent taste of cinnamon riding up top.

We highly recommend sanguinaccio, especially for the chocolate-lover out there.  So when reaching for chocolate this Easter, bypass the bunny and snatch the sanguinaccio!

Comments

[Joe]

I've never tried those! they look amazing but the blood always throws me off. Happy San Giuseppe by the way. I also tagged you for a meme. It's new to me but great for link building. Ciao.

[Michele]

I've never heard anyone outside of my family talk about this. I feel like we're bonding! lol

[billy]

I remember this stuff, never had it, and i dont think i ever will LOL