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baba au rum
Baba' al Rum/ History and Notes from Italian Wikipedia and other Internet sites
Originated from: Naples, Campania, Italy (via France)
Occasion: Special times
Contributed by: Notes, Italian Wikipedia and other Internet sites; photo: Mary Melfi

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Ingredients

For recipe see Italy Revisited/"Pastries"



Directions




Notes

Many famous "Italian" pastries, such as the "baba al rum," are not Italian at all -- they have their origins in France, Austria, or the Middle East. One food historian traces the origin of the baba al' rum to a small French town named Luneville close to the German border, and credits a Pole by the name of Stanislaw Leszczynski (father-in-law to Louis XV of France) as the baba's creator. Supposedly, Stanislaw Leszcynski had the bright idea of taking a then well-known Polish dessert called babba (which was part panettone and part brioche) and dipping it in a glass of Madeira and viola, the French-style "baba" pastry was born. A few years later, pastry chefs working for the French king at Versailles used Jamaican rum (rather than Madeira) to flavor the baba and that's how it has been flavored ever since. Apparently, the baba was brought to Italy by the French sometime in the 18th century when they controlled the area surrounding Naples. For awhile the shape of the baba was associated with the dome of Haghia Sofia and the pastry was dubbed Ali Baba, after the hero of "A Thousand and One Nights." However, nowadays the shape of the baba is generally described as a "mushroom" and its links to "Ali Baba" have been severed. Actually, a famous Italian food historian, Fabrizio Mangoni, defines the baba as "the pastry of the Enlightenment" as it was born from an idea originating in France. Nonetheless, by the turn of the 19th century, the baba became known all over the world as "a typical Neapolitan pastry" and was no longer associated with the French enlightenment or the French aristocracy. While some food historians claim the word "baba" was coined by the Neapolitan people to mimic the sound of aimless but joyful and "sheepish" chatter (ba-ba-ba-ba), others claim the word, baba, is actually Polish in origin, and makes reference to the Polish "babba" dessert. Sometime in the 19th century pastry chefs not only made baba pastries but they started to make baba rum-flavored cakes. The practice continues to this day. Nowadays, many pastry chefs in Italy make the baba stuffed with limoncello and/or lemon cream, while others top it off with whipped cream. In some areas of Italy chefs flavor the pastry with Moscato others with cider. The variations seem limitless.... For more information on the history of the baba visit: www.lucianopignataro.com.... The photo of the (store-bought) baba al' rum was taken by the contributor.The following text can be found at ITALIAN WIKIPEDIA: Baba with rum Origins Place of origin Italy Region Campania Area of ​​production The Campania Details Category sweet Recognition PAT Sector Fresh pasta and bakery products, biscuits, cakes, pastry and confectionery The baba or babb is a sweet baked dough with yeast of beer, typical pastry Neapolitan . Its diameter can vary from 5-7 cm up to 35-40 cm. It's also divided into two and filled with chocolate or cream. In addition, there is also a version with essence of bergamot. Historical Background. The baba is a derivation of a sweet sourdough, a native of Poland, which is called Babka ponczowa , "sweet grandmother" (from Babka , "old"), and kept the round shape with the cream in the middle. Used by French chefs, the "baba" has taken the accent on the final syllable, while the Neapolitans have doubled consonant. The inventor of the baba was King Stanislaus Leszczyński , being in-law of Louis XV , was delighted to invent new dishes. The sovereign, edentulous, apparently could not eat Kugelhupf , a typical dessert of the French ' Alsace , which he found too dry. It was then soaked in Tokaj and syrup. The typical mushroom shape is due to the famous confectioner Nicolas Stohrer , who arrived in Paris with Maria Lesczynska, girlfriend of the French King. At number 51 of rue Montorgueil still the house offers some delicious sweet taste. Another version of the origins reminded them of the king flared skirt (round) of older women who are called Babka. Another story tells that the king, bad-tempered, sweet flung against a cupboard, smashing a bottle of rum. She went to soak the cake and Stanislaus then tasted it and found it very good. In the nineteenth century the master Brillat-Savarin invented a liquor which was matched to fruit salads. The French pastry of the "brothers Julien" had the idea to close the salad in a baba properly brushed with apricot jam, was born the baba "Savarin" . The earliest sources on the Neapolitan sweet date back to 1836 when the cook culinary Angeletti wrote a manual that describes the recipe with raisins and saffron, these gradients lost over the years because of the "vulgarization" of commercial bakeries that have baked with new types cream and sour cherries or maybe served mignon with ice cream parfait Recipe The technique of kneading and rising times are two great secrets of this renowned dessert. It is left to rise for a long time in a mold of a truncated cone elongated, then baked in a hot oven. Takes on an amber color and a characteristic shape of a "mushroom". After cooking is extracted, and you do it "dry" for at least a day to lose most of the moisture. Then is placed partially submerged in large containers filled with hot liquid of choice: sugar syrup , rum , or other liquors such as limoncello . It is, finally, summarily deprived of excess liquid and sent to authorized retailers. Some bakeries will cover the surface with a glaze apricot, which makes it more shiny and attractive. A variant of the baba is the so-called "savarin", which while retaining the same basic ingredients of the baba provides for the introduction of a bit 'of milk in the dough: the result is a paste clearer and spongy, less sour flavor, that lends itself much better to the production of large "sweet baba" garnish with whipped cream, fruit and jelly.................... Original Italian Wikipedia text (google machine translation): Baba col rum Origini Luogo d'origine Italia Regione Campania Zona di produzione Tutta la Campania Dettagli Categoria dolce Riconoscimento P.A.T. Settore Paste fresche e prodotti della panetteria, della biscotteria, della pasticceria e della confetteria Il bab o babb un dolce da forno a pasta lievitata con lievito di birra, tipico della pasticceria napoletana. Il suo diametro pui variare da cm fino a cm. Lo si trova anche diviso in due e ripieno con del cioccolato o panna. Inoltre, esiste anche una versione con essenza di bergamotto. Il bab? ? una derivazione di un dolce a lievitazione naturale, originario della Polonia, che si chiama babka ponczowa, "dolce della nonna" (da babka, "vecchia"), e ha mantenuto la forma tonda con la crema in mezzo. Utilizzato dai cuochi francesi, il "baba" ha assunto l'accento sulla sillaba finale, mentre i napoletani gli hanno raddoppiato la consonante. L'inventore del baba fu il re Stanislao Leszczyński che, essendo suocero di Luigi XV, si dilettava ad inventare sempre nuovi piatti. Il sovrano, edentulo, pare non potesse mangiare il kugelhupf, un dolce tipico francese dell'Alsazia che egli trovava troppo asciutto. Fu allora bagnato di Tokaj e di sciroppo. La tipica forma a fungo la si deve al celebre pasticciere Nicolas Stohrer, giunto a Parigi con Maria Lesczynska, fidanzata del sovrano francese. Al numero 51 di rue Montorgueil ancora oggi la maison offre certe prelibatezze dal sapore dolce. Un'altra versione delle origini faceva ricordare al re la gonna a campana (tonde) delle donne anziane che si chiamano babka. Un'altra storia racconta che il re, dal pessimo carattere, scagliasse il dolce contro una credenza, fracassando una bottiglia di rum. Questa and? ad inzuppare il dolce e Stanislao allora lo assaggi, trovandolo ottimo. Nel XIX secolo il maestro Brillat-Savarin invent? un liquore che ben si accompagnava alle macedonie di frutta. La pasticceria francese dei "fratelli Julien" ebbe l'idea di chiudere la macedonia in un bab? opportunamente spennellato di confettura di albicocche, nacque cos? il bab "Savarin". Le prime fonti partenopee sul dolce risalgono al 1836 quando il cuoco Angeletti scrisse un manuale culinario in cui descritta la ricetta con uvetta e zafferano, questi ultimi gradienti persi negli anni a causa della volgarizzazione delle pasticcerie commerciali che ne hanno sfornati nuovi tipi con crema e amarene o magari servito mignon con gelato semifreddo. Ricetta La tecnica di impasto ed i tempi di lievitazione rappresentano due grandi segreti di questo rinomato dolce. lasciato lievitare a lungo in uno stampo a tronco di cono allungato, quindi cotto in forno ben caldo. Assume un colore ambrato ed una caratteristica forma a "fungo". Terminata la cottura viene estratto, e lo si fa "asciugare" per almeno un giorno affinch perda la maggior parte dell'umidit. Successivamente posto parzialmente immerso in ampi contenitori pieni di liquido caldo a scelta: sciroppo di zucchero, rum, o altri liquori come il limoncello. infine, sommariamente privato del liquido in eccesso ed inviato ai rivenditori autorizzati. Alcune pasticcerie ne ricoprono la superficie con una glassa all'albicocca, che lo rende piu lucido e attraente. Una variante del bab il cosiddetto "savarin", che pur conservando gli stessi ingredienti di base del bab? prevede l'introduzione di un po' di latte nell'impasto: il risultato una pasta pi chiara e spugnosa, dal sapore meno acidulo, che si presta ancor meglio alla produzione di grosse "torte bab" da guarnire con panna, frutta e gelatina...... Photo: Mary Melfi.

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