Brutti ma Buoni

With cracks across the surface and bits of nuts peeking through, brutti ma buoni are an Italian sweet known by a name meaning “ugly but good.” The main ingredients are egg whites, sugar, and nuts, and they are baked without being shaped into neat, uniform forms. Some methods bake the meringue as it is, some first reduce its moisture in a pan, and others place a soft dough containing flour on a thin edible sheet before baking. Even under the same name, the dough and texture vary by region.

Binding finely ground and coarse nuts with beaten egg whites

In methods using meringue, sugar is added little by little to egg whites to form a glossy foam. If part of the hazelnuts is ground to a powder and the rest is coarsely chopped before they are combined, the aroma spreads through the whole dough while every bite keeps the crunch of the pieces. The grinder is run in short bursts so that the nuts do not get too hot.

The dough, with the nuts folded in without deflating the foam, can also be dropped straight onto a baking sheet with a spoon and baked. In this flourless type, the egg whites and sugar bind the nuts, and baking reduces the moisture so that the dough sets and holds its shape.

Irregularly baked brutti ma buoni. Bits of nuts can be seen in the cracked dough. Photo: Nyaleere, 2013-06-12, location unknown. Original image / CC BY-SA 3.0. Reduced-size version from the source; no additional processing.

Reducing moisture in a pan before baking

Another method is to heat the nut meringue in a pan to bring it together before baking. It is stirred constantly so that it does not scorch, and once it has become denser, it is formed into small mounds using two spoons or a similar tool. The mounds are dried through at a relatively low temperature and then cooled so that their firmness settles.

For brut e bon in Piedmont, too, there is a traditional method in which roasted almonds or hazelnuts are added to whipped egg whites and sugar, and the mixture is transferred to a pan and heated over low heat before baking. Flavorings include vanilla, and some versions use cinnamon or chocolate. Whether the mixture is baked as it is or first reduced in a pan affects how easy it is to handle and the texture of the baked result.

The Prato method using flour and ostia

At workshops in Prato, Tuscany, the order in which the nuts and egg whites are prepared is also distinctive. In this method, crushed almonds and egg whites are left to rest for several hours before the sugar and flour are combined. When the dough is placed on thin ostia and baked, a crust with some bite forms on the outside, while soft almond dough remains inside. The region’s material on traditional foods also records this composition of adding flour and baking on ostia. It differs from methods that dry a nut meringue in both its ingredients and the softness of its interior.

Histories and uses of ingredients passed down at workshops in different places

In Gavirate, Lombardy, the Veniani family hands down Costantino Veniani’s 1878 recipe (ingredient proportions and method), which uses roasted almonds and hazelnuts. Borgomanero in Piedmont also has the name brût e bon, with a traditional method in which egg whites, sugar, and toasted nuts are warmed in a pan. The city of Borgomanero’s introduction also includes a local story that the sweet was born in 1869 when the pastry cook Viganotti mixed egg whites and sugar by chance. In 2020 the city entered this sweet in its register of local products. How the sweets of these two areas are related is not clear.

The Mattei workshop in Tuscany credits Italia Ciampolini, of the early 20th century, with creating its version of the sweet. According to the story, she combined almonds that had broken in the workshop with egg whites left over from torta mantovana, which uses egg yolks. The method of using flour and ostia while leaving the inside soft shows ingenuity in making use of ingredients left over in the workshop.

Around Viterbo in Lazio, too, small sweets of the same name are made with Roman hazelnuts. Gavirate uses two kinds of roasted nuts, Borgomanero uses a meringue heated in a pan, and Prato uses leftover egg whites and broken almonds. While the irregular appearance is shared, workshops in each place make the sweet with different ingredients and methods.

Glossary