Torta di Riso

Torta di riso is an Italian sweet made by combining rice cooked in milk with eggs and sugar and baking it. In Bologna it is also called torta degli addobbi, and it is associated with a religious festival at which decorations are put up. This moist rice cake is cut into small diamond shapes and served.

In one Bolognese example, the rice is cooked in milk until it absorbs the liquid, then left to cool. Eggs, sugar, chopped almonds and candied citron are added, and the mixture is poured into a pan and baked until the surface is browned. In some methods, small holes are made in the baked cake and it is soaked with almond liqueur. Because the rice is cooked as whole grains rather than ground into flour, the shape of the grains remains visible even on the cut surface. The rice that has absorbed the milk holds moisture, and the eggs bind everything together as they are heated. The aroma of the citrus peel, the almonds and the liqueur are layered over the mild flavor of the milk-cooked rice.

The Addobbi festival is a religious celebration held by each parish in Bologna once every 10 years. The windows of houses and the streets were decorated with fabrics and ornaments to welcome the procession. A citizens’ group that researches the history of Bologna explains that local wine and this rice cake were served at the street celebrations. The cake’s alternative name comes from this festival. However, the age of the festival cannot be taken as the date the cake came into being. According to the Italian Academy of Cuisine, there are no reliable records showing the cake’s origin, and a recette (ingredient proportions and method) for a rice cake appears in an 1874 Bolognese home cookbook.

Among the recipes introduced by Yanmar is one in which the rice is cooked in water and milk, eggs are added, and the mixture is filled into a tart shell and baked. It is an example in which the rice filling is enjoyed together with a crisp outer crust.

Rice cakes are not limited to Bologna. Those from Modena and Reggio Emilia are said to be paler in color and thicker than the Bolognese ones. In 2005, the Bologna chapter of the culinary academy registered one recette with the Chamber of Commerce, but this does not reduce the methods of different places and households to a single one.

Glossary