{"id":8350,"date":"2026-10-19T23:30:59","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8350"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:49:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:49:54","slug":"ricciarelli","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/ricciarelli\/","title":{"rendered":"Ricciarelli"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cracks run through the white powdered sugar, and inside, a soft almond dough remains. Unlike sweets that add nuts to a wheat-flour dough, Tuscany\u2019s ricciarelli use almonds as their main ingredient. In Siena, a diamond shape with rounded corners is typical. Inside the pale golden edges, a soft beige center remains. The surface keeps the whiteness of the powdered sugar applied before baking, with cracks that form during baking.<\/p>\n

Almonds at the heart of the dough<\/h2>\n

Blanched, finely ground almonds are combined with sugar and egg white. The sugared almonds are bound with egg white and baked so that the center stays moist.<\/p>\n

For \u201cRicciarelli di Siena,\u201d registered as a Protected Geographical Indication (IGP), sweet almonds make up at least one third of the dough, and ranges are also set for the proportions of sugar, egg white and the powdered sugar on the surface. A leavening agent is also used. No wheat flour or potato starch is added to the dough, and they are baked until soft and not crumbly.<\/p>\n

The flavorings vary as well. Part of the sweet almonds may be replaced with bitter almonds, or vanilla, citrus essential oils or finely chopped candied orange may be added. Some versions replace part of the sugar with syrup or invert sugar, or add honey. Placing a thin starch wafer underneath is also permitted.<\/p>\n

Baking under powdered sugar, and packaging to keep them soft<\/h2>\n

The dough is divided by hand or by machine and shaped into diamonds that are close to ovals. When they are generously dusted with powdered sugar and baked, the white surface cracks.<\/p>\n

The protection specification sets the weight of each piece at 10\u201330 grams and the thickness at 13\u201320 millimeters. They are baked in an oven at 150\u2013200\u00b0C for 12\u201320 minutes, keeping the center soft. Everything up to cooling and airtight packaging is done within the province of Siena. For a sweet that loses moisture easily, packaging after baking is also a step that protects the texture.<\/p>\n

At home, some methods chill the dough overnight before shaping. Egg whites, powdered sugar, almond flour and flavorings are mixed and left to rest; the next day the dough is formed into logs, cut, and shaped by hand into ovals. Fresh from the oven they are still soft, and once cooled they firm up enough to be picked up. Baking them until hard makes the center lose its softness.<\/p>\n

The history of Siena\u2019s almond sweets and theories on the origin of the name and shape<\/h2>\n

Siena has a culture of marzapane made from almonds and sugar. Sweets made from these costly ingredients were used as gifts and at lavish meals, and convents and apothecaries also made them. Older names include \u201cmarzapanetti alla senese\u201d and \u201cmorzelletti.\u201d \u201cRicciarelli\u201d is a 19th-century name that also appears in a poem from 1814.<\/p>\n

According to a story recorded in Tuscany\u2019s regional product guide, the knight Ricciardetto della Gherardesca, returning from the Crusades, remembered the curled-toe slippers of a sultan he had seen in the East and modeled the sweet\u2019s shape on them. It is a legend that links footwear seen on his travels with the shape of the sweet.<\/p>\n

Separately, Treccani suggests the name may come from an older shape of the sweet and treats it as a derivative of riccio<\/em>, meaning a curled lock of hair or a curl. Both the legend that the sweet is named after the knight and the etymological theory that the name comes from a curled shape have been handed down, and the origin is not clearly known.<\/p>\n

\n\"Diamond-shaped\n
Ricciarelli shaped into elongated diamonds (April 6, 2022; location unknown). The sweets, coated in powdered sugar, are arranged like a flower. Whether they are certified geographical-indication products cannot be determined from this photo. Photo: DinaBenedettoFerrandina, \u201cI Ricciarelli\u201d \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Image obtained from the distributing source. No alterations to the content and no cropping this time.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n
\n\"Piazza\n
Piazza del Campo and the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena (2019). The protected name for ricciarelli requires production and packaging within the province of Siena. Photo: Yair Haklai \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/a> \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Image obtained from the distributing source. No alterations to the content and no cropping this time.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Artusi\u2019s method<\/h2>\n

In Pellegrino Artusi\u2019s recipe (the proportions of ingredients and the method), sweet and bitter almonds are pounded finely with sugar and combined with whipped egg whites and orange peel. Only a very small amount of wheat flour is used on the work surface. Wafers are arranged on a baking sheet lined with bran, the sweets are baked soft on top of them, and the excess wafer is trimmed afterward. This recipe preserves a use of flour that differs from the current protection specification.<\/p>\n

Siena\u2019s protected name and the sweets handed down in surrounding towns<\/h2>\n

\u201cRicciarelli di Siena,\u201d registered in 2010, are produced and packaged within the province of Siena. Meanwhile, Pomarance in the province of Pisa and Massa Marittima in the province of Grosseto also have traditions that spread from Siena. In these towns, the dough and the shape of the wafer placed underneath are not standardized by common rules, and there are also chocolate-coated \u201cricciarelli rozzi.\u201d Packaging in blue paper depicting two Etruscan horses is another feature of the area.<\/p>\n

\"Pomarance-style<\/p>\n

Pomarance-style ricciarelli. A version from a surrounding town, distinct from products bearing Siena\u2019s protected name. Photo: Ricciarally, 2024-12-24, location unknown. Original image<\/a> \/ CC0 1.0<\/a>. Image from the distributing source. Any processing at the time of original publication is unknown; no additional processing this time.<\/p>\n

They are served at Christmas in Siena and at various festivities in Pomarance, and after meals they are paired with coffee or tea, vin santo, or Moscadello di Montalcino.<\/p>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Protected Geographical Indication (IGP)<\/strong>: An EU scheme that protects a name by defining its link to the production area, its production method and other aspects.<\/p>

Invert sugar<\/strong>: A sugar containing glucose and fructose, produced by breaking down sucrose. Used in confectionery for sweetness and moisture retention.<\/p>

Marzapane<\/strong>: A sweet or paste based mainly on almonds and sugar. Marzipan.<\/p>

Apothecaries<\/strong>: Shops that dealt in medicines and spices. Historically, they were also connected with confectionery.<\/p>

Pellegrino Artusi<\/strong>: Author of a cookbook collecting Italian home cooking. 1820\u20131911.<\/p>

Ricciardetto della Gherardesca<\/strong>: A knight who appears in Tuscan tradition as having conceived the sweet\u2019s curved shape after returning from the Crusades. He is presented as a legendary figure in the story of the sweet\u2019s origin.<\/p>

Etruria<\/strong>: A cultural region that flourished in central Italy in ancient times.<\/p>

Vin santo<\/strong>: A wine made in Tuscany and elsewhere. Sweet versions are served with sweets.<\/p>

Moscadello di Montalcino<\/strong>: A wine made in Montalcino with the aroma of Muscat-type grapes.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n
  1. \n

    Regione Toscana: Disciplinare di produzione<\/a> \u2014 The full four-page text was checked. Formulation ranges: sweet almonds 35\u201350%, sugar 35\u201347%, egg white 6\u201312%, powdered sugar 5\u20138%. Use of powdered sugar before baking, dimensions, baking, and packaging within the area. The logo graphic has not been checked.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  2. \n

    Regione Toscana: Ricciarelli di Siena<\/a> \u2014 Marzapane and apothecaries, the 19th-century name and the 1814 mention, and production and packaging within the province.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  3. \n

    Fondazione Qualivita: Ricciarelli di Siena IGP<\/a> \u2014 Texture, production process, 2010 registration, and pairings with vin santo and Moscadello. Checked by retrieving the full page again, including content outside the main section.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  4. \n

    Visit Tuscany \/ Juls\u2019 Kitchen: I Ricciarelli<\/a> \u2014 All ingredients and steps, a home version that chills the dough overnight, baking under powdered sugar, the texture after cooling, and Christmas.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  5. \n

    Vetrina Toscana: Ricciarelli, R. di Pomarance, R. di Massa Marittima<\/a> \u2014 Traditions of the surrounding towns, the chocolate version, blue-paper packaging, and festivities. The knight\u2019s origin story is treated as tradition.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  6. \n

    Comune di Forlimpopoli \/ Pellegrino Artusi: 620. Ricciarelli di Siena<\/a> \u2014 The full text of the recipe, whipped egg whites, a very light dusting of flour, and baking with bran and wafers. The year the recipe was included in the first edition cannot be determined from this source.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  7. \n

    Treccani, Ricciar\u00e8llo<\/a> \u2014 An etymological explanation other than a personal name, and the hypothesis about the shape.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  8. \n

    Treccani, R\u00ecccio\u00b2<\/a> \u2014 The sense referred to is a curled lock of hair.<\/p>\n<\/li>

  9. Editorial notes<\/h2><\/li>

  10. No contemporaneous record of an invention corresponding to the Ricciardetto story has been found. The main text and the glossary treat it as a legend and do not present him as the historical inventor.<\/p><\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Ricciarelli are small Sienese sweets baked from almonds, sugar and egg white. A white film of powdered sugar and fine cracks appear on the surface of their diamond shape with rounded corners. Although the edges are pale gold, the inside is beige and soft, and the dough does not crumble finely like a dry biscuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7282,"menu_order":121,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Ricciarelli","subtitle":"Soft Sienese almond beneath white cracks","topics":"Almonds as the dough, without wheat flour\uff0fA white surface and a soft center\uff0fFrom marzapane to a sweet named for its place","country":"Siena, Italy","show_toc":true,"ingredients":["nuts","egg"],"texture":["crunchy"],"occasion":[],"method":["baked"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[151],"class_list":["post-8350","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":null,"sweetlore_related_faqs":null,"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"auto","sweetlore_related_articles":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t