What to Bring Back from Sicily?
Sicilian cooking, and Italian cooking in general, is incredibly rich - which is why my souvenir tips from this island run longer than usual. And even so they won't cover more than a fraction of what Sicily has to offer.
So what do I recommend as the best food souvenirs from Sicily?
Sicilian Cheeses
Cheese and cured ham usually make up the bulk of what I carry home from Italy. Around Palermo you can hunt for the so-called "lost cheese" tuma persa, which these days is made only by cheesemakers in the village of Castronovo di Sicilia. Pecorino siciliano is one of the oldest cheeses made in Europe, and you can also try the giant maiorchino. This time I went for smaller local producers - the photo shows baked ricotta.
Price of Sicilian cheeses: depends on the type and the size of the package
Sicilian Pasta
Busiate is Sicilian pasta rolled into hollow spirals - they look a little like the coiled cord of an old telephone handset. They are typical of the area around Trapani in Sicily. I like buying wholewheat pasta, and this time was no exception.
Caserecce is the second typical Sicilian pasta. Its twisted shape soaks up plenty of liquid, which makes it perfect for sauces. On top of that, practically all Italian pasta is extruded through bronze dies that give it a rougher surface, so the sauce clings to it better. Italy has a staggering number of pasta shapes, so I always bring home the local one - and in Sicily that means busiate and caserecce.
Price for a 500 g package of wholewheat busiate: 4 EUR
Price for a 500 g package of caserecce: 2 EUR
Sicilian Olives
Sicilian markets - Palermo's Ballarò, for instance - are full of stalls selling olives, loose by weight as well as packaged. Before you buy, the seller will happily hand you one or two to taste, so you can pick exactly the ones that suit you. Vacuum-packed olives sail through airport security without any trouble (as long as they aren't in brine).
Price for a package of vacuum-packed olives: 2 EUR
Sicilian Candied Orange Peel
Sunny Sicily is kind to oranges and lemons, so citrus has found its way into a great many local recipes. You'll come across candied orange peel in the filled tubes of cannoli, among other things. At home it works just as well in baking as it does for nibbling straight from the bag.
Price for a package of candied orange peel: 2 EUR
Sicilian Modica Chocolate
Chocolate from the Sicilian town of Modica follows a recipe of its own, with the cocoa beans ground by hand - that's exactly what gives it the unusual grainy texture and its distinctive taste. It was the first chocolate in Europe to earn the protected IGP designation. You can buy it plain or flavored, for example with Sicilian oranges or salt from the Trapani area.
Price for a bar of Modica chocolate: 4 EUR
Sicilian Anise Cookies
Anise and mint are among my favorite plants, but I didn't run into anise cookies until Palermo. The taste is pleasantly reminiscent of old-fashioned aniseed drops and not too sweet - an unconventional gift I'd recommend. The ones in the photo are baked just a few kilometers from Palermo, so buying them supports a local producer.
Price for a package of anise cookies: 2.50 EUR
Italian Herbal Liqueur Amaro
In Italy, bittersweet amaro is usually drunk after a meal, as a digestif. There are countless types; this one, called Amara, is macerated with the peel of red Sicilian oranges. It also comes in a 100 ml bottle that you can easily take on board a plane.
Price for a 100 ml bottle of Amara liqueur: 5 EUR
Ceramics with Sicilian Motifs
You don't have to buy ceramics at the markets - supermarkets often carry them too, and really cheaply at that. I picked up the plates in the photos at the Famila supermarket in Palermo. They measure 45 cm across, so no dainty little bowls, and both patterns cost the same.
Price for a ceramic plate with Sicilian motifs (45 cm across): 2 EUR
And if the weight of your luggage and the amount of liquid you can carry aren't holding you back, the great Sicilian wines deserve a chapter of their own.
Which food souvenirs do you bring back from Sicily?
