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The new flavors of the hand-rolled Sbrisola: Dario Loison shares his tasting and pairing suggestions
THE PLEASURE IS ALL IN THE SHARING
Everyone at Loison agrees on one thing: sharing a Sbrisola with others makes it all the tastier. What’s indeed more pleasant than to break a Sbrisola into pieces with your own hands and then share the dessert with your family after dinner or with friends relaxing on your couch?
Loison’s Sbrisola is so rich in flavor that you should absolutely try one as is. However, if you really want to serve it in a novel way, why not crumble some of this versatile product on your favorite ice cream or on a fruit salad? You could also use it as a crust for a cheesecake! Below is a list of the new varieties of Sbrisola available, along with some serving and pairing suggestions directly from Dario Loison. Your guests will be impressed!
SBRISOLA NERA - NEW FOR 2020
Sbrisola Nera is the result of some experimenting in the mixing station: an excessive amount of cocoa powder had initially turned the batch into a rather dark-colored product. Dario Loison hence recalibrated the proportions, added some premium hazelnuts from Piedmont and almonds from Bari, and finally yielded a perfectly balanced dessert.
Serving suggestion: either alone or as a crust for mascarpone cheesecake.
Pairing: try it with a Barolo Chinato or a full-bodied fortified wine.
SBRISOLA RISO E MENTA – NEW FOR 2020
Riso e menta is the other new variety for 2020. The lingering, yet subtle, freshness of mint leaves is combined with rice flour to give the Sbrisola a lighter, crumbly texture.
Serving suggestion: either alone or crumbled on chocolate ice cream.
Pairing: in summer, or in the evening, with an alcohol-free almond milk cocktail.
FOUR TRIED-AND-TRUE FLAVORS BY LOISON
The classic Mandorla Mais features Marano maize flour and Italian almonds, two simple ingredients that represent the local baking tradition.
Serving suggestion: either alone or with a simple Chantilly cream.
Pairing: serve it in the most traditional way with white-grape grappa produced in the Veneto region.
Nocciola Ciocco is a scrumptious Sbrisola containing top-quality chocolate morsels and premium hazelnuts from the Piedmont region.
Serving suggestion: either alone or crumbled on panna cotta.
Pairing: serve it either in the afternoon with a cup of herbal tea or at the end of a meal with some raisin wine.
Pistacchio is a high-end variety of Sbrisola that features bright green pistachio nuts from the Bronte area of Sicily, a PDO exclusive product grown on the western slope of Mt. Etna.
Serving suggestion: either alone or crumbled on some fruit salad.
Pairing: for breakfast alongside a Sicilian granita or as a dessert with a raisin wine from Pantelleria.
Noce Miele boasts the rich and intense flavors of Italian walnuts and certified wildflower honey from bees raised in Italian mountains: two harvest products that are appreciated throughout the year.
Serving suggestion: either alone or with a sweet ricotta custard.
Pairing: dunk it in a shot of walnut liqueur, preferably homemade.
THE HISTORY – FROM HUMBLE TABLES TO THE COURT OF THE GONZAGAS
Sbrisola is a traditional cake whose humble origins date back to an era between the 1500s and the 1600s. Made from poor ingredients such as maize flour, it used to be prepared only on special occasions and was meant to be stored for long periods of time.
Legend has it that Princess Eleonora Gonzaga, on her way to Innsbruck to be married to Emperor Ferdinand II of the House of Habsburg in 1622, became very fond of this dry, crumbly treat. The Venetian nobility used to break the cake into small irregular pieces, called "sbrisole", that they would then dip in fine raisin wines. Once it arrived at the tables of the Gonzagas, the Sbrisola was further enriched with sugar, spices and almonds.
A CRAFT PRODUCT ROLLED OUT BY HAND, ONE BY ONE
Dario Loison has once more pushed the boundaries and created something extraordinary, all the while showing the same care and originality that he uses when interpreting traditional Italian baked goods. The uniqueness of the Sbrisola lies, in fact, in the superior craft skills that Loison applies: each Sbrisola is divided and rolled out by hand, one by one. No two Sbrisola cakes are ever alike!
The Sbrisola varieties that Loison now offers come in the 200-gram size, a more convenient format for today’s families. Available in four different flavors, the cakes are all made from premium butter and from the Marano variety of maize flour produced in the Vicenza area.
NEW PACKAGING - A WINDOW INTO LOISON’S TASTE
The cake packaging was upgraded too! In addition to putting out beautiful and finely crafted products, Loison’s packaging design is perfected year after year, thus becoming a synonym of care and efficiency.
The heart-shaped cut-out on the box immediately catches the eye and provides a glimpse of what lies beneath: a delicious variety of Loison’s Sbrisola rolled out by hand. It isn’t until you actually open the box like a book that you get to appreciate the smart concept of keeping the product well protected and making it easy to serve too.
The packaging design truly reflects the philosophy and hard work behind every Loison project. Through research and analysis, the company is able to combine functional features with thorough product information, whilst showing extreme care in the details and communicating in a transparent manner.
See page 77 of the 2020 Spring catalog
Our hands help punctuate our thoughts. (Alberto Angela)