33 Comments

Extraordinary! Sabrina and I little knew when we first talked with you about this collaboration that the Egyptian-Venetian connection would be so rich and be the basis of such a deep and fascinating history.

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Feb 20, 2023Liked by Sinù Fogarizzu

Oh this is a masterstroke of a letter Sinù! Please tell me you are writing a book! Impeccably crafted, like all you do. Oh I'm desperate to try those. They sound divine. Xx

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Feb 26, 2023Liked by Sinù Fogarizzu

Hello from Brooklyn! This is really uncanny. Last January I made multiple batches of fritelle, trying out and tinkering with different recipes.... and the conclusion of my researches is a recipe of ingredients and technique that look almost identical to yours! See below. I made them again last week from this recipe and it really works well--especially the two rises and not disturbing the risen dough before spooning it directly into the hot oil.

A question for you: How long can one let the risen dough sit before frying? For example, if the rise is complete after 2 hours, can one delay frying for another 2 hours? Or will the dough collapse?

Having done a fair amount of fritelle research myself, I really appreciate the historical sources you found. I'm not surprised that there is an Egyptian element here--but that is another story.

Thanks for the great post!

Nancy Y.

Venetian Fritelle (January 2022)

Step 1: 13g yeast dissolved in 50ml water plus 50ml milk (lukewarm) and 1tsp of sugar. Let stand until foamy (20-30 mins)

Step 2: Mix in 220 grams flour, 20grams sugar, 50grams currants (previously soaked in rum), a small handful of chopped candied lemon peel, zest of one orange, pinch of salt

Step 3: Mix in 1 egg and another 100ml of warm milk

Step 4: Cover and let rise until doubled (2 hours?)

Step 5: Do not disturb risen dough. Spoon batter into hot oil. Fry at 350F. Roll in sugar.

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This post has certainly introduced Carnival fritters to me and I am fascinated by them. They look a bit like South Indian bonda, with entirely different sets of ingredients. How amazing is their Egyptian history. Thanks for the recipe.

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Feb 19, 2023Liked by Sinù Fogarizzu

Piccoli pezzetti di paradiso!! One of Venice's pure indulgent treats.. 🥰🥰

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I love how you traced the history! The fritters remind me of eating zeppole at Italian street festivals when I lived in New York, although yours sound more flavorful. That's a great bit of information about the almonds preventing the oil from smoking. Thanks for translating the quantities into teaspoons and cups for us Americans.

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Bone e fritoe!

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"For centuries, Egypt was Venice's preferred gateway to the goods coming from the East. It must have seen tremendous flows of people, products, and, of course, foods"

Not to mention the body of San Marco himself, "liberated" from Alexandria so long ago! 😄

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yum - I just might prefer these fritters to the our Roman frappe...!

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Love all the history you've included here, Sinù. Thank you for the kind mention. I am going to link to this post, as I know my readers would be interested in reading it. Cheers, D

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What a fascinating history these little fritters have! Your recipe is so well written that I actually think I could make them! They do remind me a little of the latkes and sufganiyot (jelly donuts) that we eat at Hanukkah, but obviously hugely different in terms of ingredients, history and meaning. The trick with the almonds might be a game changer. Thanks for a thoroughly, enjoyable post, Sinù!

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double yum!

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The history! They look so delicious, Sinù! I love the description/term ‘opulence and thrift’ - I’ve been following stories from around the world about Carnevale, all wonderful, but Venice would definitely be my choice!

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