Cannolo, cassata, Bronte pistachio, Nero d’Avola, Pantelleria capers, Marsala, Castelvetrano olives and Sicilian honey: eight real products, with the area they come from and how to look for them. This is a guide, not a shop.
Every card says three things: what the product is, where it comes from and how it is used. Then a link that opens the map on the place of origin.
The list stays complete: the filter only hides what you do not need.
Origin: Caltanissetta and Palermo
The fried pastry shell wraps sweetened sheep’s-milk ricotta: the sweet was born around Caltanissetta and took its final form in Palermo’s pastry shops. Today it is a P.A.T., and in eastern Sicily it is made with iblea ricotta, a milder cow’s-milk ricotta. It is eaten fresh, straight after frying, because the ricotta soaks up the moisture and the shell loses its crunch.
Origin: Palermo and eastern Sicily
Sugared ricotta, sponge cake soaked in wine, marzipan paste and candied fruit: the cassata is a cold cake, served at Easter. It was born in the kitchens of Palermo’s monasteries — the marzipan paste of the Martorana nuns — and is recognised as a P.A.T. Local versions exist: the Syracuse one layers the sponge cake and drops the icing.
Origin: Bronte, on the volcano
On the volcano of Bronte the shell opens on its own and the pistachio is harvested by hand: the “Pistacchio Verde di Bronte” variety holds DOP status and its production area is the municipality of Bronte. It is the most prized ingredient in cassate, pastries and ice creams, and it also stands up to aged cheese. In August, at harvest time, Bronte celebrates the pistachio.
Photo: Paolo Galli · CC BY-SA 3.0
Origin: Avola, province of Syracuse
It is the red grape symbol of Syracuse: it grows on terraces of volcanic sand and gives a dark, spicy red that softens and grows fragrant with age. It is the base of the Avola DOC, and the Marsala DOC also allows it in its reds. It is drunk with grilled fish, with lamb and with aged cheese.
Origin: Pantelleria
On Pantelleria the caper bush grows in the ground, among dry-stone walls and volcanic rock, and the fruits are picked by hand and brined: the IGP recognises only the ones from the island. They are sharply savoury, salty and tangy, and they are the ingredient in caponata and pasta with capers. The island also grows the white wine from Zibibbo grapes.
Origin: Marsala, in the Trapani area
It is a fortified wine with Controlled Origin Denomination since 1969, the second DOC ever granted in Italian wine history: it is made from cooked wine aged under strict rules. The categories run from Fine to Vergine, up to the Stravecchio aged ten years. It is the wine of meat dishes and inland cooking, and its sweetness pairs with aged cheese.
Photo: Chris · CC BY-SA 2.0
Origin: The Belice Valley, in the Trapani area
The Nocellara del Belice cultivar, known as Castelvetrano olives, holds DOP status both for the oil and for the table olives: it grows in the Belice Valley, between Partanna, Castelvetrano and Campobello di Mazara. The green olives, stoned and brined, are a simple antipasto and are used in cooking too. The same olives give a delicate, bitter extra virgin olive oil.
Photo: nosha · CC BY-SA 2.0
Origin: The Madonie and western Sicily
Sicily is home to the Sicilian black bee (Apis mellifera sicula), the purest subspecies in Europe and the one that copes best with the heat: from the Madonie comes the orange-blossom honey, pale and floral, and from the chestnut woods the dark, bitter one. The single-flower honeys — thyme, eucalyptus, wildflower — tell the story of every flowering on the island. The Sicilian black bee is protected by a Slow Food presidio active in the Madonie.
Photo: Fabio Lo Valvo · CC BY-SA 4.0
PDO and PGI are the European designations; DOC and P.A.T. are the Italian ones.
The products in this guide are found in four places: the market, the shop around the corner, the cellar and the parish feast. The rest is discovery.
The Ortigia market is about a kilometre away: stalls with fish, fruit, cheese, preserves and bread. It is the most honest place to understand what something costs and where it comes from.
Pastry shops, grocery shops, wine bars: whoever produces locally often sells in town. Asking whether it is “from here” is the simplest question, and the right one.
The Avola DOC and the Marsala DOC have their own protection consortia: their channels give you the growers’ names and the vintages, and every bottle has a story.
The Pistachio Festival in Bronte in August, and the parish feasts, are the right occasion: you taste the product where it was born.
Below are the final cards for the products we will put on display, with the same images and the same information as in this guide. They are not for sale yet: no online sales, no cart, no order. When they are available, we will say so here.
Caltanissetta and Palermo
Not yet for sale
Palermo and eastern Sicily
Not yet for sale
Bronte, on the volcano
Not yet for sale
Photo: Paolo Galli · CC BY-SA 3.0
Avola, province of Syracuse
Not yet for sale
Pantelleria
Not yet for sale
Photo: Rosario Cappadona · CC BY-SA 3.0
Marsala, in the Trapani area
Not yet for sale
Photo: Chris · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Belice Valley, in the Trapani area
Not yet for sale
Photo: nosha · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Madonie and western Sicily
Not yet for sale
Photo: Fabio Lo Valvo · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cards are final in form, not in availability.
A&G Home does not take orders or payments: here you find a guide to Sicilian specialties, not a shopping cart. For your stay, the booking and the payment happen on Airbnb.