The Crucànt(Almond Brittle)Sweet made of toasted almonds whole and in pieces, combined with caramelized sugar; it is one of the 5 De.Co (Denominazione Comunale di Origine) products certified in Bobbio (Piacenza) in 2019.
When to eat the Crucànt(Almond Brittle)
The almond brittle is a dessert, to which skilful hands give the shape of a basket, it is still today the Christmas dessert par excellence.
The brittle could not be missed even at weddings: baskets of different sizes were stacked one on top of the other, with a convex shape towards the top, from the biggest to the smallest, in order to form a sweet composition that “substituted” the wedding cake. Almonds were also used to make “simple” sugared almonds: these were unpeeled almonds covered with coarse grains of sugar (praline).
The traditional recipe
The almonds, peeled and cut into strips, were traditionally mixed with sugar in a copper pot, then the brittle was shaped with the help of a lemon.
The ancient recipe used a higher quantity of almonds compared to sugar, at that time more expensive. Today the proportions are often changed in order to allow the realization of more complex artistic creations.
