The Life and Times of The Sicilian Cannoli | History of Foods

copyright Art of Living, PrimaMedia,Inc/Maria Liberati
Editor: Jennifer Birchwale
Cannoli are a traditional Sicilian dessert popularized in the early 1970’s by Mario Puzo’s quote, “Leave the gun, take the cannoli.” But besides being a delicious dessert served in pastry shops worldwide, what do we really know about cannoli? While pouring over the historical and cultural texts of Sicily, I found some very interesting facts.

For starters, the word itself is relatively misunderstood. Cannolo is the singular form of the noun; meaning cannoli is actually the plural form for this tasty treat. In the Sicilian dialect of Italian, cannolo is written as cannolu.
Nevertheless what are the actual origins? There are many variations due to the inaccuracies that come with passing down information over the generations, but the knowledge following can be generally agreed upon by everyone. The first hint of cannoli in history date back to the Palermo area, in the 9^th century AD. Palermo, on a map of Sicily, lies on the northwestern coastline. At this time, Sicily was under Arabic control. It is at this time that Sicily is first introduced to sugar cane, thus changing the way Sicily would create its desserts.
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**See you on May 17th at the Tastes of the World Event at the Pearl S  Buck Foundation in Perkasie Pa. Join me and other Celebrity Chefs Joseph Poon and Darryl Harmon for the Tastes of the World Gala.  Come out for a great cause, for more information,go to  www.pearlsbuck.org/taste