Sicilian cannoli prepared in video

Cannoli are one of the most well know Italian pastries abroad thanks to Sicilian immigrants. In a video podcast, Food-Travels.com chef Michael DeGeronimo and his Sicilian-American aunt show you how to make the favorite Sicilian pastry.

The fried, tubular-shaped cannoli take their name from the Latin word canna or cane-like reed because the tubes used to be made by wrapping the dough around a sugarcane stalk. The singular cannolo means little tube. They can be made as small as the size of a finger known as cannulicchi or quite large as can be found in Palermo.

Legends abound in Sicily as to their origin. The arrival of the Arab Empire to Sicily in the 9th Century brought new foods, most notably sugarcane and citrus fruits, still prolific in Sicilian pastry.

One legend has it that cannoli originated in the town of Caltanissetta. Italian noble historian Duca Alberto Denti suggested they were a fertility symbol dating from the harem of Caltanissetta, which loosely translates to “Castle of Women” from Arabic. When the Christian Normans conquered Sicily in the late 11th century they emptied out the harem and forced the people to convert to Christianity. Legend has it that some of these women withdrew to a convent where they took their cannoli pastry recipes with them. The cannoli were traditionally prepared for Carnival or Mardi Gras – a time historically known for carnal pleasures.

Today cannoli are found year-round throughout Sicily and Sicilian immigrant communities. The cannoli shells should be made very thin and are best served when just prepared with a fresh sheep’s milk ricotta cheese filling which may include candied fruit, chocolate, pistachio or rosewater.

Recipe for cannoli shells and filling below.