The wobbly, creamy fridge favourite paired with freezer fruit – easy!
In her book of English puddings, and in the delightful chapter about jellies, blancmanges and flummeries, Mary Norwak notes that the art of thickening began in medieval times. Fruit pectin had long been used as a way of preserving and thickening, but it was the practice of extracting collagen from fish or meat bones that, in the 1300s, allowed for new ways of setting jellies – first savoury, then sweet – in (privileged) kitchens. Then, in the 16th century, isinglass, made from the dried swim bladders of sturgeon, made its way from Russia to England via Dutch traders. Primarily used for the calcification of beer, isinglass provided another means of setting, until the process was revolutionised again in the early 1700s by the invention of the pressure cooker. Denis Papin’s “digester”, as it was called, meant that bones could be boiled down efficiently, paving the way for powders, capsules, blocks and, eventually, leaves and latticed sheets of gelatine, which opened to everyone a world of puddings that wobble.
In his Gran Dizionario Della Gastronomia Del Piemonte, Sandro Doglio makes reference to the story that a Hungarian woman introduced panna cotta to Piedmont in the early 19th century; Anna Del Conte, meanwhile, suggests it has been served there for centuries. Either way, it is a lovely pudding; tender and slightly amusing. I do think Panna-leggermente-riscaldata (gently warmed cream) or panna-leggermente-impostata (gently set cream) are more accurate descriptions than panna-cotta (cooked cream), but somehow I don’t think either of my suggestions will catch on.
Discover this recipe and many more from your favourite cooks on the new Guardian Feast app, with smart features to make everyday cooking easier and more fun
