Panettone Towers

If you ever find yourself ready to walk into a grocery store in Brazil, prepare to be amazed. They have this ability to create massive display towers with whatever happens to be the special that time of year. They use cases of beer to build archways at the entrance, paper products to stacked 7 feet high at the end of the isle, or wine glasses (yes, glassware) stacked in a pyramid in the middle of the busiest section of the whole store.

While these towers are nothing short of amazing, they honestly scare me. I’m so worried I’m going to accidentally bump one as I go buy and find myself in a mountain of whatever the product might be, with everyone staring at the blondie.

Despite my fear, I still have to shop and the item of choice right now is the popular Christmas bread Panettone. Panettone is actually an Italian product (Milanese) and it most likely came to Brazil with the immigration of Northern Italians. It is a sweet, sourdough-like bread with various dried fruits baked in. Here in Brazil they also have a chocolate variety and goiaba (guava fruit).

I’ve never been to Italy to know how much Panettone is around there during the Christmas season, but I do wonder if they love it as much as Brazilians. This stuff is everywhere. There are towers and arches in every grocery store and there are about 15 brand names to choose from.

So far we’ve tried two different kinds and another is waiting in the kitchen right now to be samples. Excessive, I know, but everyone tells us which one they think is the best and well, we only have two holiday seasons here, so we figure we better get started trying them out. So far we think they are great. It is similar in flavor to a fruitcake without the liquor, but is much less dense. It has light and airy texture like fresh baked bread.

Today I will have to leave the Panettone behind because I’m headed back to the states to celebrate the holiday season with my family. I might write now and then as I continue to make comparisons between the states and Brazil. It will also be interesting to see how long it takes me to stop saying obrigada and sim. I hope what little Portuguese I’ve learned won’t escape me while I’m gone, but I’ll be ready to pick it back up in January. Feliz Natal!!