Cuccidati (Sicilian fig cookies)
Assumption: Before starting Kitchen Chemistry I knew yeast were organisms that caused dough to rise, but I had no idea why gluten was so important or how it was made. I knew dough had to be kneaded because I made dough for bread, pizza, and cookies all my life, but I never knew why. After being in these classes I have come to understand that gluten is created by two proteins, glutenin and gliadin, along with water and the process of kneading.
Dish: I chose cuccidati, or fig cookies. These cookies have two parts, the fig filling and the dough. The dough has 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour. The prep and parts used to make these cookies are actually incredibly similar to pitta ‘mpigliata.
Chemical Analysis: Two of the ingredients are baking soda and flour, whose importance in cooking we have studied in class. Flour contains protein, ~75% of this protein are two specific ones, gliadin and glutenin. When combined with water and through the process of kneading, a gluten matrix forms. This is what gives dough a chewy texture. Baking soda releases carbon dioxide, which is used to leaven the dough.
Cultural Analysis: I know about these cookies because of my nonna. She would make them every Christmas, enlisting the help of the whole family. It would not just take up the entire kitchen, but the entire house as well. She spent up to three days making hundreds of these cookies. The funny part is that she would barely keep any for herself. She would bring a gallon sized ziplock bag of these cookies to every person in her life on Christmas. I did not understand why she would go to such lengths to make these cookies, but I have come to realize that it was a form of hospitality. As we read in Verga, hospitality in Italy was rare because they had nothing to give, but when we read about american-italian life in the States they had more to give and took advantage of that. My grandmother used these cookies as a way to show the people in her life her love and gratitude for them.
Integration and Reflection: In order to make good dough, all the components for gluten are needed. Gliadin, glutenin, water, and of course, kneading. Without all of these things working together, the dough would not become as good and chewy as it gets. This is very much like the process of making these cookies. My grandmother had my whole family help bake with her, and we each played a specific role in the process of these cookies. Whether it was cutting the figs, rolling the dough, or glazing them, each step combined to make one hell of a cookie. Just as each important part of how gluten forms is what makes the dough so good.
Another important part of the cuccidati is the filling. It can have figs, nuts of all kinds, dates, sugar, zest, cinnamon, and many other things. These things are what make the cookies so good, which in my mind are equivalent to the people my grandmother gifted these cookies to. She gave them to the people that fill her life with love and are the reasons why it is so good.
