olive oil and taralli

“Everything is ended to tarallucci and wine”, meaning that is everything is ended well and every discussion is resolved with a nothing of fact. This friendly expression is used to say that everything is finished for the best and is the famous motto of taralli from Puglia that best describes their history and tradition.

Taralli-Pugliesi

The taralli were first introduced in Neapolitan cuisine at the end of 1700, food shortages and widespread hunger induced bakers to preserve the remains of the dough used to make bread, the bakers added pork fat and pepper to it and that’s how the taralli were born. It was a poor food but nutritious and economical and was immediately a great success. But it was later on that the taralli became famous and well known in its version from Puglia, they are called tarallini which literally means small taralli.

Different from the Neapolitan version the tarallino from Puglia is a little smaller and smoother and thanks to the famous extra-virgin olive oil of Puglia it has also a different taste.



The tarallino is closely related to the landscape features of the Pugliese: oil, wheat and wine. The name is quite uncertain but is probably related to its circular shape. Some historians argue that the name derives from the Greek daratos meaning sort of bread. The tarallino was born as a traditional food for Easter in two versions: salty and sweet. The best known is certainly the salty version; its dough includes flour, oil and white wine in its basic recipe. There are many variants: among them the most famous is surely the one that involves the addition of fennel.

Born as a basic need to feed the poor people, today the tarallino is sold in nice packages and is no longer food for poor people. It is commonly consumed as an aperitif, so famous and popular in Italy as it goes very well with soft drinks or low-dose alcohol as beer.

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