Paneton..a brief history and what it has become in Peru

Paneton has become one of Peru's main desserts for Christmas in the last decades. I was introduced to it by my step mother, which is from Peruvian decent. Ever since I could remember paneton has never missed Christmas at my parents house and even today, as I live on my own, I carry out the tradition of having it for the special holiday even though I am Colombian. But besides being a Christmas dessert, panetone's true meaning is giving to the poor.

Paneton is a cake of Italian origin that became popular in south America through Italian immigration. It is said that in the 15ht century a nobleman from Milan, Ughetto Atellani fell in love with the daughter of a poor baker man named Toni. To win her love, Ughetto disguised himself as a baker and invented a rich bread in which he added to the flour and yeast, butter, eggs, dried raisins, candy lemon and orange peel. The duke of Milan, Ludovico il Moro Sforza, agreed to the marriage, which was held in the presence of Leonardo Da Vinci,and encouraged the launch of the new cake-like bread; Pan del Ton, or Toni's bread.

Panetone's true meaning is giving to the poor. My step mother is an active member of the political Peruvian party APRA. A socialist political party tied to the poor and working class in Peru. She always emphasized the importance of making sure poor children in Peru had the opportunity of having panetone and hot chocolate for Christmas. She said such a tradition needed our help and she worked hard at raising funds to send panetone to the different community restaurants her political party has in Peru. For our family and members of the Peruvian community in New York, sharing a panetone with he less fortunate became a tradition also besides having it during the month of December.

Panetone was born out of the love a nobleman in Italy felt towards a poor baker's daughter. This love was blessed from the beginning and in today's society; it still does resembles the based in which it was created, love. this love has crossed centuries and just like it was transmitted towards a poor girl, it is show today with the less fortunate, the poor.

What do I think about food?

Food is more than an essential need. To me food is the link between the outside world and the capacity to store current events in our long term memory. I can just like Tita in the book, smell a dish similar to my moms cooking and transport myself to a past memory reviving the events that took place at that moment. It's funny how one particular smell can mean so much that it leaves a permanent stamp in your brain which activates every time you sense it and triggers all those feelings. Food is also a means to show your appreciation or resentment towards someone. I remember how exciting it was to make a meal for my ex or even friends when they came over for dinner. Just knowing that a meal could have us all together talking and enjoying each others company was an incentive to cook for hours and do it all over again. However it can also be a form of showing your resentment. I remember getting upset at my mom and not eat her food, no matter how hungry I was. It was my way of telling her I was mad and rebellious. Food can also have an intimate meaning. I remember going to the candy store with my ex and spent about five euros buying all kinds of sour candy because she loved it. Then we will walk to the beach near by and sit in the boardwalk enjoying the view while eating the candy, even though I was not a big fan of sour candy, I could eat it for days if it was with her. Now that we are not longer together, I could care less about it, the connection between sour candy and the pleasure related to it, is not longer there.