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.