ZEPPOLE DI SAN GIUSEPPE

Zeppole di San Giuseppe (Saint Joseph’s Zeppole) are very popular in the Vesuvius area and, in the past they were prepared in the streets by “frittellari” (people who prepared only fried food in the streets). They have different  origins, they can come from the nuns of San Gregorio Armeno (a Naples area that is  for its Christmas cribs) or other monasteries in Naples. The first written recipe dates back to 1837 and we can find it in the Neapolitan cooking book by Ippolito Cavalcanti

They are generally prepared in the period of Saint Joseph (19^th March) and now they are also the typical sweet for Dad’s Day (19^th march). The main ingredients are: flour, sugar, eggs, butter and olive oil, egg and milk cream, icing sugar and black cherries in syrup to decorate. According to Neapolitan tradition there are fried and baked zeppole. They have a circular shape with a central hole of about 2 cm and they are covered with egg and milk cream and black cherries in syrup.  Nowadays you can find zeppole full of cream but they are not traditional.

1.    Zeppole come from

a)    Rome area

b)    Milan area

c)    Florence area

d)    Vesuvius area

2.    They are prepared for

a)    Saint John’s Day

b)    Saint Joseph’s Day

c)    Saint Elizabeth’s Day

d)    Saint Anthony’s Day

3.    They are covered with

a)    Only cream

b)    Only black cherries in syrup

c)    Cream and black cherries in syrup

d)    Peaches in syrup