For my midterm project, I have decided to learn the art of making tiramisù. The word “tiramisù” actually means “pick me up” in the Italian language. This delicious combination of cream and coffee is said to have been created for the first time during the 1970s in a restaurant called “Le Beccherie” in Treviso, Italy. Tiramisù is often served during the holiday season but can be eaten any time as an elegant dessert. This traditional Italian dish is also eaten as an act of celebration. Relating this idea of celebration back to myself, for many years of my childhood, my family and I used to go to our favorite Italian restaurant to have a nice evening together, spending time bonding and eating fantastic food. We did not order dessert very often. However, every time we visited this restaurant during a celebratory period, such as getting all A’s during a semester of my early schooling years or a raise at work for my father, we would order a tiramisù to celebrate. I have always viewed tiramisù as something that is deeply connected to my childhood and my family itself. Connecting this background with the general consensus that tiramisù is a delightful dessert, especially for coffee lovers, as I am, learning to make this dish for my family was definitely a treat. Although I have Celiac Disease and am unable to eat gluten, being able to present small cups of tiramisù to my mother and father and reminding them of our early years and celebrations was a great feeling for me. Again, to reiterate the occasions that tiramisù is served, Italians typically conclude their dinners with some sort of fruit flavors and rarely an entire dessert, except in the event of special occasions.

A typical slice of tiramisù usually averages around 650 calories but often depends on the recipe that is followed. This dessert is high in sugar and cholesterol because of the sugar itself, heavy whipping cream, and cream cheese. When the math is done, it is estimated that an individual should eat approximately 1,200 calories per day. A slice of tiramisù will satisfy about half that calorie intake, indicating that it is definitely high in calories. Made of Savoiardi ladyfinger biscuits and cream cheese, although it has its down points, Italians believe tiramisù to be an aphrodisiac.

As far as the Tuscan history of the origin of tiramisù goes, there is talk that the decadent cake was initially created for Cosimo III de’ Medici, as he was visiting Siena. The people of Tuscany apparently decided to create this dessert to please de’ Medici. However, the Venetians claim that tiramisù was first created and is credited to a restaurant known as “Le Beccherie” in Treviso. Another rumor is that the dessert was served to refresh and reinvigorate clients in olden-bay brothels or “casinos” both before and after sexual encounters because of its taste and the feeling that one has after eating the coffee and cream cake.

When speaking about the project as a whole, I can say that I truly enjoyed being able to get out of my comfort zone a little bit and try something that I have not had an opportunity to attempt making. Picking a dish, especially as someone that is gluten free with a desire to cook something that I could eat, was difficult when I had restricted myself. Initially, my idea was to cook Linguine ai pomodori Freschi with homemade gluten-free noodles. However, missing a few key ingredients made this cooking process very difficult, and I decided that it was better to stick with a recipe for which I had the ingredients in my fridge already, especially due to the continuing circumstances revolving around the COVID-19 situation, even though I was unable to taste the final product that I had made at the end. During the cooking process, I realized that each and every portion had to be whisked together properly and consistently in order to achieve the best results. I also saw that the process for me was a bit messier than I had anticipated. Overall, as I spoke about my family history with the dish itself, choosing this dessert was relatively easy for me. I have been connecting more and more with my family as quarantine extends over a period of three months at this point, and my being able to present them with this dessert with a previous background in our family was a treat for me. I loved this assignment very much, especially learning and understanding the history of a food that I love, and I am really hoping to one day be able to cook gluten free pasta from scratch!