Marroni Memories in Padova
If you find yourself walking along the narrow cobblestone streets of Padova, past Ponte delle Torricelle where you pause for moment of reflection and you get a hankering for a sweet taste, make a stop at Pasticceria Breda.
There is outdoor seating under the archways where you can indulge your sweet tooth, café-style, or eat inside at the stand up bar.
Walking past the shop on a late Saturday afternoon, I stop to admire the pasticci on display from behind the glass window.
I can’t resist the temptation under the guise of marroni al naturale, whole chestnuts that are cooked in syrup, beautifully presented in a copper cauldron. I love the taste of chestnuts. I even eat them raw as a way to gauge the nuttiness and freshness of the fruit.
Inside the pasticceria, I sneak a photo of the tarts, pastries and millefoglie before placing my order in Italian.
“Mangiare qui o da asporto?” the sales girl asks in return.
Noticing my puzzled look, she switches to English. “Take away?”
“Si.” I nodd. “Grazie.”
Da asporto. I just added a new word to my Italian language repertoire.
I watch her wrap the marroni like a prized gift.
We stop by the first little piazza and unwrap the small parcel, step by step, with a pause in between to take photographs. Naturalmente.
The marrone are plump, juicy and sweet, without the crystallised sugary taste that accompanies many of the marrons glacés. The syrup in which they were cooked was simply finger-licking goodness.
Buon appetito!
Pasticceria Breda
Via Umberto I, 26
35122 Padova (Veneto), Italy
+39 049 8758394
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Now I want to try one out of that cauldron!
Chris: Me too! I can’t find such delicacies back home and unfortunately the marrons glaces break the budget!