Le arancine (o arancini) are among the fried foods best in the world. To say it is the journalist of CNN, Casey Barber, which has drawn up a list of 30 best fried of the planet, which also includes i Spanish churros or the Japanese tempura. As reported by Barber in his article: "Sicilian arancini have been delighting Italians since the XNUMXth century with their combination of rice and tasty fillings. Despite these breaded and fried rice balls, siano a traditional food of the feast of Saint Lucia, which takes place in December, arancini are eaten all year round. They can be stuffed with different types of fillings, such as meat sauce, mozzarella, aubergines, mushrooms, but also pistachio. Arancini, also known as "arancine", can have a round, oval or conical shape, in honor of Mount Etna".
However, Sicilian arancini are not the only Italian food on the CNN journalist's list. Among the other culinary specialties of our Peninsula, the fried zucchini flowers in batter, fried squid rings and the traditional Fried Pizza Napoletana. Barber considers the former a real one delicacy, to be enjoyed also stuffed with ham, rice, cheese or herbs. The latter are considered a must dish Have of many restaurants that, from the Italian and Greek coasts, has moved to the United States, to become a traditional appetizer. The fried pizza is instead mentioned among the street food foods less known than the Neapolitan pizza tradition (in the United States?) spread to Napoli during the Second World War, after many ovens had been destroyed by bombing. As for the other world specialties, there is no shortage of fried chicken American, lo Scotch eggs and the inevitable french frieze.
Sicilian arancini or Sicilian arancini?
Hamlet the problem was "to be or not to be", for a Sicilian instead it is "arancino or arancina"? Over the years this dilemma has plagued scholars and others alike. The most intransigent Palermitans will say that the "arancina is fimmina”, The people of Catania, on the other hand, do not accept anything other than the masculine denomination. To solve the long-standing problem, theBran Academy. The prestigious institution has partly given reason to the Palermitan frond since, deriving from the fruit "orange", it should have the feminine ending. On the other hand, in the Sicilian-Italian dictionary di Joseph Biundi (dated 1857) the term "orange". In the Sicilian language (not only in the archaic form) the term "aranciu" is used to indicate both the "orange" fruit and the tree. From "orange"Then the term"orange"And therefore"arancino". Taking this into account, the Accademia della Crusca has also made the male version valid (however, considering the female version more correct).
The inclusion of Sicilian arancini in the list of the best fried foods in the world compiled by the CNN journalist is not surprising. In Sicily it street food it is an institution and the arancino (or arancina) is one of its most representative products. Be it male or female does not matter. The arancino is always aexplosion of flavors and perfumes that satisfies the palate (and not only) of those who eat it. The arancina is not female, the arancino is not male. This gorgeous and tasty stuffed and deep fried rice ball is simply thesoul of Sicily.
Featured photo: © Enzo Rippa - Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
