HOW TO EAT PANETTONE

You’ve spent three days baking it. But how do you actually eat? There are a few different ways of how to eat panettone but they almost all look exactly like this:

Method One: Unwrap it and slice it.

Outside Italy this is the recommended method.

Step One: Unwrap it.

If your panettone was wrapped, first remove the wrapping paper from the sides of the panettone. Most panettoni come with cellophane or paper wrapping around the sides, and sometimes both.

Step Two: Heat it up. (Optional)

If you prefer warm breads now is the time to heat it up. This step is entirely optional but we highly recommend it if you like warm breads. Simply place the unwrapped panettone in your oven at 200 °F (93 °C) for 5-10 minutes. Remember to remove it from the oven before you slice it! Otherwise you’ll find yourself in a dangerous situation.

Step Three: Slice it up. (Not optional!)

Get a bread knife and cut the panettone into small triangle slices . Just like you would slice into a cake, take a bread knife and cut into your panettone from the top to the bottom. Starting from the same center point, make another cut going out just a little bit from the center to make your first narrow slice. Continue cutting the panettone in this manner until you have as many narrow slices as you need for you and your guests.

Step Four: Add a Beverage!

Choose a beverage that matches the time of day that you are serving your meal. Select one of the three options below:

  • Option 1: Add Coffee (Breakfast) – Eat a slice of panettone with your morning coffee as breakfast. Europeans often eat panettone with breakfast around the holidays. Simply slice it into narrow pieces and serve it with cups of your favorite coffee, by itself or with other breakfast foods. Some people like to dip their panettone into their coffee before eating it. If this sounds good to you, give it a try!
  • Option 2: Serve with Masala (Lunch) – Serve slices of panettone with glasses of Masala as a mid-day treat. If your family enjoys having a tea time or small afternoon meal, as many Europeans do, serve slices of panettone with Masala or other Italian wine at this time. Get enough small plates and wine glasses for each of your guests, slice your panettone and pour the wine accordingly.
  • Option 3: Serve with Wine (Dinner) – Eat panettone after dinner with a glass of Moscato as dolce. Try your slice of panettone with a glass of sparkling white wine, such as Moscato or Spumante, after dinner as your dessert, or dolce. Find Italian sparkling white wine at your nearest grocery or wine store.

Step Five: For a sweet treat add some whipped cream. (Optional)

Surprise your guests with a whip cream accent. If you’re serving your panettone for dessert, try slicing the top of the loaf off and carving a bit of the inside out. Save the pieces as morsels for snacking. Fill the cavity with whipped cream and put the top of the loaf back on. Slice your filled panettone in thin slices as you normally would to serve to your guests.

Method Two: Tear and dip.

This is the more low effort traditional way. Which is messier and less formal.

Tear your panettone and eat it in a glass of milk instead of slicing it. Another way that Italians enjoy panettone doesn’t involve slicing it at all. Try simply unwrapping your panettone and setting it out. Give each person a 470 mL glass and have them tear off pieces of the panettone to place in their glass. Fill the rest of each glass with whole milk. Have each person enjoy their milk-soaked glass of panettone with a dessert spoon.

If you’re looking for other ways to prepare Panettone we recommend one of the following: