A name that is an affectionate diminutive, a texture unlike any other, and a story that spans two cities and an earthquake.
The name of a saint
Few biscuits have such a tender name. Nzuddu is nothing but the abbreviation of Vincinzuddu, the Sicilian pet form of the name Vincenzo. And it is no coincidence: the nzuddi were born from the hands of the Vincentian nuns, in a convent in Catania.
It is a story that repeats itself throughout Sicilian pastry-making, which was largely created within the walls of the monasteries. The nuns’ sweets, eaten during festive periods but above all sold to the outside world, formed the economic backbone of the communities — and safeguarded a knowledge that would otherwise have been lost.
From Catania to Messina
In Catania the nzuddi are round, with a whole almond set in the centre, and are traditionally prepared for the Commemoration of the Dead, on 2 November, alongside the rame di Napoli. Then the biscuit migrates towards the Strait and, in Messina, everything changes: it takes on a square or rectangular shape and becomes tied to another celebration, the feast of the Madonna della Lettera, the city’s patron saint, on 3 June.
Tradition tells that this transition was born of an act of charity. After the 1908 earthquake, which destroyed Messina and with it the monastery of San Vincenzo, the nuns offered their biscuits to the displaced. For the patronal feast, still today, the Messina nzuddi “dress in white”: tiny sugar pearls trace minuscule letters on their surface, in memory of the Letter that the Madonna is said to have sent to the city.
Crisp outside, soft inside
The ingredients are simple and homely: flour, almonds, sugar, egg white, orange zest and cinnamon; in some versions also honey and cloves. But it is the texture that makes them unmistakable — a crisp surface, a slightly “chewy” heart — a contrast that traditionally came from the use of baker’s ammonia as a leavening agent.
They are enjoyed at the end of a meal or with coffee, and are at their best alongside a Sicilian passito or fortified wine, from Marsala to Malvasia. A biscuit for meditation, rather than for haste.
Our Nsuddi Nebrodensis
We make the nzuddi in our own way, with the almonds and the scents of our land: the Nsuddi Nebrodensis. It is the same biscuit as the nuns’, brought back to the Nebrodi — the same simple dough, the same texture, the same slow time as always.
Because certain recipes are not invented: they are safeguarded, and handed down. One bite at a time.
