Contact
How to shop
Delivery
Shopping guide
Bitter Almonds
English
63 b
Up to 30 days for returns
Customers also purchased
/
Paperback
17.61
€
/
Hardback
21.97
€
In the early 50s, Maria Grammatico and her sister were sent by their impoverished mother to the San Carlo, a cloistered orphanage in Erice, an ancient hill town on the western coast of Sicily. It was a Dickensian existence - beating sugar mixtures for six hours at a time, rising before dawn to prime the ovens, and surviving on an unrelenting diet of vegetable gruel. But it was here that Maria learned to make the beautifully handcrafted pastries that were sold to customers from behind a grille in the convent wall. At 22, Maria left the orphanage with no personal possessions, minimal schooling and no skills other than what she carried in her head and hands - the knowledge acquired during a childhood spent preparing delicacies for other people's celebrations. Today, she is the successful owner of her own pasticceria in Erice, her counters piled high with home-made biscotti, tarts, cakes and jams - torta divina, cassata siciliana, cotognata. This is her story, told by her friend and long-time customer as a tribute to Sicilian food and culture and a record of an historic and vanishing craft.
About the book
English
Give this book today
It's easy
1 Add to cart and choose Deliver as present at the checkout 2 We'll send you a voucher 3 The book will arrive at the recipient's addressYou might also be interested in
/
Paperback
16.20
€
Hi! I'm Libroamiko, your book advisor.
How can I help you?