PIGNA

Production area
The whole region

The product’s features
Soft baked product, with soft, a little sweet and lightly aromatic taste.
According to the area, it can be shaped like a round loaf or a doughnut.
Methods of manufacturing
The raw materials are: potatoes, flour, lard or pork fat, eggs, sugar, grated lemon rinds, yeast, cinnamon, coloured little confections (armelline).
In some areas (in the territory of Agnone), it is commonly called “piccellato” and made with eggs, sugar, natural yeast, flour and candied fruits only.
Boil and purée the potatoes.
Apart, beat the eggs with sugar in a large container, adding slowly pork fat and lard, grated lemon rinds, cinnamon, potatoes, yeast melted in lukewarm water and finally flour.
Mix all with a wooden spoon and let it leaven.
Then, place the pastry in a half baking-pan and let it leaven further on.
In some cases it is placed to leaven on a board and baked straight away through a wooden shovel.
Once pastry reaches the baking-pan edges, cook it preferably in a wooden-burning oven up to 180° for about 30 minutes.
Once cooked, let the “pigne” cool, garnish them with the “naspro” (icing), obtained by beating the whites of the eggs with sugar and lemon; finally add the coloured confections (armelline).
They are produced at Easter.

Materials and tools
Steel containers, baking-pans, wooden spoons.

Proofs of traditionalismBibliographic references
• Un paese racconta – La scoperta di un paese molisano, Frosolone – Proloco Edition.
• Vocabolario Dialetto Agnonese by Giuseppe Cremonese Typography Gabriele Bastone Agnone 1898, page 92.
• Il Molise arte, cultura e paesaggi – F.lli Palombi editors 1900.
• Almanacco del Molise – page 268 Enne Editions 1970.
• Lunedì in Albis – Michele Cima Poetries (1910).

ERSAmolise notizie Atlante dei Prodotti Tradizionali della Regione Molise