Ossa di morto

The ossa di morto or Dead men's bones (ossa i mortu in Sicilian) are traditional Sicilian biscuits, included in the list of traditional Italian agri-food products (P.A.T) of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (Mipaaf).^[1]

Ossa di morto

Ossa di morto
Type	sweet
Place of origin	Italy
Region or state	Sicily
Main ingredients	flour, sugar and spices: Cinnamon and Cloves
Media: Ossa di morto

Also known as nucatoli, mustazzoli,^[2] scardellini,^[3][4] scardellini, moscardini^[5] or paste di garofano,^[4][6] they are prepared on the occasion of the commemoration of the deceased and have the shape of small human bones.^[7]

Preparation

Both parts of the biscuit are made with the same dough, based on flour, water, sugar and spices such as cinnamon and cloves:^[8] the dough is prepared, shaped and left to rest for a few days, until the surface has dried completely. Then the biscuits are baked in the oven: the top will become white and hard, while the base, moistened, will be darker, soft and caramelized, thanks to the sugar dripped from the top.^[9]

See also

• Italy portal
• Food portal

• List of Italian desserts and pastries

References

1. Regione Siciliana. "Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali". Archived from the original on 2024-09-13. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
2. "Ossa di morto". Retrieved 2024-10-11.
3. "Ossa di morto dolci / Scardellini biscotti tipici siciliani". 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
4. "Ossa di Morto: i biscotti più spaventosi della Sicilia". Retrieved 12 July 2021.
5. "Ricordare i defunti nel mondo della cucina siciliana: le "ossa dei morti", dalle origini alla RICETTA". November 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
6. "Le ossa dei morti, dolci tipici siciliani". 31 October 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
7. Coria, G. (2018). Profumo di Sicilia. Ricette e tradizioni della cucina siciliana tratte da «Profumi di Sicilia» (in Italian). Cavallotto. p. 542. ISBN 978-88-86803-70-0. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
8. "Biscotti ossa dei morti siciliani: ricetta e curiosità sul dolce e le sue origini". SicilyAddict (in Italian). 2022-10-10. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
9. Baldwin, Eleonora (2024-10-28). "Gli strani biscotti siciliani in onore dei morti: la storia delle Ossa di morto". Gambero Rosso (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-01-13.

External links

• Salvatore Farina: Dolcezze di Sicilia. Arte cultura storia e tradizioni dei dolci e della pasticceria siciliana 2003, ISBN 88-8243-084-7
• Alba Allotta (18 September 2012). La cucina siciliana. Newton Compton Editori. pp. 608–. ISBN 978-88-541-4612-9. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
• Joël Robuchon (2009). Larousse Gastronomique: The World's Greatest Culinary Encyclopedia. Hamlyn. ISBN 978-0-600-62042-6.
• Gary Hunter; Terry Tinton; Patrick Carey (2008). Professional Chef: Level 3 S/NVQ. Cengage Learning EMEA. pp. 339–. ISBN 978-1-84480-531-0.
• Glenn Rinsky; Laura Halpin Rinsky (20 March 2014). The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional. Wiley. pp. 149–. ISBN 978-1-118-06066-7.