The Quest for Panna
With the holidays behind the corner, I am getting itchy to prepare foods I don't normally even think of. This year, for our Christmas open house I've been toying with the idea of making panna cotta. It's a bomb of calories, but what the heck… life is short.
Only, there seems to be no panna to be found in Los Angeles and it ain't no panna cotta without the panna.
Well meaning people have suggested that I substitute panna with other kinds of creams such as heavy whipping cream or even the super liquid half & half. No! Would you dress up a chicken and try to pass it for turkey? I happen to prefer chicken, but that's not the point. You can't call it apple pie, if it there are no apples in it.
A dear friend has already checked her local Italian deli and sent me links to other LA delis worth checking. So far, no luck.
I remember a conversation with Ms. Cornflower a while back about panna. The British call it double cream. Here in the US it doesn't seem to exist. The fat content of panna and double cream is much higher than that of heavy cream and that makes panna cotta what it is.
It's starting to look as if I'll have to revise my dessert plans, unless one of you can come up with a plan to save the day. Anyone?
Comments
ah-ha, i've had the same exact problem - in fact, i had a good friend once bring me back three boxes when she went to italy! but for christmas, this is what i'm giving to my sister (she'll love it, we used to live in italy together so it brings back great memories, plus penna a la norcina demands for panna) and this is what i found:
http://www.salumeriaitaliana.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?CatID=6&DID=10&Product_ID=25438
haven't ordered yet, but i'm thinking they're legit. tell me how it goes ;)
Posted by: andrea | November 27, 2007 1:42 PM
There's a panna cotta mix at http://www.igourmet.com. Probably not as good but may be worth a shot
Posted by: soknitpicky | November 27, 2007 1:55 PM
Ah, I've heard many times that it's almost impossible to get double cream (48% butterfat? Yum!) in the United States - heavy whipping cream is the closest, at 36-40% butterfat. I found a link to this rather intensive method to make double cream from heavy cream, but it may be worth it.
Posted by: Sarah T. | November 27, 2007 2:43 PM
Adoro il tuo blog e i tuoi libri! Per il dessert ti posso consigliare questo sito http://www.cavolettodibruxelles.it/ci sono anche ricette di Pierre Hermè. Auguri!
Posted by: nadia | November 27, 2007 4:29 PM
Here is quite interesting discussion on the Panna! I once tried to bake Italian Christmas cake, Panetone, but I gave it up because most of recipes say we need some special tough to bake.
Francesca, Are you going to shaw us your own recipe how to make Pannacotta?
Posted by: Koko | November 27, 2007 4:37 PM
I vaguely recall making double cream from heavy cream with some sort of gizmo back in high school. Perhaps if you went to an actual dairy?
Best of luck!
Posted by: Sylvia | November 27, 2007 5:36 PM
well, if double cream will do they used to sell it at king arthur www.bakerscatalog.com and my local foo-foo grocery store sells it (oddly placed with the butter in the comprehensive cheese section). For Koko, Sur la Table, sometimes Williams-Sonoma and sometimes King Arthur all sell panettone (and pandoro) forms if that is what you are looking for.
Posted by: karen | November 27, 2007 6:20 PM
Ti ricordi? Arrigo l'aveva fatta per noi una volta, quando abitava ancora sulla Miracle Mile. Sicuramente lui sa come farla... Qui in Nuova Zelanda tutti i latticini sono favolosi, anche la panna cotta :-)
Posted by: Gabriella | November 27, 2007 11:32 PM
Have you thought of contacting a farm? I know that people in LA would talk about getting goats milk straight from a farmer. I'm wondering if a dairy farmer would have an organic shop on premises. ??? Good luck dear! Oh... and I'm assuming you've already tried the Whole Foods on Wilshire.
Posted by: Sachi | November 28, 2007 7:21 AM
Hi, I have seen double cream from time to time in the stores here, places like Whole Foods or Gelsons. Maybe Trader Joes, or one of the British speciality stores in the area? (Santa Monica has a few).
I just called Bay Cities Italian Deli (on Lincoln in SM) and the phone answerer said they "thought" they had panna. baycitiesitaliandeli.com
Could you try mixing a lighter and a heavier cream to get the proper ratio? I abhor using geletin as a substitute for proper ingredients as well, and the texture is never right anyway.
Good luck....
Posted by: Margot | December 5, 2007 9:34 AM