Breadstick
Crisp, dry breadsticks from Turin, Piedmont.
A breadstick is a long, thin baked bread product often served as an appetizer or snack.[1][2] In Italy, breadsticks are often eaten alone as a snack, whereas in the US they are commonly accompanied by a dip like cheese.[2]
Quick Facts
- Country
- Italy
- Region
- Turin, Piedmont
- Creator
- Antonio Brunero (traditionally)
- Main ingredients
- Flour
- water
- yeast
- Associated cuisine
- Italian (Piedmontese)
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Tradition states that a Turinese baker named Antonio Brunero invented the breadstick in the 17th century.[3] According to Italian breadstick manufacturer EKO, an Italian doctor invented grissini in 1675 to nourish the future king Vittorio Amedeo II.[4] The Nibble account states that the sickly young Duke Vittorio is said to have been cured by breadsticks.[5] Olive Garden opened its first restaurant in Orlando, Florida in 1982 and has served unlimited breadsticks since day one.[4]
The chain serves over 529 million breadsticks a year.[4] The breadstick is thought to have originated before 1643, when a Florentine abbot described a long, "bone-thin" bread being made in Lanzo Torinese, a town outside of Turin in what is now the Piedmont region.[3]
What the cited sources add
The Thrillist article notes that Olive Garden's breadsticks are based on the Italian filone, a long, baguette-like bread.[4] Unlike Italian grissini, Olive Garden breadsticks are brushed with margarine and dusted with garlic-salt.[4] The Nibble records that in 1643, a Florentine abbot found a novelty bread "an arm long and thin like dead bones" in a town outside of Turin.[5] The Italian Connection blog describes that restaurants in Piedmont often place yard-long grissini in the middle of the table as a conversation piece.[6]
Food historian Julia della Croce points out that a breadstick-like food from southern Italy called taralli might be a more direct ancestor to the American breadstick.[4]
References
- Wikipedia, "Breadstick" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Joseph, "Why Olive Garden Serves Unlimited Breadsticks", Thrillist, 9 August 2018 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Breadstick" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Creamy Swiss with Classic Breadsticks", The Laughing Cow (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Breadstick" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Nibble: Breadstick History", www.thenibble.com; "Grissini Recipe Italian Breadsticks Leite's Culinaria", Leite's Culinaria, 11 November 2016 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Joseph, "Why Olive Garden Serves Unlimited Breadsticks", Thrillist, 9 August 2018. facts only, no text reused. thrillist.com
- "The Nibble: Breadstick History", www.thenibble.com. facts only, no text reused. thenibble.com
- "Grissini - Breadsticks from Piedmont with Recipe & History", blog.italian-connection.com, 7 March 2013. facts only, no text reused. blog.italian-connection.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Breadstick (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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