Daily Life in Lima,  Food & Dining

Panettone Madness

 

Stacked to the ceiling in Wong supermarket, Lima

It is December in Lima; therefore, Christmas is coming; therefore, the city is being overrun by armies of panettone boxes.

You may wonder what this Milanese sweet bread is doing in Peru, which does not have a large Italian population.

Don’t ask. It’s Peru. Many decades ago, the dessert bread became coupled in the Peruvian imagination with Christmas festivities, and eating gobs of panettone became what one did at Navidad.

(Actually, the custom was introduced by Antonio D’Onofrio, the son of immigrants from Caserta, Italy, who licensed the Milanese recipe and packaging and proceeded to build a baking and ice cream empire in Peru, according to Wikipedia.) 

Peru isn’t the only South American country where people eat panettone at Christmasttime. Brazil and Bolivia, for instance, are big panettone consumers.

But I don’t think there you’ll find supermarket shelves stacked to the ceiling with panettone boxes, or young saleswomen (impulsadoras) dressed up in the colors of panettone boxes, or business owners standing on the checkout line with two carts full of panettone for their employees, as I’ve seen in Peru this year and last Xmas.

Peru is Panettone Central, S.A.

If you live in Lima or another large Peruvian city, you’ve experienced Panettone Madness yourself. 

For those who live elsewhere, here are some scenes from my local Wong supermarket in Miraflores. You can buy an enormous panettone for less than $3.50 in Peru, and prices range from that to upwards of US$30 for imported Italian brands.  (Personal note: If you haven’t guessed, I love panettone, which I eat toasted with butter in the mornings. Yes, fattening.)

This panettone brand, from the Mexican conglomerate Bimbo (for real), sells for the equivilent of US$6.30 a piece
A carousel of store-brand Wong panettone, which sells for about US$3.30 a piece (with in-store points); bars of chocolate for making hot chocolate are featured with the Milanese sweet bread

 

Hecho en Peru: Todinno-brand panettone comes with an “offerta” of a free little panettone with each large-size purchase; Todinno brand sells for nearly US$9.00 a piece
Once D’Onofrio’s leading competitor in the Peru panettone market, Motta is now owned by D’Onofrio. Its brand sells for about US$6.50 a box

I am an American writer who lived in Lima for seven years (2007-2014), where I covered Andean traditions, melting glaciers and daily life in the capital for Miami Herald, MSNBC and Huffington Post. I now live and work in northern Florida where I champion climate change advocacy and compassionate, affordable eldercare.

27 Comments

  • Erika

    We also eat panettone in july i guess for indepence day festivities , at least that’s what I remember ..
    I am currently living in Caserta Italy and tasted the italian Pannetonne .. I would stick with D’Onofrio 100%.. it’s more suaveciiiito (soft)lol..

  • Rachel in Peru

    My brother-in-law lives in Milan and his Italian in-laws have no idea what Paneton is! It’s more popular in Peru than it is in Italy.

    I love Paneton, always wondered why in the heck they sold it in South American travel agencies like Costamar in the U.S., but after visiting Peru now I get it!

    Anyway, the best Paneton comes from “La Marina.” My husband’s aunt works for them and always brings us Paneton around the holidays.

    Don’t forget that it’s Peruvian tradition to eat Paneton with the Chocolate Milk. (Evaporated Milk, Chocolate bar, and Cinnamon.)

  • Barb

    Yes, it’s popular in July too. I guess Peruvians keep looking for more excuses to eat panettone.

    Does anyone else vouch for Erika’s observation that Peruvian panettone is better than the Italian version? (I think a lot of Italians would be scandalized to read that!)

    Rachel, where do they sell La Marina? I haven’t seen that brand…

  • Rachel in Peru

    “La Marina” it’s the Navy’s brand of Paneton. They produce it in Callao.

    I have no clue where they sell it, though, but there is a strong consensus that they make the best.

    Plus they only produce it for the Christmas holidays, not year round like the other brands.

  • Stuart

    Maybe try asking in the Club de la Marina in Callao. It has a really nice pool, sports facilities and really great food. I don’t think you need to military to get in.

  • Barb

    This is kind of amusing. Only in Peru would the Navy have its own brand of panettone.

    (I’m trying to imagine a similar situation in Great Britain — the army’s own crumpets — or in the United States — special-issue glazed donuts for the Marines. 🙂

  • Miguel

    Well if you ask the right person, he will tell you that panetons came with Italian immigrants at the end of the 1800s or early 1900s.

    I love panetons, I have not found anyone that doesn’t, and today there are so many different varieties; there is chocolate paneton, panetone with pecans and nuts, among many others 🙂

    When I was a child, my family’s favorite was Motta, but that changed when D’onofro bought it.

    I didn’t know that it was not popular in Italy, that’s funny since it came from there. Well, then Peru is THE paneton place 🙂

  • Miguel

    Erika you are right, I forgot we also have panetons in July because of Independence Day. It’s not as big as Christmas and New Years though.

  • Erika

    my dad was in the navy in Peru , I remember the paneton the Navy has …ohh it was delicious !!
    hehe Barb , coming from a country that loves paneton I expected more from the ones here in italy , I still have not had a one that can give peruvian’s paneton a run for their money ! 😉

  • Gene

    I am of Italian decent and have family in Italy. I have gone there often. Panettone is very popular in northern Italy. I don’t know where the idea that it wasn’t came from, but it particularly popular durning the holidays. And it is fantastic. I can’t imagine that it has improved that much in other countries – even Peru which does have a large Italian population, by the way.

  • Barbara

    Bob’s plugging Amigo Foods, which is an online Latin food distributor based in Miami. The business is owned by a Cuban family but they sell foods from many Caribbean and South American countries. They ship throughout the United States.

  • Barb

    De nada, Diego. (I’m writing this as I sit at my desk, finishing off the last of the panettone. Toasted with butter….)

  • Adriana Rodriguez

    I love panetone motta y donofrio two week ago I start to buy and eat panetone Motta cost 12,99 dollar in my area but I want to buy panetone donofrio somebody told me it’s in queens but I don’t know the address pldease help me thank you

  • Natalia

    Yesterday, I tasted Pandoro (Golden bread)Todinno again, after 27 years. It was like to come back to my childhood. My parents used to sell Pandoro in their store but the brand was Motta. Thank you Todinno, even though it is more expensive than a panettone. If you don´t like dried fruit or raisins, Pandoro could be a good option for you :D.

  • Barry from Oklahoma

    This is my first post here, but I’ve been enjoying this website immensely since I discovered it a couple of days ago. First my qualifications: I have been married to my lovely Pervian wife for almost 4 years now. I met her in Peru and of course I speak fluent Spanish. (with a horrible accent though.) I read it well, but can’t spell worth a darn.

    As to the subject at hand, my wife’s family used to go wait in line when the Panetons went on sale and purchase as many as possible, each one of the adults and older children would stand in line and buy the maximum allowed. They would then go back home and resell them near where they lived for a good profit. It is one of the ways a family in tight circumstances can make some money to help pay for their Christmas celebrations.

    Oh, and I like my paneton sliced into 2 cm strips and cooked french toast style. yum!