- 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
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27 responses so far ↓
1 Erika // Dec 14, 2008 at 3:19 pm
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..
2 Rachel in Peru // Dec 14, 2008 at 7:27 pm
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.)
3 Barb // Dec 15, 2008 at 10:12 am
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…
4 Rachel in Peru // Dec 15, 2008 at 8:31 pm
“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.
5 Stuart // Dec 16, 2008 at 8:55 am
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.
6 Barb // Dec 16, 2008 at 11:41 am
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.
7 Miguel // Dec 16, 2008 at 9:19 pm
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
8 Miguel // Dec 16, 2008 at 9:30 pm
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.
9 » Panettone Madness [Featured] …en Perú - Travel Culture History News // Dec 19, 2008 at 3:42 pm
[...] Read the rest and see the photos here » [...]
10 Erika // Dec 21, 2008 at 12:00 pm
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 !
11 Christmas in Peru « Ward and Patricia’s blog about life in Cusco, Peru // Dec 26, 2008 at 9:32 am
[...] Peruvians typically celebrate Christmas eve (”la Noche Buena”) with a dinner, followed by an exchange of gifts and fireworks at midnight. The traditional Christmas meal is turkey, and in the weeks leading up to Christmas the typical treat is hot chocolate with a sweet bread called “Panettone”. [...]
12 Peru and panettone « The Well-Tempered Chocolatier // Dec 27, 2008 at 12:44 pm
[...] between Italian and South American producers. A quick Google search also yielded this funny post by an American ex-pat living in [...]
13 Potato Panettone » Canela and Comino // Jan 4, 2009 at 2:44 pm
[...] how the children of Aucayacu are served Panettone & Hot Chocolate.Barbara shares about the madness of Panettone Bread here in Lima, Peru.Susan from Wild Yeast writes about Chocolate Panettone as well as an original [...]
14 matthew // Apr 21, 2009 at 3:34 am
I have a friend is in the marines or somethign similar in callao. I’ll see if she knows something…
15 Barb // Apr 21, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Maybe your friend can snag you a few panettones.
16 Gene // Jul 5, 2009 at 7:28 pm
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.
17 Barbara // Jul 6, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Peru’s panettone is decent, but the stores also sell panettone from Italy, and some of it is divine.:)
18 Bob // Aug 14, 2009 at 10:40 am
Our family usually buys our peruvian panettones from http://www.amigofoods.com
They have Donofrio Panettone and D’Vieri panettone
19 Barbara // Aug 20, 2009 at 9:06 am
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.
20 Best charitable giving in Peru « Life in Peru // Sep 17, 2009 at 11:54 pm
[...] to a poor, rural village and handed out Christmas presents to the kids there, served hot cocoa and Panettone (pictures below). In my opinion, the only way to do charitable giving in Peru is to fly down to [...]
21 Diego Cooper // Oct 23, 2009 at 5:39 pm
I LOVEEEEEEE PANETTONE and of course with butter .. love this post BBQ and I didn’t know it was Milanese. thanks for the info
22 Tweets that mention 404 Not Found -- Topsy.com // Oct 24, 2009 at 3:58 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Barbara Drake, Il Panettone. Il Panettone said: RT @barbaradrake great post on Peruvian Panettone madness! http://bit.ly/3ulKpB incredible brands!! [...]
23 Barb // Oct 24, 2009 at 9:24 am
De nada, Diego. (I’m writing this as I sit at my desk, finishing off the last of the panettone. Toasted with butter….)
24 Adriana Rodriguez // Dec 3, 2009 at 8:17 pm
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
25 Barb // Dec 4, 2009 at 9:08 am
I don’t know where to buy Donofrio panettone in Queens. Ask a New Yorker.
26 Natalia // Dec 4, 2009 at 1:24 pm
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
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27 Barry from Oklahoma // Dec 11, 2009 at 2:50 pm
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!