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GaraetteokLong cylinder rice cakes

Garaetteok are the long white rice-cake logs that Korean mills churn out before Seollal, when families queue with their own rice to have them pressed and then slice them into ovals for tteokguk, the New Year soup. The length is meant to wish for a long life. Freshly made, they are soft and chewy and eaten warm, dipped in honey or toasted over a grill; once they firm up they are sliced for soup or cut into sticks for tteokbokki. Making them at home is simple, though the logs come out a little less glossy than machine-pressed ones. The usual mistake is rolling the dough when it has cooled: it must be hot to stay smooth. Rice cakes are chewy and sticky, a known choking risk: cut them into small pieces for young children and older people and eat them sitting down. Chef's tip: leave the logs to firm overnight before slicing on the diagonal; they cut cleanly instead of squashing.

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Torta tenerinaSoft chocolate cake

Ferrara, in Emilia-Romagna, calls this cake "tenerina" (the tender one) because the middle stays soft and almost creamy under a thin, crackly crust. It was created in the early 1900s and named in honour of Queen Elena of Montenegro, wife of King Vittorio Emanuele III. Families bake it for birthdays and Sunday lunches, and it is served plain or with whipped cream. It uses very little flour. Chef's tip: bake it for no longer than the recipe says; it should be just set at the edge and wobbly in the middle when it comes out.

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Scarcella puglieseEaster egg biscuit bread

In Bari, Foggia and the Salento, scarcelle are baked in the days before Easter, often by children with their grandmothers: a soft, lemony shortbread-like dough shaped into baskets, doves, hearts or dolls, each holding a whole egg in its shell held down by strips of dough, then iced and covered in sprinkles. They are given as gifts on Easter morning and to children as a sign of new life. Chef's tip: use raw eggs in their shells and wash them first; they cook in the oven while the biscuit bakes. They are decorative, so wash and dry them well.

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HoppangRed bean steamed buns

When the first cold snap hits, Korean convenience stores bring out glass steamer cabinets full of hoppang, and office workers grab one for breakfast on the way to the subway. The bun is soft, slightly sweet yeasted dough wrapped around a thick, smooth red bean paste, steamed until pillowy and eaten piping hot. Making them at home takes a morning but they freeze perfectly. The usual mistake is opening the lid too early or steaming over too fierce a heat: the buns collapse and wrinkle, so keep a steady medium heat and leave them to rest 5 minutes before lifting the lid. Contains wheat. Chef's tip: let the shaped buns rise on squares of baking paper; you can move them into the steamer without squashing them.

120 minKoreanBakingVegan
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Colomba pasqualeEaster dove bread

The colomba, the "dove" of peace, is Milan's Easter answer to Christmas panettone: a rich, buttery yeasted bread full of candied orange, baked in a dove-shaped paper mould and topped with a crunchy almond and sugar glaze. Italian families buy or bake one for Easter Sunday and eat it for breakfast through Easter Monday. Bakers use a sourdough starter and three days; this home version uses yeast and an overnight rise in the fridge, so it fits a weekend. Chef's tip: let the dough rise until it really reaches the top of the mould before baking; under-risen colomba bakes dense and heavy.

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Pesche dolciCustard-filled peach biscuits

Pesche dolci are the showpiece biscuits of weddings and christenings across central and northern Italy, from Emilia to the Marche and Tuscany: two soft, domed biscuits hollowed out, filled with custard, stuck together, tinted rosy red and yellow and rolled in sugar, finished with a mint leaf so they look just like real peaches. Many families soak them in alchermes, a red liqueur; this version uses fruit syrup and food colouring instead, so it is alcohol free and child friendly. Chef's tip: brush the colour on unevenly, red on one side and pale gold on the other, like a ripe peach; one flat colour looks fake.

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SujeonggwaCinnamon persimmon punch

After a big Seollal feast in Seoul, sujeonggwa comes out ice-cold in small bowls, dark red-brown and fragrant with cinnamon and ginger, with a soft dried persimmon and a few pine nuts floating in each one. It is the punch of the New Year season, made a day or two ahead and kept on a cold balcony. The cinnamon and ginger are boiled separately and then combined, which keeps each flavour clean. The common mistake is boiling the cinnamon too long or too hard: it turns bitter and cloudy, so keep it to a gentle simmer. Contains pine nuts. Chef's tip: soak the dried persimmons in the cooled punch only a few hours before serving, so they soften without falling apart.

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SikhyeSweet rice punch

Every Korean jjimjilbang (bathhouse) sells sikhye in little cans, and every grandmother makes a big pot of it before Seollal and Chuseok to sip after the heavy holiday meal, because it is believed to help digestion. Barley malt water and cooked rice are kept warm for several hours until enzymes turn the rice starch into sugar and the grains float up to the top, then the drink is boiled with ginger and chilled until icy. It is mild, lightly sweet and nutty, with soft rice grains to slurp. The usual mistake is letting it get too hot while it ferments: above about 65 °C the enzymes stop working and the grains never float. Contains barley (gluten). Chef's tip: use the rice cooker's 'keep warm' setting; it holds the perfect temperature on its own.

320 minKoreanDrinksVegan
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Dotorimuk muchimAcorn jelly salad

Dotorimuk is a jelly made from acorn starch, gathered in Korea's oak-covered mountains, and dotorimuk muchim is the salad hikers eat at the little restaurants at the foot of Bukhansan and Gwanaksan after a weekend climb. Wobbly, nutty-bitter cubes of jelly are tossed gently with lettuce, cucumber, carrot and a soy, chilli and sesame dressing. Temple cooks make it exactly like this, without garlic or onion. The common mistake is tossing it hard like a green salad: the jelly breaks into crumbs, so fold it with your fingertips. Chef's tip: if the jelly has firmed up in the fridge, blanch the block in boiling water for 30 seconds and cool it; it turns soft and bouncy again.

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MostaccioliSpiced chocolate biscuits

Neapolitan Christmas trays always include mostaccioli: soft, spiced biscuits shaped like diamonds and covered in a shiny coat of dark chocolate. The dough is flavoured with honey, cocoa, orange and pisto, a Neapolitan spice mix of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, star anise and coriander. They are made in early December with roccocò and struffoli and kept in tins for the whole holiday. Not for babies under 1 because of the honey. Chef's tip: let the biscuits rest a day before coating; spiced honey biscuits soften and their flavour deepens after a night in the tin.

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Kohaku namasuPickled daikon and carrot salad

Red and white are Japan's colours of celebration, and this crisp, sweet-sour salad of fine daikon and carrot shreds is the cleanser of the New Year osechi box, eaten between richer dishes from 1 to 3 January. Salting the vegetables first softens them into pliable threads that still crunch, before they soak in rice vinegar, sugar and a little yuzu. The common mistake is skipping the squeeze after salting, which leaves the salad watery and bland. Chef's tip: cut the daikon along the length of the root, not across it, so the shreds stay crisp instead of going limp.

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Torta capreseFlourless chocolate almond cake

Torta caprese was born on the island of Capri in the 1920s, the story goes, when a baker forgot to add flour to a chocolate almond cake and created a classic by accident. It is now the cake of the Amalfi Coast: dense, moist and fudgy in the middle, with a thin crackled crust and a dusting of icing sugar. Restaurants in Capri and Sorrento serve it with a spoonful of cream or lemon sorbet. It is naturally gluten free. Contains nuts. Chef's tip: take it out while the middle is still slightly soft; it firms up as it cools and stays moist for days.

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PizzelleAnise waffle biscuits

In Abruzzo, every family has its own pizzelle iron, often a wedding present engraved with the family's initials or a pattern of flowers. The thin, crisp waffles are baked for weddings, Christmas and Easter, and for the feast of San Domenico in Cocullo, flavoured with anise or lemon. Warm, they can be rolled into cones or tubes and filled. You need a pizzelle iron or a thin waffle maker. Chef's tip: lightly oil the iron only for the first pizzella; after that the batter's oil keeps them from sticking.

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RoccocòHard almond spice rings

Roccocò are the hardest biscuits on the Neapolitan Christmas tray, ring-shaped and studded with whole almonds, scented with orange and pisto spice. The name is said to come from the curly French "rocaille" shape. They are baked in early December, and Neapolitans dunk them in sweet wine or milk, or break them carefully, because they are famously hard on teeth. Chef's tip: bake them twice as long as you think and leave them to dry overnight; roccocò are meant to be crunchy, and they soften pleasantly after a week in the tin.

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PinzimonioRaw vegetables with olive oil

In Tuscany pinzimonio comes out in November, when the frantoi (olive mills) press the new oil and families want something that shows off its peppery green bite. A jug of raw, cold vegetables is set in the middle of the table and everyone dips into their own little bowl of oil seasoned with salt and pepper, usually before a plate of pasta or alongside bruschetta at the mill. Crunch matters more than anything: fennel, celery hearts, radishes, carrots, young artichokes and red peppers, all very fresh. Chef's tip: keep the cut vegetables in a bowl of iced water for 15 minutes before serving; they turn crisper and look glossy without any dressing.

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Torta della nonnaLemon custard pine nut tart

Torta della nonna, "grandmother's tart", is on the dessert menu of almost every trattoria in Florence and across Tuscany: a shortcrust case filled with thick lemon-scented custard, covered with a second layer of pastry and scattered with pine nuts and icing sugar. Despite the name it was probably invented by a Florentine restaurant cook in the 1900s, but it tastes of family Sunday lunches. Contains pine nuts. Chef's tip: let the custard cool completely before filling the tart; warm custard melts the butter in the pastry and makes the base soggy.

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Insalata di farroSpelt salad

Farro has grown in the hills of Garfagnana in Tuscany and around Monteleone di Spoleto in Umbria since Roman times, and in summer it turns into a cold salad that families pack for the beach or a picnic in the hills. The grains stay chewy and nutty, dressed with ripe tomato, cucumber, red onion, olives and plenty of basil. It keeps well for a day, so it is the salad you make the night before a trip. Chef's tip: dress the farro while it is still warm; the grains drink up the oil and vinegar, then you add the fresh vegetables once it has cooled.

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Oi muchimSpicy cucumber salad

When Korean summers turn sticky, from Daegu's heat to Seoul's monsoon, oi muchim is the ten-minute side dish families make to cool down a hot bowl of rice or a plate of grilled meat. Thin cucumber coins are salted briefly, then tossed with chilli flakes, vinegar, a touch of sugar and sesame, so they stay snappy and bright. It is best made just before eating. The common mistake is skipping the quick salting: unsalted cucumber leaks water into the dressing within minutes and the bowl turns soupy. Chef's tip: a few slivers of onion soaked in cold water for five minutes add sweetness and crunch without any harsh bite.

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Savoiardi

Savoiardi were created in the 1300s at the court of the House of Savoy in Piedmont, for a visit by the King of France. They are long, light finger biscuits of whipped eggs, sugar and flour, with a crisp sugary crust and a dry, spongy inside, made to be soaked: in coffee for tiramisù, in liqueur for zuppa inglese, or in milk for children's breakfast. Chef's tip: dust the piped fingers twice with icing sugar, 5 minutes apart; this forms the pearly crust that keeps them crisp outside.

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Shokupan (Japanese milk bread)

Shokupan is the everyday sandwich loaf of Japan, sold by the half loaf at bakeries from Sapporo to Fukuoka and toasted in thick slabs for breakfast with butter and jam. Its feathery, pull-apart crumb comes from a cooked flour paste (yudane-style) that lets the dough hold more water, so the bread stays soft for days. You need a 900 g loaf tin and a few hours of mostly waiting. The usual mistake is slicing it while hot, which squashes the delicate crumb into gummy layers; let it cool fully. Chef's tip: roll each piece of dough into a tight spiral before it goes into the tin, which gives the tall, even rise and those stringy, tearable layers.

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Insalata di arance e finocchiOrange and fennel salad

In Sicily the orange harvest peaks in January, just as wild fennel and the big fennel bulbs come in, and this bright salad is on the table across the island at Christmas and through the winter, often to clean the palate after a rich main dish. Juicy oranges, ideally blood oranges from the slopes of Etna, are sliced with shaved fennel, red onion, black olives and good olive oil. Chef's tip: cut the peel and all the white pith away with a knife, then slice the oranges into rounds; pith is bitter and makes the salad chewy.

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Melon panCookie-crust sweet bun

Melon pan takes its name from its looks, not its taste: a soft sweet bun baked under a sugary cookie crust scored into a criss-cross pattern like a cantaloupe rind. Japanese bakeries and school canteens sell it everywhere, and around Kobe and Hiroshima the same bun is often called sunrise. It is best on the day it is baked, when the crust still crackles against the fluffy inside. The common mistake is warm, soft cookie dough, which sticks to your hands and slides off the bun in the oven; keep it well chilled and work quickly. Chef's tip: roll the cookie dough between two sheets of baking paper so you can lift it neatly onto each bun.

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Cannoncini alla cremaCustard puff pastry horns

Every pastry shop in Turin and Piedmont has a tray of cannoncini: puff pastry wrapped around metal cones, baked until golden and flaky, then piped full of vanilla custard and dusted with icing sugar. Little ones are part of the "pasticcini mignon" bought on Sunday morning after church to take to lunch at the grandparents' house. You need cannoncino or cream-horn moulds. Chef's tip: fill them just before serving; custard softens the pastry within a few hours.

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Migliaccio napoletanoSemolina and ricotta cake

Migliaccio is the cake Neapolitan grandmothers bake on Fat Tuesday, the last day of Carnival before Lent. Its name comes from miglio, millet, which was used before semolina: today semolina is cooked in milk with butter, then mixed with ricotta, eggs, sugar and plenty of orange and lemon zest, and baked into a soft, dense, custardy cake. It is a close cousin of the Easter pastiera, without the pastry. Chef's tip: let the cooked semolina cool before beating in the eggs and ricotta; hot semolina scrambles the eggs and the cake turns grainy.

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