Christmas Box and Legend of the Panettone

Every year, my husband gets a Christmas box filled with goodies for the holidays as a present from his company.  Each year, I eagerly look forward to see what we will get.

I know this is a tradition in some other companies too and have heard complaints from others that their Christmas box is getting smaller every year.  I am thankful that we still get one!

This year’s box is about the same as last year’s as we have olive oil, wine, lentils, parmigiano, prosciutto, panettone and chocolates.

What was different was there was a note describing the products in the box.  The most interesting one was on the legend of panettone.  Here’s their take on it.

Legend of the Panettone

The panettone was created by chance as a result of the creativity of a baker who wanted to give his lover a special gift.  However, he didn’t have the money nor the ingredients to satisfy this requirement.

Relying on his inspiration and his usual bread dough, he added, without the knowledge of the owner, the items he found in the store: sugar, butter, egg, raisins, candied fruits and then put it in the oven.

His lover must have loved the gift and the baker was also forgiven for his innocent theft by the store owner who decided to make the most of this invention.  Since then, the panettone (from Pan de Toni, the name of the baker) has made it’s way into the world and is now synonymous as a Christmas gift.

I found this legend amusing and enjoy stories like these.  I am sure there are many other legends out there on the panettone. Which one have you heard?