The traditional Torrone and Croccantino festival returns this year from 8th to 9th and from 15th to 16th December 2018, in San Marco dei Cavoti, in the province of Benevento. The undisputed protagonists of the event, in fact, are the Torrone and Croccantino, which represent a real traditional excellence for the region.
The festival includes a tasting route that runs along the streets of the ancient village of San Marco dei Cavoti, inside the ancient walls, and also includes all the local confectionery products, as well as food and products of the Sannio wine and food tradition. Among these, many cheeses and cold cuts, oil and vincotto. All accompanied by cultural events, exhibitions and initiatives aimed at deepening the knowledge of art and culture of the internal Campania region. The program also includes guided tours of the Tower Watch Museum.
The Megarroccantino crunchy 2018 will be made on December 9th , this is a Guinness world record crunchy nougat, whose definitive measurements will be unveiled just before the sweet is distributed to all the participants of the Festival. The Megacroccantino, as every year, is made – in Piazza Risorgimento – thanks to the joint collaboration of all the employees of the confectionery laboratories in the area, using almonds, hazelnuts, sugar and honey, and finally dark chocolate.
Among the other initiatives included in the Festival’s program, we must highlight the exhibition, at Palazzo Jelardi, of Andrea Jelardi’s collection of advertising objects and antique packaging of industrial and artisanal products, together with performances dedicated to local folklore and with the partecipation of musical bands.
Croccantino history
The traditional Croccantino of San Marco dei Cavoti was first created in 1800, thanks to an intuition of Innocenzo Borrillo, great representative of the San Marino pastry. The idea was to enclose a crunchy core made of almonds and walnuts in a shell of glazed sugar and cocoa. Since 1891, following Borrillo’s idea, all the confectionery laboratories of the town began to produce this type of small nougat, giving life to the current specialty, which is distinguished by the use of dark chocolate. Today San Marco dei Cavoti has 9 laboratories, whose production is a great success not only in the region, but also in Italy and abroad. The recipe remains the original one even today.
