"Tiramisu - Raffaele Diomede" by Raffaele Diomede from Pordenone, ITALIA is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Tiramisu is the best dessert in the world!
Pubity, a famous Instagram page with 40 million followers, did a poll to find the best dessert in the world. The poll started with 32 desserts, like macarons, churros, cheesecake, and tres leches. In the last round, tiramisu and black forest cake competed. Tiramisu won with 72% of the votes.
Where did Tiramisu come from?
The word "tiramisu" means "pick me up" in the Treviso [[dialect::A way of speaking a language that is special to a place or group of people.]] of Italy. People think it started in the Treviso region in the 1800s.
There are different stories about tiramisu's beginning. One story says that Roberto Linguanotto, a chef at Le Beccherie restaurant in Treviso, made it by accident while making vanilla [[gelato::A kind of ice cream from Italy.]].Â
Tiramisu was first added to the menu at Le Beccherie in the 1970s. By the 1980s, it became popular in Paris and the USA.
Tiramisu comes from an old recipe called "sbatudin," which is a mix of egg yolks and sugar. Today, there are many ways to make tiramisu. Every year, Italy has a Tiramisu World Cup with two groups – original and creative recipes.
Did people always eat dessert?
People have always eaten sweet food. Many religions include sweets in their ceremonies. For example, Muslims in Turkey eat [[baklava::A sweet dish made with thin pastry, nuts, and honey/syrup.]] after fasting during Ramadan. Hindus eat kheer (rice pudding) after fasting. In the same way, Christmas celebrations are not complete without plum cake.
The idea of eating dessert after a meal started in France. The word "dessert" was first used in French cookbooks in the 1300s. But in the 1600s, it started being linked with sweet food like fruit, pastry, and cheese.
After the French Revolution in 1789, many royal chefs lost their jobs. They opened cafes and restaurants and started the practice of serving food one course at a time. By the 1900s, eating dessert after a meal became normal in France and then in other countries.
Quick Revision
Best dessert winner : A poll by Pubity chose tiramisu as the world’s best dessert with 72% votes.
From Italy 🇮🇹: Tiramisu means “pick me up” and likely started in the Treviso region.
Became famous : First served in the 1970s, it became popular worldwide by the 1980s.
Old but creative : Made from an old egg-and-sugar recipe; Italy even has a Tiramisu World Cup.
Dessert habit : Eating dessert after meals started in France and spread to the world.
