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Bitter Almonds: Recollections and Recipes from a Sicilian Girlhood
Bitter Almonds is a remarkable memoir, a tribute to Sicilian food and culture, and the record of an historic and vanishing craft. At the heart of the book are forty-six recipes of unique Sicilian specialities, written down for the first time.
In the early 1950s, Maria Grammatico and her sister were sent by their impoverished mother to the San Carlo, a cloistered orphanage in Erice, an ancient hill town on the western coast of Sicily. It was a Dickensian existence - beating sugar mixtures for six hours at a time, rising before dawn to prime the ovens, and surviving on an unrelenting diet of vegetable gruel. But it was here that Maria learned to make the beautifully handcrafted pastries that were sold to customers from behind a grille in the convent wall.
At 22, Maria left the orphanage with no personal possessions, minimal schooling and no skills other than what she carried in her head and her hands - the knowledge acquired during a childhood spent preparing delicacies for other people's celebrations.
Today, she is the successful owner of her own pasticceria in Erice, a mecca for travellers the world over. Her counters are piled high with home-made biscotti, tarts, cakes, and jams - Torta Divina, Cassata Siciliana, Cotognata. A frequent customer, Mary Taylor Simeti became first friend and then chronicler of Maria's moving story.
In the early 1950s, Maria Grammatico and her sister were sent by their impoverished mother to the San Carlo, a cloistered orphanage in Erice, an ancient hill town on the western coast of Sicily. It was a Dickensian existence - beating sugar mixtures for six hours at a time, rising before dawn to prime the ovens, and surviving on an unrelenting diet of vegetable gruel. But it was here that Maria learned to make the beautifully handcrafted pastries that were sold to customers from behind a grille in the convent wall.
At 22, Maria left the orphanage with no personal possessions, minimal schooling and no skills other than what she carried in her head and her hands - the knowledge acquired during a childhood spent preparing delicacies for other people's celebrations.
Today, she is the successful owner of her own pasticceria in Erice, a mecca for travellers the world over. Her counters are piled high with home-made biscotti, tarts, cakes, and jams - Torta Divina, Cassata Siciliana, Cotognata. A frequent customer, Mary Taylor Simeti became first friend and then chronicler of Maria's moving story.
240 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 26, 2012
I have mixed feelings about this book. Firstly what sort of book is it? Is it a recipe book - 111 pages of its 229 pages are recipes; secondly is it biography of Maria Grammatico or thirdly is it a memoir of Mary Taylor Simeti telling how she came to be telling Maria's story. And these two latter stories cover the first 118 pages.
There is a terrific story here in the life Maria Grammatico. In the 1950s, her impoverished mother sent her, at the age of 11, and her older sister to live in the enclosed and cloistered world of the local convent. There were approximately 22 people living in the convent of whom 13 were nuns, the rest young girls such as Maria and her sister. Maria lived here till the age of 25, when she left the convent. The only skills she had were how to make the delicious, dainty, delectable pastries, sweetmeats and biscuits that she had 'acquired' over the years living with the nuns. The nuns produced vast quantities of these morsels to sell to the locals on feast days and religious celebrations/ceremonies. None for the girls. It was an appalling existence really for young girls. There was never enough food, very few comforts, very little if any freedom, no celebrations or fun of any kind. The one solace for Maria was the kitchen. Now, in her fifties, she still lives in the town the convent was in - Erice - and has her own very famous and highly regarded Italian patisserie where she makes, by hand, all the delicacies she had learnt all those years ago. On You Tube there are some lovely films of Maria in her kitchen and interviews with her about her life. I would love to have had the whole 229 pages about her life, more about what convent life was like, more about what happened to her when she left the convent, how she started her business - I kid you not, it is summarised in one paragraph. Very very disappointing.
So is the book then a memoir of the writer, Mary Taylor Simeti and how she came to meet Maria and write the book. Unfortunately there is almost as much about this as there is about Maria. Mary is a successful writer herself, married to a Sicilian and living on Sicily. Her books about Sicilian food and travel are highly regarded and would appear to be well worth reading. But to me, this little book, should not be about her, and unfortunately it is. She intersperses Maria's story with snippets from her own, and the thread really does at times become quite confusing.
Then we come to the remaining 111 pages of recipes. And glorious they are too! From almond dough, almond cream, ricotta tart, citron jam, marzipan, fig biscuits, preserves - 46 recipes in total. And all this is marvellous to read too! But is it perhaps just a little too much?
My overall feeling on finishing this book was that I felt cheated. And that Maria actually deserved more. Maybe one day someone will write a real biography of Maria's story instead of this offering.
There is a terrific story here in the life Maria Grammatico. In the 1950s, her impoverished mother sent her, at the age of 11, and her older sister to live in the enclosed and cloistered world of the local convent. There were approximately 22 people living in the convent of whom 13 were nuns, the rest young girls such as Maria and her sister. Maria lived here till the age of 25, when she left the convent. The only skills she had were how to make the delicious, dainty, delectable pastries, sweetmeats and biscuits that she had 'acquired' over the years living with the nuns. The nuns produced vast quantities of these morsels to sell to the locals on feast days and religious celebrations/ceremonies. None for the girls. It was an appalling existence really for young girls. There was never enough food, very few comforts, very little if any freedom, no celebrations or fun of any kind. The one solace for Maria was the kitchen. Now, in her fifties, she still lives in the town the convent was in - Erice - and has her own very famous and highly regarded Italian patisserie where she makes, by hand, all the delicacies she had learnt all those years ago. On You Tube there are some lovely films of Maria in her kitchen and interviews with her about her life. I would love to have had the whole 229 pages about her life, more about what convent life was like, more about what happened to her when she left the convent, how she started her business - I kid you not, it is summarised in one paragraph. Very very disappointing.
So is the book then a memoir of the writer, Mary Taylor Simeti and how she came to meet Maria and write the book. Unfortunately there is almost as much about this as there is about Maria. Mary is a successful writer herself, married to a Sicilian and living on Sicily. Her books about Sicilian food and travel are highly regarded and would appear to be well worth reading. But to me, this little book, should not be about her, and unfortunately it is. She intersperses Maria's story with snippets from her own, and the thread really does at times become quite confusing.
Then we come to the remaining 111 pages of recipes. And glorious they are too! From almond dough, almond cream, ricotta tart, citron jam, marzipan, fig biscuits, preserves - 46 recipes in total. And all this is marvellous to read too! But is it perhaps just a little too much?
My overall feeling on finishing this book was that I felt cheated. And that Maria actually deserved more. Maybe one day someone will write a real biography of Maria's story instead of this offering.
July 24, 2015
I only wanted to read half of this book as the second half is recipes. After the first thirteen pages I put it down and sighed. I like to give a book at least a chapter so I persisted and I am glad I did. The book is written by Simeti about the life of Maria, a Sicilian woman who owns a bakery. The first chapter is all about the art of baking (old school) and I was worried that the whole novel would read along the same lines - after all it is memoir that I want to read. Things turn around after chapter one when Maria discusses her childhood in a nunnery, her feelings of neglect, her hunger but also of what she learned and how she was able to apply this to her later in life career. I found Maria's attitude to religion and family refreshing and enjoyed the conversational tone in which she delivers her own recollections.
This is a book worth persisting with.
This is a book worth persisting with.
July 12, 2019
This is an eye-opening personal history of a girl who grew up in a convent on Sicily after her mother realised that she couldn’t afford to bring her and sister, Angela up after their father passed on so they were passed to the orphanage, Istituto San Carlo. Sicily at the time was just beginning a slow recovery after the war and life there was tough, people scratched a living and there was a high rate of mortality too.
In this place, she learnt the secrets of the sweets that were prepared for the numerous religious festivals. They would rise before dawn to begin the day’s work and spend hours each day beating a rolling the sugar and almond mix to make the exquisite pastries. These would be sold to the general public through a small grille in the wall of San Carlo.
The skills that she learnt whilst there were to stand her in good stead when she emerged at the age of 22. She set up her own shop selling these pastries as well as cakes, biscotti and lots of other sweet delights. The reputation of the pasticceria grew and people flocked to buy the wares. Mary Taylor Simeti was one of those customers and as they became friends she realised that Maria Grammatico had a unique story to tell
She has a hard but simple life and this is an insight into a Sicily that was long gone. As a plus, half of the book is a wonderful collection of recipes too which made me very hungry reading them. I am off to Sicily soon and whilst we might not make it here, I am hoping to try some of the wonderful things found in a pasticceria.
In this place, she learnt the secrets of the sweets that were prepared for the numerous religious festivals. They would rise before dawn to begin the day’s work and spend hours each day beating a rolling the sugar and almond mix to make the exquisite pastries. These would be sold to the general public through a small grille in the wall of San Carlo.
The skills that she learnt whilst there were to stand her in good stead when she emerged at the age of 22. She set up her own shop selling these pastries as well as cakes, biscotti and lots of other sweet delights. The reputation of the pasticceria grew and people flocked to buy the wares. Mary Taylor Simeti was one of those customers and as they became friends she realised that Maria Grammatico had a unique story to tell
She has a hard but simple life and this is an insight into a Sicily that was long gone. As a plus, half of the book is a wonderful collection of recipes too which made me very hungry reading them. I am off to Sicily soon and whilst we might not make it here, I am hoping to try some of the wonderful things found in a pasticceria.
January 13, 2016
This is interesting and without any façade. Sister tells her skills of composite for all the fare sold on the wheel. It reads just as she speaks. Very pleasing to me but I can understand those who would be detracted by the form itself and also the content of her repetitions. But as I said, I could "hear" her- she is an original. So few left that carried this simplicity through so many years.
The recipes were good if you have the inkling too. These are not so much pastries as we in North America would connote. They are more like marzipan candy shapes for the most part. I would love to see some of the large braided products. I have never seen those.
The recipes were good if you have the inkling too. These are not so much pastries as we in North America would connote. They are more like marzipan candy shapes for the most part. I would love to see some of the large braided products. I have never seen those.
August 29, 2021
An unusual book, a biography of Maria Grammatico's life in Sicily.
The first half of the book is the biography.
The second half of the book is recipes of pastries, cookies, jams, and more.
Most of the recipes are more advanced that what I cook, but they look delicious.
The first half of the book is the biography.
The second half of the book is recipes of pastries, cookies, jams, and more.
Most of the recipes are more advanced that what I cook, but they look delicious.
March 26, 2017
A short book of the reminiscences of Maria Grammatico, owner of a pastry shop in Erice in Sicily, followed by 50 recipes.
What's special about Maria's pastry shop is that she specializes in the pastries she learned to make when she was part of the San Carlo convent in the 1950s. This was not a cheerful culinary apprenticeship, but a harsh economical reality. Maria and one of her sisters were sent to the convent by her poor, widowed, pregnant mother, who no doubt thought this was a good solution the girls would at least be fed and clothed. Instead, the girls found themselves swept up in the dreary Catholic routine of that place and time : much time spent in church, endless prayers, enforced weekly confessions, no interaction with the outside world, much talk about sin (and, incidentally, absolutely no information about things like menstruation). The nuns relied on the sale of pastries for their financial survival, and the 15 or so girls who lived with them were roped into the daily grind. "Grind" is an appropriate word here, since the basis of the nuns' pastries are ground bitter almonds, a local specialty. So the young girls would work for hours beating sugar, grinding almonds, shaping pastries and moving the baking sheets in and out of the oven, never-ending and back-breaking labor.
Maria eventually left the convent when she came of age, later married and opened her pastry shop, where she keeps the old recipes alive. Her story is not a pleasant one, yet she seems to consider that most of her childhood was happy. It is based on taped interviews conducted by the co-author Mary Taylor Simetti in the early 1990s, and is closer to oral history than to a classical memoir.
I have not (yet) tried out any of the recipes. Nearly all of them incorporate almonds, and many of them contain some type of citrus cream or marmalade. Chocolate is almost completely absent and I didn't see too much vanilla either. So truly old recipes, based on the local ingredients.
What's special about Maria's pastry shop is that she specializes in the pastries she learned to make when she was part of the San Carlo convent in the 1950s. This was not a cheerful culinary apprenticeship, but a harsh economical reality. Maria and one of her sisters were sent to the convent by her poor, widowed, pregnant mother, who no doubt thought this was a good solution the girls would at least be fed and clothed. Instead, the girls found themselves swept up in the dreary Catholic routine of that place and time : much time spent in church, endless prayers, enforced weekly confessions, no interaction with the outside world, much talk about sin (and, incidentally, absolutely no information about things like menstruation). The nuns relied on the sale of pastries for their financial survival, and the 15 or so girls who lived with them were roped into the daily grind. "Grind" is an appropriate word here, since the basis of the nuns' pastries are ground bitter almonds, a local specialty. So the young girls would work for hours beating sugar, grinding almonds, shaping pastries and moving the baking sheets in and out of the oven, never-ending and back-breaking labor.
Maria eventually left the convent when she came of age, later married and opened her pastry shop, where she keeps the old recipes alive. Her story is not a pleasant one, yet she seems to consider that most of her childhood was happy. It is based on taped interviews conducted by the co-author Mary Taylor Simetti in the early 1990s, and is closer to oral history than to a classical memoir.
I have not (yet) tried out any of the recipes. Nearly all of them incorporate almonds, and many of them contain some type of citrus cream or marmalade. Chocolate is almost completely absent and I didn't see too much vanilla either. So truly old recipes, based on the local ingredients.
February 20, 2022
Desperately wishing to be home so I could try some of these recipes. You just can't go wrong with almond paste!
The memoir section of this cookbook was quite interesting, and I inspiring, as well as sad. Imagine beginning a bakery with no equipment, or supplies, just determination - even having to chop the wood to start the day's baking. Also, the scene in which her body shut completely down in response to change, without knowing what lay beyond the convent, was thought provoking on so many levels.
An absolutely thorough reminder that I am blessed beyond measure. When my dad died at an early age, life relatively remained certain.
The lack of 4 stars is only due to the length, it felt like there was more that could have been explored.
The memoir section of this cookbook was quite interesting, and I inspiring, as well as sad. Imagine beginning a bakery with no equipment, or supplies, just determination - even having to chop the wood to start the day's baking. Also, the scene in which her body shut completely down in response to change, without knowing what lay beyond the convent, was thought provoking on so many levels.
An absolutely thorough reminder that I am blessed beyond measure. When my dad died at an early age, life relatively remained certain.
The lack of 4 stars is only due to the length, it felt like there was more that could have been explored.
August 18, 2019
This was a sweet book - in several definitions. First, set mostly in the 40's and 50's, the story of Maria GrammaticoMaria Grammatico who at the age of 7, after her father died, with her younger sister were sent to live at the orphanage of San Carlo in sicily because her mother could not afford to care for all the children. The orphanage was run by nuns and the way they supported themselves was through the making and selling of pastries and sweets made with almonds. Mary Taylor Simeti met Maria decades later, after she left San Carlo and had started her own little bakery. Ms. Simeti did not want the precious recipes to be lost so she interviewed Maria and got her lift story AND many of the recipes.
The second part are the actual recipes. I have read through those recipes and found my mouth watering and I hope to try them at some point.
This was a quick read and I would recommend it.
The second part are the actual recipes. I have read through those recipes and found my mouth watering and I hope to try them at some point.
This was a quick read and I would recommend it.
December 25, 2024
I bought this book when I visited Maria Grammatico’s pastry school in Erice, Sicily. The first half of the book is about the time that she and her younger sister were sent to live in an orphanage run by nuns because her mother could not feed them. Maria was 11 years old and lived in harsh conditions until she was twenty-two. The only skills she left with were the knowledge and skill of making beautiful handcrafted pastries that were sold outside the convent walls. She started out with a firebrick oven, a hand-cranked almond grinder and a rolling pin. With much determination and willpower she has become a very successful and famous pasticciere. The other half of her book includes 46 recipes of unique Sicilian specialties. I learned how to make mondorla almond cookies and they will become a new tradition at Christmas. I loved reading about her life and I will never forget molding cookies with her by my side. She is in her 80’s and still going strong. The title of her book, Bitter Almonds was a perfect description of her life. A hidden gem of a book.
May 25, 2024
I might be biased in my review. I am Sicilian American. One of my dear customers gave me this book at least 25 years ago, Maria’s story is a sad one , but also one of triumph. I have made several recipes over the years, all of them wonderful. I recently visited Erice on a family trip to Sicily and was smart enough to take my dog eared book. I was also extremely blessed to have gone to Maria Grammatico’s bakery, while she was there. She signed my book for me. This beautiful, smart, humble, and gracious woman brought me to tears. She held my hand and blew me kisses as I stood there and balled infront of the entire bakery! Maybe I loved this book because it was a link to my ancestral past. She reminded me of my Nonna. Maybe I loved it because it reminded me of my dear client who passed away, but meeting her was a moment I will never forget.
April 14, 2020
Part cookbook, part bibliography of a girl raised in a convent in Sicily after whose father died and the family couldn’t afford to keep all the children. Sicily was a poor country at the time and the struggles were enormous. Maria became famous once she opened a shop in Erice using the pastry and dessert recipes she learned while at the convent. We visited this town a few years ago, but all I bought was sugared almonds, and perhaps jam. I don’t even recall the shop where I purchased them.
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February 3, 2020Picked up Maria’s memoir to learn more about the woman I’ll be taking a cooking lesson from in the fall. Such an interesting life.
March 13, 2024
Maria's life was interesting and poignant. The recipes were a nice addition. I did think the organization was choppy.
April 5, 2015
This book is half Maria Grammatico's story and half recipies. Maria, whom I recently met in Erice while on a tour of Sicily, is a true entreupener, although it will be hard to know how she managed to succeed from reading this book! Our group met Maria at her cookery school -- http://www.mariagrammatico.it/index.p... -- a few minutes outside of Erice. She taught our group how to make her some of her famous dolci that she sells at her pastiocceria on one of the major streets in Erici -- http://www.mariagrammatico.it/index.p....
Maria was born in the late 1920's or early 1930's. When she was 11, her father died. Her mother was pregnant and there was little money. The oldest boy was sent to his uncle to work for his keep. Maria and her next youngest sister were sent to live at the San Carlo convent in Erice. There they stayed 15 years, until the convent closed in 1963. At the convent, Maria and the other girls learned to cook the pasteries that the nuns sold to get money to buy necessities.
The first half of Bitter Almonds relates Maria's memories of her time at the convert. It is sprinkled with stories of the nuns and others who lived there at when Maria did. Primarily, Maria talks about the food, including what was made to sell for specific holidays. It is an interesting story.
There is no style to the writing -- for the most part, it is merely a transciption of what Maria says, with an occassional comment by her brother Nardo.
The recipes for the pasteries and other food that Maria helped make or ate while at the convent, converted into English measurements, compose the second half of the book. The pasteries are mostly almond flour and sugar! Having watched them made and ate them, I can say that sugar predominates!!
Having met Maria, I enjoyed learning more about her life at the convent. Anyone interested in reading a story about how one person's life in Sicily was impacted by the hardship of the country post WWII would enjoy this, I think. However, expect to be frustrated by how limited it is!
Maria was born in the late 1920's or early 1930's. When she was 11, her father died. Her mother was pregnant and there was little money. The oldest boy was sent to his uncle to work for his keep. Maria and her next youngest sister were sent to live at the San Carlo convent in Erice. There they stayed 15 years, until the convent closed in 1963. At the convent, Maria and the other girls learned to cook the pasteries that the nuns sold to get money to buy necessities.
The first half of Bitter Almonds relates Maria's memories of her time at the convert. It is sprinkled with stories of the nuns and others who lived there at when Maria did. Primarily, Maria talks about the food, including what was made to sell for specific holidays. It is an interesting story.
There is no style to the writing -- for the most part, it is merely a transciption of what Maria says, with an occassional comment by her brother Nardo.
The recipes for the pasteries and other food that Maria helped make or ate while at the convent, converted into English measurements, compose the second half of the book. The pasteries are mostly almond flour and sugar! Having watched them made and ate them, I can say that sugar predominates!!
Having met Maria, I enjoyed learning more about her life at the convent. Anyone interested in reading a story about how one person's life in Sicily was impacted by the hardship of the country post WWII would enjoy this, I think. However, expect to be frustrated by how limited it is!
September 20, 2016
Read if you are traveling to Italy, but not worth the time otherwise. Half the book is recipes, so it is a quick read.
October 9, 2009
An interesting memoir/cookbook from a women who was raised in a Catholic orphanage in Sicily and grew up to make and sell the pastries that she learned how to create while in the orphanage. The recipes are authentic and not terribly appealing to me (too much sugar, too many almonds), but much of the memoir is written down just as she said it and it's a fascinating recollection of a unique childhood.
April 28, 2013
Genuine stories about the day to day truth of life growing up in a convent, woven through with delicious sounding recipes scaled down for north american kitchens and ingredients. It's an excellent reminder of traditions being lost and why they should be recorded in some form, and of the entrepreneurial minds that should be recognized and encouraged, regardless of age and background.
January 6, 2010
Simply written - it's mostly a transcript of interviews with Maria, the owner of a Sicilian pastry shop specializing in the ancient recipes she learned in her convent orphanage. If you have Sicilian roots or a fascination with Sicilian pastry, this book is for you.
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August 19, 2010Maria Grammatico's family were so poor that they had to take her to the nuns in Erice to be brought up. At the convent she learnt to make traditional Sicilian pastries and now she owns a famous shop in Erice. This is her story as told to Mary Taylor Simeti.
January 24, 2016
I visited Maria 19s candy shop while I was in Sicily. Her story is a little choppy but a powerful message of overcoming adversity. Maria was raised in a poor Catholic orphanage with unkind nuns.
January 11, 2012
I thought that the story about Maria's girlhood was going to be longer. I was surprised by how much of the book was recipes.
November 21, 2011
Lovely stories and reminiscences about a nunnery in the now-fancy town of Erice that took in girls who were orphaned or whose family couldn't take care of them.
May 31, 2012
A wonderful book, great story of triumph over adversity as a young girl. Wonderful recipes. Makes me want to make a pilgrimage to Erice to taste some of her wonderful creations for myself.
September 17, 2012
A bit short and choppy. I enjoyed the anecdotes but found it more to be too short. Can't rate the recipes yet as I haven't tried making any of them yet.
March 11, 2013
I loved reading about the history of the Sicilian treats that my grandmothers made and were a huge part of my childhood.
February 7, 2017
This was a lovely little read. Mary Simeti did a great job intertwining her commentary and observations with Maria Grammatico's story. The numerous Sicilian pastry recipes at the end are a treat.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews