From the Kingdom of Italo
Even before there was a nation, there was a king. Italo, ruler of the Oenotrians, governed Calabria—that southern strip of land that gave its name to the entire peninsula. They were a people of farmers, winemakers, and artisans who knew the land intimately and drew only the best from it.
Raw Materials
PDO and PGI labels aren’t just decorative: they’re a European legal guarantee certifying the origin and quality of what you’re eating. PDO means that this product, made exactly this way, exists only in that specific place. U Re Italo uses exclusively PDO- and PGI-certified ingredients sourced from Calabria: selected directly and inspected season by season, without exception.
Santa Maria del Cedro, on the Tyrrhenian coast of Cosenza, is one of the few places in the world where the citron, Citrus medica, is still grown using traditional methods on terraces overlooking the sea. It is a citrus fruit with a history dating back thousands of years in this region, having arrived in Calabria via the ancient Mediterranean trade routes. Its peel is thick and fragrant, with floral and resinous notes found in no other citrus fruit. In our leavened products, it brings the aromatic complexity that only an ingredient with this history and provenance can offer.
The oranges from the Sibari Plain grow in the same microclimate as the IGP Clementines, overlooking the Ionian Sea and nourished by abundant sunshine. The peel we use in our doughs is hand-selected and candied using a slow, artisanal method that respects the peel’s structure and preserves the essential oil that gives it its aroma. The result is a peel that is a far cry from the chemical taste of industrial candied fruit: it has the scent of a Calabrian citrus grove in late summer.
The Bronte pistachio grows on the slopes of Mount Etna, in volcanic soil that gives it an intense green color and an aroma unmatched by any other pistachio in the world. It needs nothing else: its flavor is naturally rich and sweet, with a lingering fragrance. We use it in its pure form, without artificial colors or flavors, because an ingredient of this quality tolerates no compromises. A flavor that, when experienced in its authentic form, is unforgettable.
Less sugar, more cocoa, for a complex flavor profile with bitter and fruity notes that slowly unfold on the palate and harmonize with the PDO and PGI ingredients from Calabria without overpowering them. We process it using traditional artisanal techniques to preserve its natural structure. In our panettone, it blends discreetly into the dough and leaves a deep impression that reveals itself only at the very end of the tasting experience.
Not all flours can withstand a natural fermentation process lasting more than 48 hours. High-protein soft wheat flour is specifically selected for extended fermentation: its proteins form the gluten network that traps the gases produced during fermentation, supports the dough’s structure throughout the long fermentation process, and ensures the dense, soft crumb of a true panettone .
Centrifuged cream butter is the main ingredient in our artisanal products. Made by centrifuging fresh cream, it has a delicate flavor and a soft, creamy texture, making it ideal for large leavened baked goods. Its purity and freshness result in light, fluffy products with a rich, authentic flavor.
Sourced from local beekeepers, with no chemical treatments or industrial heat. We use it in our dough as a partial substitute for sugar: it adds aromatic complexity and helps preserve the product naturally.
Raisins from aromatic grape varieties of southern Italy. After being soaked in Passito di Saracena the wine’s aromas and become something truly unique. Intense sweetness, with hints of tropical fruit and honey.
The most award-winning Calabrian passito wine, winner of Gambero Rosso’s 3 Glasses award, the highest accolade from the Italian food and wine guide. It is the wine used to soak the sultanas in Panettone . The result is a raisin bursting with the aromas of the South: vanilla, orange blossom honey, and dried fruit.
A native fig variety grown exclusively in the hills around Cosenza. With its dense flesh and natural honey-like sweetness, it offers a complexity that industrial figs simply cannot match. We sun-dry them naturally for Il Bruzio.
Considered the best in the world for its natural aromatic intensity. The Calabrian root contains twice as much glycyrrhizin as Spanish varieties. An unmistakable aroma that sets our leavened goods apart.
The Sibari Plain is one of the most fertile coastal plains in the Mediterranean. The clementines grown there develop a unique flavor profile, with sweetness and acidity balanced by a microclimate found nowhere else. We use them fresh, candied by hand in our workshop. You won’t find them in any other panettone.
Do you have any questions?
Honest answers to the questions you ask us most often.
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We ship to Italy and to the following European countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.
At this time we do not ship to the USA and UK.
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Stories from the Lab
From the Calabrian region to artisanal craftsmanship, from the secrets of natural yeast to the PDO ingredients that make our panettone unique in Italy: our blog shares what the packaging can’t convey. Read to understand, learn to make better choices.
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Today, candied fruit divides opinion. Some people seek it out, others avoid it, and still others consider it an unnecessary detail. Yet before becoming a controversial ingredient, candied fruit was a necessity, an achievement, a sign of civilization. Understanding why it is used means going back much further than a recipe; it means entering into a story of time, preservation, travel, and waiting.
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In recent years, panettone become much more than just a Christmas dessert. It’s a topic of debate, a statement of style, a declaration of intent. Today, people talk about it all year round, comparing its rise, ingredients, and aromas, and even traveling to taste it. Yet, precisely because panettone become part of everyday conversation, recognizing a true panettone has never been more important.
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There are products that are not created to impress, but inevitably end up doing so. Dottati del Cosentino PDO figs belong to this rare category: fruits that are simple only in appearance, capable of encapsulating centuries of history, landscape, agricultural culture, and Mediterranean flavor. They are not a recent fad or a modern interpretation of tradition. Rather, they are a continuity, a thread that links ancient Enotria to today's Calabria.
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