Less known than the Puglia (another Region of Southern Italy) one, the neapolitan tarallo is the typical snack to be offered to your guests or to enjoy by your own when you get suddenly hungry (and not only in a case like that!).

As for many other delicious food, it seems that the Tarallo was born by chance in the XVIII century: a bakers’ way not to waste the bread-making remains, the so called “sfriddo”, to which they added lard and pepper in order to obtain something like a mini pretzel.

In the XIX century another ingredient was added and it actually made the identity of this product: almonds and not more than four!

It was for very long a poors’meal: the presence of the lard was a food support.

They used to soak them in sea water…

In Naples two are the names of taralli producers: Fortunato Bisaccia e Leopoldo Infante.

The last one established the rules of the official recipe.

Today this tradition is still alive and in evolution as well, because the tarallo is “fancy”: you can enjoy it during an aperitivo or with some wine and Leopoldo Infante, now at  the third generation, respects the tradition but plays as well with some other local ingredients, so you can taste some new brand flavoured taralli such as the yellow cherry tomato one, the genovese sauce one, the friarielli (local broccoli) one…

If you are in Spaccanapoli, precisely in S. Biagio dei Librai street, don’t miss the very small Taralleria, enjoy the guys at work in the open laboratory, get lost in the flavours of the always very fresh ingredients and… taste them all!