“ Si pi San Michele la racina è comu lu mele, pi San Martinu ogni mustu addiventa vinu ”.
In Sicily, St. Martin ‘s Day marks the end of the Sicilian summer, which often lasts until the first fortnight of November. On that occasion, the new vintage of wine is enjoyed.
In a chronicle of the Statute of Palermo dated 12 November 1876, the use of Moscato , ritual biscuits and turkey on the tables of notables is recorded.
Martino has been defined as the patron saint of the “connoisseurs of good drink” who crowded the “taverns” of Sicilian cities, especially in Palermo where during solemn banquets, in addition to turkey, cooked vegetables such as “vruocculi” and hard-boiled eggs were enjoyed.
At the end of the meal, “ u viscottu i San Martinu abbagnatu nn’o Muscatu ” (the San Martino biscuit soaked in Moscato wine) was never missing.
This biscuit was and still is prepared today with flour mixed with milk and anise seeds, which give the preparation a particular and unmistakable aroma.
There are two versions of this Sicilian biscuit, one embellished with sugar sprinkles and flowers, filled with cream or jam and another simple one also called “ tricotto ” because it is cooked three times, in the past given to children during teething.
