Hey
@yick, happy you're taking an interest in our traditional Christmas treats!
I have never heard of Peruvian panettones LOL but I guess it's such a popular industrial bakery product, most countries that had some cultural influence from Spain or Italy might have it.
The article from the Guardian is probably overly dramatic but there is a foundation of truth in what they say. There has been a steady decline in interest and consumption of panettone as well as its companion, the "pandoro". This cannot be entirely blamed on Italian families, though.
Despite its humble origins, the original panettone is quite intensive in terms of fresh and high quality ingredients. A 600/750g panettone will need at least 6 egg yolks, but the best patisseries (including ours!) use 8 to 9. 150 to 250g unsalted butter is also needed. HIgh quality diced candied citrus, vanilla extract or powdered bean, lemon zest, etc.
Without all of this, a panettone will turn out mediocre, not the kind of cake people will enjoy and buy again. On the other hand, a patisserie-quality panettone using the kinds of ingredients above may well be a memorable experience. The downside: it will end up costing 20 EUR or more!
In the last few years I am sure less people are eating panettone. On the other side, I have seen more and more premium panettones being offered, with several twists in flavour, like candied fruit replaced with chocolate chips or different kinds of cream fillings. If you live in the UK, one of the best patisserie panettones is the one from Princi, in London. Princi is the London branch of a famous Milan bakery. Last time I checked their panettone was on the original Milanese recipe and very decent, a solid 7. They said 12 eggs and candied citrus from Turkey (!) went into it but it was 45 GBP for 650g, so not to everybody's pockets.
Industrial-wise there are literally hundreds of companies in Italy baking panettone. The most famous one is Bauli, it's probably the one with the best price to quality ratio but the quality isn't memorable. They don't use fresh eggs, just powdered egg product ("ovoprodotto") which is nothing like the fresh thing.
Again, if you live in the UK you should try the ones from local patisserie chains. Princi is good but also Carluccio's, or the one from the Paul franchise. I have seen panettones offered by virtually any supermarket chains in the UK, from Aldi to Fortnum & Mason. No idea about those. There are some articles recommending some brands I never heard of, like Muzzi, Fiasconaro, etc.
For the best experience, I would only recommend not to buy anything industrially produced.
Thanks!
