Piedmont, northern Italy. The dish was standardised in Piedmont but versions of lightly set cream appear across northern Italy. Panna cotta as we know it became internationally known from the 1990s onwards when it displaced creme brulee on menus globally.
Panna cotta is set cream — the name means cooked cream. The technique is simple, the margin for error narrow. Too much gelatine produces a rubber, too little produces a puddle. The finished panna cotta should tremble when the plate is moved, hold its shape when turned out, and yield completely on the spoon. It is flavoured with vanilla bean and finished with a sauce that provides acidity to cut the richness.
- French blanc-manger (almond milk or cream set with gelatine — medieval European ancestor); Japanese annin tofu (almond-flavoured tofu-like set dessert using agar, same delicate-set philosophy); Chinese douhua (silken tofu, same trembling-set texture achieved through different coagulants).
Brachetto d'Acqui DOCG — the lightly sparkling, deep-rose Piedmontese wine with strawberry and rose aromatics is the classical pairing for panna cotta with berry coulis. The low alcohol (5.5%) and gentle sweetness complement the cream without overwhelming it.