Pandoro o panettone? Dolci di Natale in Italia

What is “zucchero a velo” in Italian?

The English “powdered sugar” describes how it’s made; Italian zucchero a velo describes what it does. Velo means “veil,” so the name pictures the delicate, gauzy layer of white that settles over a dessert when you dust it. It is the finely ground sugar you shake over a pandoro, a crostata or a slice of panettone — the soft snowfall that makes a Christmas cake look festive.

In the clip it is the showpiece moment: a pandoro shaken in its bag with zucchero a velo until it’s coated like a snowy star, the playful counterpart to the panettone with its canditi (candied fruit) and uvetta (raisins). The poetic a + noun pattern recurs in Italian cooking and beyond: a velo (veil-thin), al dente (to the tooth), a pioggia (sprinkled “like rain”). Velo is the same word used for a bridal or religious veil.