Thanksgiving Day festivities, the most famous holiday in the States, which sees the traditional oven-baked stuffed turkey on the tables of millions of families gathered together (despite increasingly vocal protests from animal rights activists), have recently ended.
Turkey goes sweet
And it could only be Made in Italy the brilliant idea of changing the Easter Colomba into a… turkey! Galup, the historic confectionery company of Pinerolo, has reworked the dough and shape of the traditional Colomba and, in 2020, launched the Galup Turkey, maintaining both the classic dough made with eggs, selected wheat flour, fresh Italian milk, butter, and pieces of Marron Glacé, and the artisan processing characterised by a long leavening process with mother yeast which, since 1922, has been revived daily so that it preserves all its organoleptic qualities intact.
The new product was distributed in Italy exclusively via e-commerce in a limited edition and in the US in Eataly shops. The idea came about almost by chance. Seeing him coming home with a three-kilo Colomba, the wife of Galup’s current CEO, Stefano Borromeo, said it looked more like a turkey than a dove… And here was the idea that could open the doors to the American market!
1922: panettone with hazelnut icing is born
Founded in 1922, Galup, which celebrates its centenary this year, is an outstanding Made in Italy company that is not new to ingenious intuitions. The Pinerolo-based company owes its great success to the initiative of Pietro Ferrua, the founder, who, 100 years ago, had the original idea of creating a low panettone with hazelnut icing. This alternative to the classic Milanese panettone soon became part of the Piedmontese confectionery tradition. It was followed by the Colomba Galup, which soon became another great classic that enabled the company to obtain a patent as an official supplier to the Grand House.
A tasty and delicious company
But where does the name ‘Galup’ come from? To understand this, we must once again refer to the company’s Piedmontese roots. In Piedmontese dialect, the word ‘Galup’ means gluttonous and delicious. Legend has it that Regina, Ferrua’s wife, heard a friend taste the panettone and exclaim, ‘A l’è propri galup!’ (‘It’s really yummy’) and thus suggested her husband to name his pastry shop Galup.
Over time, the company diversified and expanded its production. Today, Galup’s products and flavours are sold in the Galup’s Turin Store, a stone’s throw from Piazza San Carlo.
Under the leadership of CEO Stefano Borromeo, the company maintains its headquarters in Pinerolo, employs dozens of people, has a turnover of millions of Euros and exports 30% of its production to Europe, Canada and the United States.
Congratulations to those who bring Made in Italy flavours to Thanksgiving tables!
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