{"id":3621,"date":"2020-02-08T06:43:25","date_gmt":"2020-02-08T06:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/devourromefoodtours.com\/?p=3621"},"modified":"2023-10-05T19:19:46","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T19:19:46","slug":"suppli-vs-arancini","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/suppli-vs-arancini\/","title":{"rendered":"Suppl\u00ec vs Arancini: Key Differences & Fascinating History"},"content":{"rendered":"

Suppl\u00ec <\/em>and arancini:<\/em> two words that are popping up on menus everywhere. They are both beloved Italian street foods<\/a>, and are both fried. But what\u2019s the difference between them?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Italians love fried food. In Neapolitan pizzerias<\/a>, there\u2019s the frittatina<\/a><\/em> di pasta<\/em><\/a> (fried pucks of pasta).<\/em> In Puglia, no Sunday is complete without homemade panzerotti <\/em>(fried, stuffed pockets of dough). But two cousins, both fried balls of rice, stand out.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"close
Tiny balls of fried cheesy goodness? Keep reading to discover all about Italy’s favorite fried bites, suppl\u00ec<\/em> and arancini<\/em>! Photo credit: Evelyn Hill<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Roman suppl\u00ec <\/em>and Sicilian arancini <\/em>are, on the crispy surface, quite similar. But they each reflect a unique culinary history, way of eating, and like everything in Italy, the story of a place.<\/p>\r\n

Suppl\u00ec<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Suppl\u00ec<\/em> are oblong and round-tipped, like a pill big enough for a T-rex. To make them, you always need pre-cooked, short-grain rice (often arborio<\/em> or carnaroli<\/em>, the same rice used for Italian risotto<\/a>), mixed with grated cheese and whatever other flavoring you desire. In Rome, the rice is typically mixed with either plain tomato sauce or a light rag\u00f9 <\/em>with ground beef.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The most common embellishment is to prepare them al telefono<\/em>, literally \u201ctelephone-style.\u201d A small knob of mozzarella is enclosed in the rice before the little football is breaded and fried. The heat partially melts the mozzarella, so that when you crack open the suppl\u00ec <\/em>and pull the two halves apart, a wire of stretchy cheese connects them, like an old-fashioned telephone.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"A
Suppl\u00ec<\/em> will make all your Roman street food dreams come true.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

Who invented suppl\u00ec?<\/em><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

So what\u2019s the history of this dish? As you\u2019ve probably learned from our other blogs, establishing the origins of any Italian dish often involves a leap into mythology<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Suppl\u00ec<\/em> seem to have originated as a street food in Rome<\/a> in the early 19th century. Street vendors would park themselves on a corner with a kettle of oil and prepare \u201crice meatballs,\u201d which were made both cheap and filling by the use of rice and a mixture of ground chicken livers and cheese instead of meat.<\/p>\r\n

It was only later that suppl\u00ec <\/em>began to be served in restaurants and dedicated friggitorie<\/em>, shops that only served fried food. Those shops have disappeared, and now suppl\u00ec <\/em>are served in sit-down pizzerias as an appetizer, or in slice-pizza joints as a quick snack (especially when the bars close).\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

What does suppl\u00ec<\/em> mean?<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

And the name? Nobody knows, but there is a legend. When Napoleon occupied Rome, his troops were apparently very fond of these Roman fried rice balls. When they bit into them, they\u2019d exclaim \u201cque surprise!<\/em>\u201d, delighted by the gooey delights hidden by the crust. \u201cSurprise\u201d became \u201csuppl\u00ec<\/em>\u201d and the rest is \u2026 maybe not \u201chistory,\u201d but it\u2019s a nice story.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Arancini<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The differences between suppl\u00ec<\/em> and arancini<\/em> are both ingredient-based and also historical. Arancini<\/em>, along with cannoli<\/em><\/a>, are an iconic food from Sicily<\/a>. The name means \u201clittle orange,\u201d but we\u2019d hardly call them little. Arancini<\/em> are about the size and shape of a softball, except for those produced in eastern Sicily, which are conical, in homage to Mount Etna<\/a>, the famous volcano.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\"Extreme
Arancini<\/em> are a typical dish from Sicily. Photo credit: Lucas Richarz<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The preparation of arancini<\/em> is similar to that of suppl\u00ec<\/em>. Cooked short-grain rice is used, there are a variety of different add-ins, like rag\u00f9<\/em> or strong caciocavallo<\/em> cheese, and the whole thing is bread-crumbed and deep fried.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Arancini<\/em> or suppl\u00ec <\/em>– which is better?<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

There are two big differences, though. Arancini<\/em> are usually much bigger than suppl\u00ec<\/em>, about double the size. Arancini<\/em> are also often stuffed with rag\u00f9<\/em> (or peas or prosciutto), rather than having it mixed with the rice. An arancino<\/em>\u2019s layers are quite beautiful. The crust is straw-gold, and beneath that is a layer of deep-yellow rice, colored by a pinch of saffron. The rice contains a core of dark-red meat sauce, which spills out onto your plate (or more likely your shoes while walking down the street).<\/p>\r\n

\"plate
These hearty arancini are stuffed with cheese. Photo credit: Alexis Lamster<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In Sicily, arancini<\/em> are still sold as a one-in-all meal in bars and fry-shops, rather than as an appetizer in restaurants. The Sicilian diaspora, however, has made arancini<\/em> a fixture in worldwide Italian communities.<\/p>\r\n

Suppl\u00ec<\/em>, on the other hand, remain a mostly Roman delicacy, even though some modern chefs are beginning to put them on menus. In fact, some restaurants will have a \u201cspecial\u201d suppl\u00ec <\/em>in addition to the classic al telefono<\/em>. (Once, at a Roman pizzeria, we enjoyed an unforgettable \u201cRoman Countryside\u201d suppl\u00ec<\/em> made with porchetta, fennel pollen, and local Frascati white wine.) If you’re traveling to Rome, make sure you try this iconic bite!<\/p>\r\n

\"\"
Among other beloved local foods, make sure to try these favorites!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

Update notice: This article was updated on August 18, 2023.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n

Enjoy street food like a local on our <\/strong>Local Rome Food Tour: Jewish Quarter & Historic Center<\/a><\/strong>! Discover how Romans have enjoyed street food for centuries as you sample on-the-go bites, including suppl\u00ec,<\/em> fried fish, pizza, and more.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Suppl\u00ec and arancini: two words that are popping up on menus everywhere. They are both beloved Italian street foods, and are both fried. But what\u2019s the difference between them?\u00a0 Italians love fried food. In Neapolitan pizzerias, there\u2019s the frittatina di pasta (fried pucks of pasta). In Puglia, no Sunday is complete without homemade panzerotti (fried, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":21195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1448,1449],"tags":[1538,1225,1453],"ppma_author":[2344],"class_list":["post-3621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-and-drink-in-rome","category-rome-blog","tag-arancini","tag-street-food","tag-suppli"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDevour Tours<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/suppli-vs-arancini\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Suppl\u00ec vs. Arancini: A Definitive Guide to Italy's Favorite Fried Bites\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Telling the difference between suppl\u00ec vs. arancini can be tricky. 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