. Paneton, or Panettone, is traditionally fro m Milan , as to an Italiano, in order to determine the true breadloaf king ! What better way to end the carb season, than with a fight of epic proportionsPaneton, or Panettone, is, as Wikipedia will have you know. So it only seems fair to pit the best of Peru



In one corner with have the D'Onofrio classic. The gold standard. The Paneton that looks down upon all the other Peruvian brands

with a knowing teal smirk letting them all know who’s boss.

In the other corner stands - Balocco classic (cousin to the godly MaxiCiok ). The mysterious Italian challenger, completely unknown... but painting all kinds of unrealistic expectations with a whopping motherfucking price tag of 43 New Suns.

Paneton vs. Panettone. Peru vs. Italy. Cholo vs. Paisano. A legendary breadloaf clasico! The tension is unbreadable.





Round 1: Day 1 - Fresh out the package.



Bread-w ise, almost identical. Balocco might be a little darker, but that's where the differences end. Makes me think that the origina l Italian D'Onofrio recipe is a little too original.



But the n we get to the candied fruit. Balocco is much more balanced as the candied fruit is softer and not overly sweet , working well together between the or anges, raisins and other shit. In contrast, w hen you chomp on D'Onofrio you will experience spikes in sweetness and crunchiness coming at you from the fruities, e specially those red and green fuckers.



What do you prefer... smooth sailing or a little bit of danger and unpredictability? Since this one goes down to personal p reference, looks like we start off with a tie.



D'Onofrio 1 : 1 Balocco



Round 2: Day 3 - Refrigerated, 45 second microwave



Well, something has definitely happened. Balocco has aged pretty well, perhaps tasting even better than on the first day! I n comparison, D'Onofrio comes off as decidedly drier.

There's no subjective preference here. If you like dry Paneton , go eat some stale bread. Hence...



D'Onofrio 1 : 2 Balocco



Round 3: Day 4 + - Out in the open. No holds barred.

If you are sharing with family, friends or enem ies you're looking to plump up , then you most likely won't make it to this point. B ut I am only one man, and we are talking about 2 kilos of bread.





Taking a look at the nutritional facts, the Italian offer has higher proteins ... which might mean more eggs ... which might mean better consistenc y... but that's a lot of maybes and who-the-fuck -knows. So let's just stick to what w e know - Italians age better. After a co uple of days of sitting around, t here's just no doubt that Balocco has more softness, moistness and all th at oth er good stuff that you're looking for from a mature and experienced Panet(t)on (e)

But we knew that already from the previous round. So what's new? Let us consult

the cross section:









D'Onofrio on the left, Balocco on the right. And just by looking at the a mount of fruit bits, I can't help b ut feel that D'Onofrio is trying to fuck me over... just a little bi t.

D'Onofrio 1 : 3 Balocco

The Verdict

The score paints a n accurate p icture and there is no doubt in my min d which I would go for when offered the choice between the two. However, there is one big factor to consider when making that choice - price. Is Balocco worth paying for twice the amount what you would pay for D'Onofrio? Probably not. Are b oth options solid for their price range? Yes.





So unles s money is of no concern to yo u or if there's some sort of radical discount on Balocco (as has been the case in Wong these days), then both of these choices make for a quality top-end carbfeast!



