Ricciarelli di Siena

Ricciarelli di Siena are almond biscuits produced exclusively within the province of Siena, made from a mixture of sweet almonds, sugar and egg white, baked and coated with icing sugar. The specification permits no flour or potato starch. Each unit takes an oval lozenge shape with a white surface, light golden edge and soft, spongy interior.

About this designation

Registered as a PGI on 18 December 2007 under file number PGI-IT-0666 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013664), Ricciarelli di Siena are classified under Class 2.4 (bread, pastry, cakes, confectionery, biscuits and other baker's wares). Production and packaging must take place entirely within the administrative territory of the province of Siena. The specification defines compulsory ingredients per kilogram of dough: sweet almonds from 35 % to 50 %, caster sugar from 35 % to 47 %, chickens' egg white from 6 % to 12 %, icing sugar from 5 % to 8 %, and raising agents as needed. Optional ingredients include bitter almonds up to a maximum of 6 % of the total mixture, glucose syrup or invert sugar up to a maximum of 10 %, mixed flower honey up to a maximum of 7 %, candied orange zest up to a maximum of 5 %, specified flavourings, rice paper and sorbic acid. No other ingredients, additives, colourings or preservatives are permitted. Each unit must weigh between 10 and 30 g, with a longest diagonal between 50 and 105 mm, shortest diagonal between 30 and 65 mm, and thickness between 13 and 20 mm. Relative moisture must fall between a minimum of 8 % and a maximum of 11.5 %. Labelling must display the name Ricciarelli di Siena, the words 'Protected Geographical Indication' written in full or abbreviated as PGI, producer details and the designated logo.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PGI on 18 December 2007 under file number PGI-IT-0666.
• The specification permits no flour or potato starch; the whiteness of the dough is due solely to the presence of sugar.
• Each unit must weigh between 10 and 30 g and maintain a relative moisture between 8 % and 11.5 %.
• Production and packaging must be carried out within the entire administrative territory of the province of Siena, in a continuous process.

Tasting notes

Tuscan almond paste cookies from Siena, traditional medieval origin. Distinctive lozenge shape, soft chewy almond-paste interior dusted with powdered sugar, intensely flavored with sweet almond, vanilla, citrus zest.

HoReCa use

Ricciarelli di Siena are suited to Sienese-Tuscan dessert service, paired with Vin Santo and dessert wines, and are presented in gift packaging or alongside other ambient confectionery.

Packaging

• retail-bag-150g
• retail-bag-300g
• gift-pack-tin-200g
• foodservice-bulk-2kg

Seasonality