Cupeta or copeta (originating from Arabic qubbayt, literally meaning 'preserved sweet') is a dessert made from honey, dissolved sugar and diced almonds.
Several sources (including official Italian ministerial ones)[2][3] state that the name comes from the Latin word cupedia; however, this is an incorrect etymological attribution made by Matteo Camera in 1838.[4] The similar Latin terms cupedia and copadia respectively mean 'sweat treats' and 'meat pieces'.[4]
Some sources hold the view that the name cupeta, on the other hand, comes from the Arabic word qubbayt, literally meaning 'sweet preserve',[5] and was documented for the first time in a document from Palermo of 1287, where a cubaydario cited (a producer of cubaita, a dessert made of apples, almonds, toasted chickpeas and sesami seeds).[6][7]
The name is then mentioned by Giambattista Basile (Naples, 600s) twice; in the Lo cunto de li cunti overo lo trattamento de peccerille and in the Le cinco figlie, as well as by Giulio Cesare Cortese in the Micco Passaro nnammorato.[4]
History
The word cupeta is of Latin[8] or Arabic origins.[9] The first explicit record of its existence in Italy dates back to 1287.[6][7]
Cupeta is made from a liquified mixture of almonds, honey and sugar; which is then either left to solidify or consumed in a semi-liquid form. The specific recipe, which may include additional ingredients, varies from region to region and may present differences depending family traditions.
The preparation method is similar to the one used for giurgiulena, which however differs in the addition of sesame seeds.[11]
Cupeta was awarded the recognition of being a prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale calabrese,[12] campano and pugliese ('traditional agri-food product from Calabria, Campania and Apulia').
In the province of Rieti, Lazio, and in the Abruzzo region, copeta is prepared with honey and diced walnuts, and is usually soft and in the shape of a square rather than being crunchy and rectangular; it is usually served on Laurus nobilis leaves, used as a container and preserver.[14][15]
^Vocabolario delle parole del dialetto napoletano, che più si discostano dal dialetto toscano, con alcune ricerche etimologiche sulle medesime degli Accademici Filopatridi, 2 voll., Napoli, presso Giuseppe-Maria Porcelli, 1789: vol. 1, pag. 121, sub voce copeta.
^Sada, Luigi Sada (1975). Ars coquinaria barensis al banchetto nuziale di Bona Sforza nel 1517. Bari: Centro librario (terza edizioni). p. 43.
