Anyone who loves food would want to try recipes from different countries. But the problem with that is that sometimes it is hard to find certain ingredients in your local stores.
There are a lot of food items that are quite popular in their native countries but cannot be found easily in other countries. As a result, people either have to pay hundreds of dollars to get them delivered or find an alternative.
In truth, it is much easier, not to mention cheaper, to find a suitable alternative instead of trying to get a rare ingredient delivered to your country.
What is Cannoli?
People with fine taste would surely know about cannoli since it’s a popular Italian pastry dish. Cannoli is known to have a tube shape that is filled with creamy and sweet filling, along with ricotta.
The pastries are made to be around 3.5-inches to 7.9-inches and are quite famous in Italy. However, these pastries are only made in cannoli mold, but they are hard to find in grocery stores outside of Italy.
For this reason, you will need to find cannoli mold substitutes so you can also enjoy this delicious dish regardless of where you live.
Cannoli Mold – What Is It?
The cannoli molds are the metal tubes that are used to wrap the shell dough of cannoli. When the dough is wrapped, the mold is added to the pan for frying.
There are other methods of cooking cannoli as well, but these metal molds are the most commonly used options. The molds are a part of the original recipe, which is why people have a hard time imagining cooking cannoli without them.
However, cooking cannoli without the molds is not impossible at all.
Cannoli Mold Substitutes
If you are clear about what cannoli mold is, it is time to talk about the substitutes. Although you can try to find mold in your local grocery stores, it is much better to look for a substitute
You will only end up wasting your time and energy looking for mold and you will have to face disappointment if you can’t find it in your local stores.
To save yourself from disappointment, look for a substitute and begin your preparation of cannoli straightaway.
1. Wooden Tubes
The best substitutes are the ones that are either easily available locally or something that is already in your home. When it comes down to the cannoli tubes, wood is considered to be one of the most commonly used materials.
For this purpose, you can opt for a thick piece of broom handle or dowel handle. When you find such a handle, just use a sharp object to cut to a sufficient length (it is suggested to cut the handle or dowel anything from six inches to eight inches).
When the handle is cut, you have to sand it with the help of fine-grit sandpaper to make it smooth. Once smoothened, use food-grade oil for greasing, and you can start making cannoli.
The best thing about using these wooden tubes is that they are reusable.
Although wooden tubes are such a great substitute for cannoli mold, turning a broom handle into a tube can be a difficult process. Cutting the wood can also be quite dangerous since you will be using a sharp object.
If you have never worked with wood before, it is better to proceed with caution. If you are still scared of the process, you can try to work with one of the other options on this list.
2. Curtain Rods
This is a second option for people who cannot find a cannoli mold but want to make these Italian pastries. If you have a spare curtain rod lying around, you can repurpose it to make the metal tubes for cannoli.
However, you have to ensure the curtain rods don’t have any metal coating and make sure the curtain rod is properly cleaned (there must be no debris and dirt inside or outside the rod).
Then, cut the curtain rod into the right length, and around the edges to make them smooth (the edges have to be sanded to ensure there are no cuts).
After sanding the edges, clean the curtain rods, dry them up, and use them to make cannoli. What’s best is that these are reusable.
Just like wooden tubes, you will also have to cut curtain rods to make them suitable for making cannoli. There is also the danger of your curtain rods being covered in harmful chemicals or metal coating.
So, if you are not certain about the safety of the rods, it is better not to use them at all.
Aluminum foil is something that is available in every kitchen. You can use it to make tubes for making cannoli. For this purpose, you need to scrunch the aluminum foil into small balls (make them the size of golf balls).
Once you have made these balls, line them up to make an eight-inch long line. When the line is created, press them properly to even out the surface. You can also wrap the aluminum foil around to create a long and uniform tube.
You can make as many tubes as you want by following the above-mentioned steps. These tubes are reusable as long as you clean up the crevices properly.
However, it is better if you discard these tubes after use and make new ones the next time you want to make cannoli.
4. Ditch The Tubes
If you cannot use any tube, you can fry up the dough in a flat shape and add the ricotta mixture to these fried dough cakes. Then, place the other flat dough piece on the top, and your cannoli are ready.
Truth be told, this won’t look like your conventional cannoli, but the flavor will be the same. You can also bake cannoli at 430-degrees Fahrenheit for seven to nine minutes.
The best thing about making cannoli this way is that it will reduce the fat percentage.
There is nothing wrong with making cannoli in the shape of your choice. Although the original recipe uses a mold for shaping the pastries, as long as you use the right ingredients, you will get to enjoy the original taste of cannoli.
However, some people want their recipes to be as authentic as possible, and for that, they don’t want to compromise on anything.
If you have no problem with changing the shape of cannoli, then you can stop worrying about the mold tubes and make the pastries however you want.
5. Cans
In case you want the same shape as the original cannoli recipe but don’t have mold tubes you can try using a tomato paste can. However, for using the can, you will have to remove the label and ends.
When these ends and labels are removed, you can wrap the dough around the can and fry it just like you would if you were using cannoli molds.
If you wish to use this substitute for making cannoli, it is important to clean the cans properly. Removing labels and ends will not be enough if the can is not clean from the inside.
And if you make cannoli with unclean cans, you will only end up getting sick after eating the pastries.
6. Bamboo
Another great option is to find bamboo and cut one reed for your recipe. Clean the reed and then sand the edges to make it smooth before using it for making cannoli. Once you have smoothened the bamboo pieces, oil them so they are ready to be used.
One of the best things about using bamboo pieces is that you won’t have to worry about harmful chemicals. You can also clean the bamboo pieces easily before making cannoli.
If you are thinking of making cannoli this weekend, try one of these substitutes of cannoli mold to see whether they can help you nail the original recipe or not.
The substitutes will definitely help you make your cannoli look like they have been prepared by an Italian chef.