 Just like Montpellier, Sicily was once famous for its "comfits", nougat candy ("torrone", or "turrón" in Spanish) and almond clusters ("confetti").From the south, the Arabs also brought the art of ice cream making that produced sorbet and several examples of sweet cakes and pastries; "cassata alla Siciliana" (from Arabic "qas'ah", the term for the terracotta bowl with which it was shaped), made from marzipan, sponge cake and sweetened ricotta and "cannoli alla Siciliana", originally "cappelli di turchi" ("Turkish hats"), fried, chilled pastry tubes with a sweet cheese filling.Research into medieval foodways was, until around 1980, a much neglected field of study.