What is "strega"

Strega (or Liquore Strega), is an Italian herbal liqueur produced since 1860 by the S. A. Distilleria Liquore Strega in Benevento, Campania, Italy. Its yellow color comes from the presence of saffron in its recipe. Liquore Strega is 80 proof (40%) and among its approximately 70 herbal ingredients are mint and fennel. Strega is considered a digestif.

Strega has a similar appearance to Galliano (though less vibrantly yellow). It is slightly sweet, semi-viscous, and has a bold, complex flavor with strong minty or coniferous notes. Strega is used for flavoring torta caprese, a type of cake.

Strega, the Italian word for witch, may refer to:

• Strega, a group of pagan magic users who are part of the protectors of Venice in the Heirs of Alexandria series by Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint, and Dave Freer
• Stregheria, or the Strega tradition of modern Italian Wiccan-styled witchcraft

Strega (Italian for "witch" or "sorceress") is a hardboiled detective novel written by American author and attorney Andrew Vachss, first published in 1987. The story features the pursuit and destruction by the protagonist Burke, an ex-con private investigator, of a pedophile ring involved in trading child pornography via telephone modems. The novel was written and published long before social concern over the use of the Internet for spreading or trading child pornography became widespread. It is the second novel in the Burke series.

The novel is also significant because it introduces numerous characters who would go on to appear in all of the Burke series: Immaculata (Max's girlfriend and later mother to Flower); rescued child prostitute Terry (who would become Mole and Michelle's son); and Wolfe, who is serving as the Assistant District Attorney when the events in this story take place.

After the critical acclaim and commercial success of his first novel Flood, Vachss was contacted by Robert Gottlieb, then editor-in-chief of the New York publishing house Alfred A. Knopf, and signed the contract with an advance of US $175,000 for Strega. The novel subsequently won the 1988 Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, a prestigious French award for mystery and crime novels, and the 1989 Falcon Award by the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan.