pamela in tuscany

Out here where I am, most people use local oil. Like maremosso, we are hooked on the herbal, peppery flavor of a fresh-pressed Tuscan oil. Equally good, but so different, are the oils from other regions. The further south you go, the more mature the olive, hence the fruitier flavor and more golden oil. Lately, I have been concerning myself more about the methods used to get the oil. Last year was an olive disaster (yield, 10 liters of oil!), this year looks slightly better. But two years ago we picked 9 quintale (900 kgs, yield 150 liters) and took them to two different frantoio's. One was the traditional stone ground, pulp pressed on mats in a hydraulic press, then centrifuged. The other half went to a frantoio that uses a method called sinolea, where steel blades macerate the olives, then the oil is extracted as metal discs are dipped into the paste; the oil sticks to the metal and is removed with scrapers in a continuous process. The difference in the two oils was stunning. The traditional stone method was fruitier and and spicier with that hot burning sensation in the back of the throat that we are all addicted to. The sinolea method was refined, delicate. Both seemed to have their own unique uses in my house, but several months later, I found that their differences weren't so well-defined.

Here's what it says (brand name removed to protect the....innocent?) "White Balsamic Vinegar - Modena Balsamic Vinegar 8.5 oz Price: $3.95 Premium White Balsamic Vinegar from Modena, Italy is made from a different process than our regular balsamic vinegar. The vinegar "must" is not caramelized during processing (this is why it is golden in color). White Balsamic is used for aesthetic reasons, so as not to color sauces/dressings. Primarily used in salads and perfect for pasta salads, white balsamic can also be used in sauces for meat, fowl or fish or to deglaze a pan. " Doesn't tell us much. We need someone to read the ingredient list on the label. In any case at $3.95 for 8.5 ounces....I wonder what the non-premium product is.

White balsamic vinegar....hmmmmm. In Italy, there are two defined products, the industrial Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and the traditional artisanal product, Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena or Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Reggio Emilia. In a nutshell, the traditional product from the two provinces (Modena and Reggio Emilia) is made from certain specified local grapes (most often used are Trebbiano and/or Lambrusco) which are cooked for hours until the volume is reduced to about half. The must is then aged in wood barrels, passing through several different barrels of aromatic wood, for as long as it takes for the consortium to approve it to be bottled as traditional. This usually takes at least twelve years, and longer, 25 years or more, for the extra-vecchio (extra old) products. The industrial product is defined to be made with wine vinegar flavored with caramel coloring and caramel flavoring. It doesn't need to have any cooked grapes or spend any time aging in wood. Naturally there are a lot of products in between, but that is another discussion. My point here is to wonder how a balsamic vinegar can be white. It can't be a traditional product because after all of that cooking (even when using 100% white trebbiano grapes), the must is dark. After aging in wood, the color darkens further, especially in oak which is almost always used. It must be an industrial product with something other than caramel added, because wouldn't caramel darken the color? Anyone out there know?

oh, chanterelles! how wonderful that would be. We're just hoping to get a little more rain followed by some sun to get out there and find some porcini. Thank you for your comments about gelato. I really think you can get good gelato out of those machines, better than ice cream. The 'light and fluffy' comes from the air that gets beaten in as it stirs. Transfer it to a stainless steel container and tap it on the counter a few times to settle it and see what happens. Personally, I am satisfied with it right out of the machine. For me, the quality that makes it gelato is the fact that with lower fat it can be served warmer. Warmer means that your tastebuds don't get frozen and you taste the fundamental flavor. Don't get me wrong about the fat content.... I love fat in foods, but frozen fat has no flavor. Lower fat in this case means that your mouth is not coated with a layer of frozen fat which masks that base flavor and doesn't feel all that nice. My favorite gelato is to toast and chop pistachio nuts, put them in cold milk with some sugar, heat it all up, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and the milk is scalding. Cool it down, put in the fridge overnight. The next day, strain it and make gelato. The method is called infusion and the milk absorbs all of the flavor of the pistacchio. 6 ounces shelled pistachio 3 cups milk 3/4 cup sugar

Gaetano Cannetiello is from Naples! If you ask him, he will make you a classic DOP Neapolitan pizza, the Margherita with bufalo mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil or the Marinara with tomato, oregano, and garlic. Locally, people prefer the pizza crust to be a little thinner, not as thin as Rome, but still not as cushiony and sumptuous as Naples. The neapolitan pizza is all about the crust. In my book, I say that neapolitan pizzas are 'scantily dressed,' instead of loading up with toppings that distract from the crust. The major factor about the naples crust (which Gaetano does here, too) is the low yeast, high salt proportion and the slooooow rise (12 hours+). I love La Grotta, too. Next time you come, I'll take you to La Porta!

oooo, there are a zillion, and many I haven't tried, too. "In that boat" is an apt analogy. Many of these glorious foods will never make their way across the water to the states because of excessive regulations, cheese quotas (and raw milk/aging requirements), and politics. What a shame you can only get two prosciutti (Parma and San Daniele) when there are wonderful variations in many of the central and northern provinces. The costs of converting a plant to USDA standards are prohibitive for tiny artisanal producers....I guess you'll just have to come over here to try them!

Those are interesting questions. What comes to mind is the little bowl of olive oil with some balsamic vinegar dripped into it….something you find in many Italian restaurants in the US, and something you only see here in restaurants frequented by tourists. It is not a bad idea, especially if they are serving an excellent olive oil. Maybe the original idea came from pinzimonio which is a little bowl of really good olive oil to which you add some salt and dip in pieces of fresh raw vegetables….or bagna cauda, which is a warm olive oil dip flavored with some anchovies… Certainly another trend I see is the inclination away from rustic osterie and simple family trattorie. More and more osterie have white tablecloths and linens and prices to match. Who can blame them, they need to make a living, too. And, there are a greater number of high cuisine restaurants, but I’m not sure the influence in the kitchen has come from abroad. In the law of supply and demand, there are more food-enlightened tourists requesting this level of cooking (not withstanding the current poor exchange rate…). Recently I re-visited my friends at Don Alfonso 1890. I usually order the traditional menu, but took a leap and tried their tasting menu. It was heavily influenced by Asian ingredients and techniques, a circumstance that may come from the fact that one of the cooks is Japanese.

Just one stop? Here are some recommendations I made in another thread: Will you have a car? If so, you absolutely should go to La Porta in Monticchiello, also Latte di Luna in Pienza. And in Montepulciano...La Grotta is worth every penny. for true 'locals' food, go to Ristorante Cittino - Marcella makes the pici pasta by hand. Dive e Maceo is good. Stop in the Caffe Poliziano for coffee and the view. For pizza, don't miss Saloon (yes, funny name) in nearby Sant' Albino.

Don’t you think that the dichotomy is economy-driven? I know I saw the same thing in California. Industrially produced foods cost less, and artisanal/organic/heritage foods are practically a luxury product. I can tout the flavor and health advantages of a $3.00 (or more...) package of bronze-extruded, air-dried pasta, but the family on a budget is going to go for the 50-cent package of industrial pasta. Not that it is bad, just different. Engineered foods are another thing altogether, and I think so far Italians have not allowed GM foods. That is a sensibility that I can appreciate, and I hope it doesn’t change. As far as attitude about eating, I can only speak to this non-urban area I live in. Everything stops at lunch time. Weddings and special event meals last a minimum of six hours. It is difficult to eat outside of the ‘normal’ eating hours. Don’t even think of planning anything with friends on Sunday, they are all with family eating. Everyone has an ‘orto,’ a kitchen garden. Most of us are canning right now. I get phone calls that sound like this: “Tomorrow is a full moon, don’t forget to plant your garlic.”

As you know, I am a strong supporter of Slow Food. The organization has done a lot to heighten consumer awareness and to raise the image of the artisanal producer in order that these don’t become lost arts. In the meantime, there is a huge cultural shift here. In my opinion, it isn’t so much a matter of lost arts as it is a loss of the people who want to do them. It is only natural, but as the country modernizes and becomes technologically expert, a lot of young people want to participate in that. The daughters and sons of the farmers are getting more education and heading toward different work. There is the additional problem of industrial producers replicating an artisanal product within the European Union’s definitions. Here are some excerpts from my upcoming book (Prosciutto, Pancetta, and Salame, Ten Speed Press, 2005) that address this. Since its creation, the EU has been working on a set of rules and regulations for traditional foods from the member countries. It has classified each product with one of two designations, DOP or IGP. Denominazioni di Origine Protetta (DOP), or Denomination of Protected Origin, specifies materials, method of production, and the zone of origin. Indicazioni Geografiche Protette (IGP), or Protected Geographic Indication, is a more general category that requires only a geographical area of origin. Depending on the product, this can be helpful, because it may protect foods from extinction. But in some cases, the definition of products that should be artisanal has been over-generalized. This vagueness has allowed industrial producers to create a facsimile that doesn’t truly replicate the traditional product. Along with legal definitions comes politics. Large industry is often better at persuading officials about a product than a handful of artisan producers. Some artisan products have found success only to be overwhelmed by industrial copies; culatello di Zibello and lardo di Colonnata are good examples of this. Sometimes, due to demand, industry replaces the traditional practices and the artisan product completely disappears. In the case of Lardo di Colonnata... ten years ago, there were two producers. With the fame of the product came a growth in the number of producers. Today, fourteen producers of lardo di Colonnata can provide 220,000 pounds a year. It sounds like a lot, especially considering the miniscule size of the village with its three hundred inhabitants. But it is very little compared to the nearly 20 million pounds made by industrial producers. With fame came competition and imitations. The artisanal producers have worked hard to keep the character and true tradition of this product, to the point that it has now received IGP status; the boundaries have been carefully defined to just a few hectares surrounding Colonnata, in recognition of its unique microclimate.

It is funny how things evolve in life. At the interview for my first teaching job, the principal asked me if I liked to cook. Long story, short....I ended up teaching high school age students (with multiple disabilities) to be more independent by cooking for themselves, and then teaching some of them to work in food service. It was rewarding on all sides. I love teaching, and cooking has been my hobby forever. Once I had a taste of the restaurant line and food freelancing, I got hooked and took a leave of absence from my 'day job.' I like to think that my cookbooks reflect my interest in teaching. I still feel that my life is entwined in those early days, it is just a different audience.

I’m still in recovery from my book about salumi! Which is to say that a lot of other work was on hold while I finished it. Some things wouldn’t wait, such as the apples, quince, and plums (a local variety that some people call ‘coscia di monaca’, or nun’s thighs), and mowing down the olive fields (overgrown because we had tooooo much rain in the spring). Now I am up to my shoulders in figs and before long we will have the olive harvest… But, back to the question….I do have a few ideas fermenting, perhaps something about canning/preserving from my Tuscan garden. Or something about the regional cheeses

docsconz...I'm blushing! thank you for the nice comments. I have just finished (last Saturday!) my book on Salumi, it will be called "Prosciutto, Pancetta, and Salame," and available in spring 2005. I added a lot of new grey hairs on this one! Italy's multi-regional aspect makes a wide subject like this challenging. Some cured meats are made similarly, but with different names...or some have the same names with completely different processes to make them. In any case, I am more hooked than ever on these wonderful products!

Hi, I live in Montepulciano! I write cookbooks and do cooking classes and I have an opinion about the local restaurants. Eh! Will you have a car? If so, you absolutely should go to La Porta in Monticchiello, also Latte di Luna in Pienza. And in Montepulciano...La Grotta is worth every penny. for true 'locals' food, go to Ristorante Cittino - Marcella makes the pici pasta by hand. Dive e Maceo is good. Stop in the Caffe Poliziano for coffee and the view. For pizza, don't miss Saloon (yes, funny name) in nearby Sant' Albino. Buon viaggio.My Webpage