Delicious Italy

The real amatriciana

There is some debate at the moment as to what makes a real amatriciana sauce and where it comes from.

The essential ingredient is guanciale and Gourmet Food Suite 1001 has written to us on the same subject.

I'm surprised at how little info I can find out there. I know it is pork cheek or jowl. I believe it is Northern in origin and primarily used in hearty dishes such as carbonara and Amatricana? Is guanciale like our flank steak, something butchers used to save for their families because it was less popular with customers. Now, we have discovered what used to be "scraps" and enjoy flank steak as well as guanciale... maybe I'm way off here. Perhaps it is a highly prized artisanal product that has not been available until recently here?

Even in the town of Amatrice in north Lazio there is hot debate as to the right way of preparing it.

The authorities even want to bring in official cooking lessons to certify those who know how to make the 'ideal' version.

Anyone who regularly reads our blog knows that this sort of thing should set the alarm bells ringing.   

Imitation Italian Food Products

One of the biggest worries for the Italian food industry is counterfeit or imitation Italian food products made abroad.

They may seem like the real thing, but they are most definitely not.   

The problem is compounded when these products reach the Italian food market and are relabelled as  'Made in Italy' or  more confusingly 'Packaged in Italy' with tomatoes being the easiest to get away with.

The point is that Italian sounding food products sell, but ultimately harm the brand, as well as ruining the taste buds of future generations.

Here are a culprits to look out for: Parmesao cheese from Brasil, Parmigianino from the US, Tinboozola from Australia, Danish Gran (Padano) and Asiago from Wisconsin in the US.

Where's Christmas?

What's happened to the Christmas spending binge?

You have never seen the shops of Rome so empty, at least away from the main historical centre.

The final Saturday before Christmas felt like Boxing Day in terms of the number of people milling around.

Things seem so desperate for the department stores that we were literally taken in hand by the Clarins sales lady in the Rinascente and begged to buy some perfume. We accepted the free samples and said we might come back.

What are doing well are the book shops and the 'pile them high' bargain stores, even the 99 cent shop was buzzing.

Perhaps it is due to the holidays falling mid week, as the sensation is that most people have taken a 'mega ponte' and cleared off for 10 days.

Our barometer of Christmas is, of course, the annual appearance of the zampogne musicians from Abruzzo/Molise.

Checking out this blog from a year ago, we registered their presence from the 24 November.

This year we saw a lone player in Via Alessandria at 7pm on Saturday 22 December. All very low key.

More milk, less alcohol

This week Manchester United were playing in Rome in the final match of the Champions League group stages.

To stop any trouble between rival fans, a total ban on the sale of alcohol swept the city.

From midday to 8pm it was officially impossible to buy a bottle of Gotto d'Oro from EUR to Prati Fiscali in your local supermarket.

Not that it stopped 6 Manchester supporters, reportedly drunk, being assaulted by thugs claiming to be Roma fans outside the Stadio Olimpico.

So the rest of us watched the match on television perfectly sober with friends.

But at least the Comune di Roma can say they acted decisively to stop any trouble in our house.

The government also acted decisively recently to allow fresh milk to be sold directly to the consumer from special dispensers.

There were some problems for the go ahead, mainly due to the supermarket brands being undercut as the producers have removed the middle man.

Nevertheless, it is now possible to buy a litre of milk across Italy at two thirds of the standard price, unpasteurized and delicious.

White Truffle Auction

The 1st December 2007 sees the annual International Truffle Auction in Florence in Palazzo Medici Riccardi.

The event is linked by satellite to bidders, restaurants, celebrities and the curious from around the world.   

Truffles have become status symbols and this year it seems the truffle find of the century will be up for grabs.    

Those in the know have declared that a white truffle between 800 gr and 1.5 kilos has been dug up near San Miniato, province of Pisa, Tuscany.

Although even this is dwarfed by the biggest truffle ever found, in the same zone in 1954.

If it enters the bidding the prevision is for a price 100k-200k euros even if the going rate is 6000 per kilo for much smaller versions.

The biggest truffle ever found.

Cheese news

A source we recommend for finding out more about cheese and cheese issues is the very excellent and unpasteurized 'Cheese Time - News and cultural updates from the world of Italian cheeses'.

www.cheesetime.com

There's milk and there's milk

Now milk is a bit of a pet subject of ours.

Not only do incredible pecorino cheeses need milk, so do many fine Sicilian sweets, to state the obvious.

Milk was also the first processed food and without it we wouldn't have domesticated animals, farmed, stopped being nomads etc etc.

It is our humble opinion that the battle to save unpasteurized milk from being legalized out of our daily bread and cheese is worth fighting for more than banning OGM foods.

It seems now French camembert is now on the slippery slope to becoming Kraft Philadelphia. 

The largest cheese group in Europe 'Lactalis' has decided to make its camembert with pasteurized milk.

However, the essence of camembert is that it is made with fresh untouched 'crude' milk. 

In fact, it seems genuine camembert will be called 'Cambert di Normandia' (at least for the Italian marketplace') and will be protected with a DOP mark.

Only about 12% of today's camembert is the real deal.

According to Lactalis the mass production and distribution of camembert must use pasteurized milk to guarantee consumer health, which could be true.

But does that make it camembert? 

www.camembert-aoc.org

More wine, less alcohol

A recent convention took place in the Vatican in Rome entitled 'Vino e Salute dell’Uomo' or 'Wine and Man's Health'.

Organized by the 'Accademia Italiana della Vite e del Vino' the overall theme was the difference between wine and alcohol and the need to drink in moderation at all times.

From Antonio Calò, President of the Accademia: “I benefici effetti del vino non sono riconducibili ad altri alcolici e sono condizionati anche da tempi e modalità del consumo”.

The medical evidence suggests wine as a complex product has beneficial effects, it is the alcohol in itself which does not. Moderation first, then the time and manner of consumption is of importance for reaping these benefits, especially those cardivascular.

Interesting to note the rapport the north European countries have with their drink, as the focal point of an habitual end of week 'let your hair down' routine.

Weak warm beer, you can get away with it; wines and spirits, be very careful.

Small daily amounts of wine at mealtimes is advised.

L’Accademia Italiana della Vite e del Vino was founded in 1949 and today has 555 members.

Time for Novello 2007

Whether novello is actually wine is another question, but 15 million bottles of the stuff will be released onto the home and international market from Italy's producers very shortly. 

Apparently this is 10% down on last year, but will still bring in a tidy 80 million euros of business.

In other words, don't pay more than 5,50 euri for your bottle and drink it immediately.

Olive oil traceability

The Agricultural Ministry here in Rome has created a decree obliging bottles of extra virgin olive oil and virgin olive oil produced in Italy to declare where their olives came from.

A sort of olive oil identity card.

All you have to to is read the label to make sure the olives in your bottle of Italian olive oil don't come from Spain, Greece or Tunisia. 

The website of the Consorzio dell'Olio Toscano is putting online such information regarding Tuscany's 70,000 olive oil producers.