OCTOBER 2019 L Civiltà Dellatavola ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA N

OCTOBER 2019 l Civiltà DELLATavola ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA N. 319 INTERNATIONAL

EDITION

ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA ISTITUZIONE CULTURALE DELLA REPUBBLICA ITALIANA FONDATA NEL 1953 DA ORIO VERGANI

www.accademia1953.it CIVILTÀ DELLA TAVOLA CIVILTÀ N. 319, OCTOBER 2019 Table of contents Civiltà DELLATavola ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA

INTERNATIONAL EDITION

October 2019 / n. 319 Focus of the President

Editor in chief Paolo Petroni 2 The feedbag generation Copy Editor (Paolo Petroni) Silvia De Lorenzo

Layout Simona Mongiu L’ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA Translator è stata fondata nel 1953 da Orio Vergani Antonia Fraser Fujinaga e da Luigi Bertett, Dino Buzzati Traverso, Cesare Chiodi, Giannino Citterio, Ernesto Donà This issue includes articles by dalle Rose, Michele Guido Franci, Gianni Mazzocchi Elisabetta Cocito, Bastoni, Arnoldo Mondadori, Attilio Nava, Gabriele Gasparro, Arturo Orvieto, Severino Pagani, Aldo Passante, Gigi Padovani, Gian Luigi Ponti, Giò Ponti, Dino Villani, Paolo Petroni, Edoardo Visconti di Modrone, con Massimo Alberini e Vincenzo Buonassisi. Rossana Ragionieri. Cuisine l Products l

Photo credits Food Technology Adobe Stock. vvv 3 Hazelnut: the crunchy side Publisher of the menu Accademia Italiana della Cucina (Gigi Padovani) Via Napo Torriani 31 - 20124 Milano Tel. 02 66987018 - Fax 02 66987008 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.accademia1953.it

vvv

Monthly Magazine Reg. n. 4049 - 29-5-1956 Tribunale di Milano

Two worlds, one cuisine 6 (Elisabetta Cocito) Restaurants and Cooks Waiters or dish bearers? 8 (Rossana Ragionieri)

Regulations regarding personal data protection

The Italian Academy of Cuisine, in its capacity as On the cover: Graphic elaboration of The Fruit data controller, hereby informs its members that Bowl (1914) by Juan Gris, Kröller-Müller Museum, their personal data are handled with respect for the principles of integrity, lawfulness and tran- Otterlo, Netherlands sparency as well as protection of privacy and members’ rights, to implement the management of the member-association relationship as deline- Health l Safety l Law ated by the Association’s Statute and By-laws, and for any related purposes where applicable. The processing is carried out by authorised parties, Domestic food waste in paper and computerised form, in compliance 9 (Gabriele Gasparro) with the provisions of the aforementioned EU regulations and current national legislation. To view all the information provided under EU regulations, and in particular to learn what members’ rights are, please visit the Association’s website.

Rivista associata all’Unione Stampa Periodica Italiana Focus of the President The feedbag generation

by Paolo Petroni President of the Accademia

Inexorable compromise between taste and convenience.

abour-saving long-life ingredients have taken a lengthy evolutionary path. In Italy L this began in Turin as long ago as 1856, when Francesco Cirio Francesco Cirio (the very same who founded the well- loose produce) and often insipid, but simply emptying a known eponymous brand) used the method invented by pouch into a tureen is frightfully convenient. Modern kitchens Nicolas Appert in 1795 to make tinned peas. Following scant witness the repeated washing and draining of lettuce with success, he relocated to Castellammare di Stabia where he increasing rarity. Remember the grated parmesan rinds began preserving peeled tomatoes, forever changing once available in shops? They were cheap and useful but the way this mainstay of home cooking was used. Soon they tasted, unsurprisingly, of rind. Now, in many areas the housewives reaped the benefits of tinned pre-cooked beans consumption of grated bagged cheese has outstripped and chickpeas, followed by a plethora of ready-made sauces that of intact pieces intended for grating. in jars, tins or cardboard packs. Freezing brought a great leap forward, initially with such basic ingredients as vegetables, fish, crustaceans, meats and much more, and subsequently We will increasingly move towards better, more with a limitless variety of ready meals to heat (in a pan or affordable, ecologically packaged products microwave oven) and serve. Hugely convenient; hugely successful. Yet these handy replacements hardly compare with their fresh counterparts. Today, high-quality PDO-certified cheeses, even highly aged ones, are industrially packed in pouches: they are long-lasting and emancipate us from using a cheese grater, cleaning it, The new century has supplied kitchens with and perhaps injuring ourselves with it (but an excellent grana, pouches containing fresh long-life ingredients freshly grated, is peerless). And then there is the vast category of cured meats. Lovely colours, delicate fragrances, flawlessly cut and arranged in alluring tray packs; an impressive selection Finally, the new century has supplied kitchens with fresh of origins, curing methods and ageing times. One might products packed in pouches using the ‘modified atmosphere’ argue that a good ham, freshly sliced, is incomparable. True! technique, which are all the rage in supermarkets. Modified But it is just as true that the very same ham, eaten just hours Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) is a technology which uses gases later or the following day, is no longer the same: oxidation such as nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide to preserve will irrevocably alter its colour and flavour. These reasons for ingredients leaving their nutritional value, appearance successful pre-packaging have likewise contributed to the and flavour practically unchanged. Its advantages are disappearance of traditional food shops, out-competed by enormous: fresh food storage reduces food waste. The only the dizzying array of supermarket products. A one-way street? major hurdle is that at least for now, this technique generates Most assuredly. We will increasingly move towards better, considerable plastic waste. The success of what are technically more affordable products, hopefully with more eco-friendly, termed ‘fourth-range products’, such as bagged pre-cut less detrimental packaging. We are facing an acceptable salads, pre-made minestrone etc, has caused them to exceed compromise between flavour and convenience, at least on the space assigned to fresh produce in many shops. They average, among general consumers. Discerning Academicians are very expensive (sometimes costing 4-5 times more than will doubtless know how to proceed.

Page 2 Cuisine l Products l Food Technology Hazelnut: the crunchy side of the menu

by Gigi Padovani Journalist, food writer

This little fruit is by now hey were once picked by hand, the leafy structures protecting the nuts kneeling with a basket fastened in their shells. The hazelnut harvest for a star in the kitchen, T to one’s waist, creeping through 2019, however, has left a bad taste in the grass. This was primarily done by Italian producers’ mouths, emphasises and not only in sweets. women and children, in the countryside Sergio Lasagna, President of the Pied- of Piedmont, Lazio, Campania and Sici- mont PGI Hazelnut Consortium, repre- ly. Now everything has changed. This senting 1,200 members: “Unfortunately year, too - from late August until mid-Oc- spring frost has hindered ripening of the tober - machinery blankets the Italian buds, leading to a 50% production de- hills, replacing workers, vacuuming up cline in our region, with a very unstable the nuts dropped by the open bracts, market always affected by competition

Page 3 On the left: selecting hazelnuts during processing; below: toasting hazelnuts

for sweet products (spreads, pralines, chocolate bars, biscuits) but wants to save money on basic ingredients.

Italy is the top hazelnut producer in Europe

Italy is the top hazelnut producer in Eu- rope, followed by Spain (with orchards concentrated in Catalonia, in Reus and Brunyola), but the market for processing and commercialisation is monop- olised by Turkey, accounting for 70% of the worldwide market: in recent years Turkey has increased its production ten- fold. Low yields per hectare are offset by reduced labour costs. The only strategy to revivify our production of Corylus avellana (a name deriving from the city of Avella, in Campania, where it is still cultivated) is that of quality and of boosting local growth and distribution. For years, this has been the with Turkey”. Gerardo Alfani, President and chocolatiers; great chefs have also work of the National Association named of the Giffoni PGI Hazelnut Consortium, begun using it in savoury dishes. It is a Città della Nocciola (Hazelnut City), over- adds: “The harvest was late this year, so high-quality product which unifies Italy, seeing over 200 hazelnut-growing mu- we’ll only have the precise figures in defended by three European rankings. nicipalities. Its President and founder, early November. We had pollination dif- Two are PGI (Protected Geographical Rosario D’Acunto, also former Mayor ficulties in spring, and yield per hectare Indication): the ‘Trilobata’ from Pied- of Giffoni Sei Casali, says: “This fruit which has fallen by approximately a third from mont and the ‘Tonda’ (round) from grows in the shadow of Italian church last year. Luckily the hazelnuts are Giffoni; one is PDO (Protected Desig- spires represents a magical understand- beautiful, healthy and of excellent nation of Origin, more strictly regulated): ing between humans and nature. Today quality”. the Roman hazelnut. many consumers choose to travel here In late September, Brussels authorised and live in these eco-friendly rural towns regulation changes much anticipated by which respect nature. They offer a col- Great chefs have also begun the producers in the hills loved by Pavese lective hospitality, local products, events using hazelnuts in savoury dishes and Fenoglio: the orchards in a hundred and tastings which are a novelty for na- or so townships in the Langhe area have tional tourism”. There is a rich catalogue been designated as a Langhe ‘cru’ ter- of hazelnut specialities. These are For several centuries, this little health-giv- ritory for the tonde trilobate cultivar. mostly sweet: from the baci-style choc- ing fruit has been a major ingredient in Yet growers are underpaid for their hard olates of Alassio or Cherasco, to the the art of pastry chefs, ice cream makers work by industry, which craves hazelnuts calzoncelli of the Monti Picentini area;

Page 4 “Hazelnut and Vicciola® wafer” by Damiano Nigro® from the caschettes of Belvì (Sardinia) to the hazelnut crisp of San Marco dei Cavoti; from the gianduiotto chocolate of Turin to the pangiallo of Latium; from the Sicilian quaresimali biscuits to the Pizzo Calabro truffle (a PGI-ranked fro- zen speciality); from the myriad varieties of torrone to the tozzetti of Tuscia. In 2012 the list gained another intriguing entry: Vicciola beef®, veal raised on hazelnuts and other natural foodstuffs, registered by the Turin butcher Pino Puglisi, who sends it all over Europe: very tender, almost sweet, lean, and very their produce in their own facilities, cre- described a milk-based spread in his Trat- low in cholesterol. ating small jars of excellent spread with tato di cucina, pasticceria moderna (Treatise a high hazelnut content, up to 50% or on Cooking: Modern Pastry, 1854), while 60%. Pellegrino Artusi (1891) recommended Creamy gianduia spread, Corylus avellana has recently entered a “Hazelnut Pudding” with “avellane”. I n created in Alba by Pietro Ferrero, kitchens to offer its crunchy side, con- the Villa d’Amelia restaurant in Benevel- is a worldwide success ferring unmistakable aromas and fla- lo (Cuneo), the Michelin-starred chef vours to savoury dishes. Indeed, in his Damiano Nigro has held an event for De re coquinaria - the famed ancient several years entitled “La nocciola in ta- And we must not forget gianduia Roman cookery manual - Apicius rec- vola” (Hazelnuts at the Table) wherein spread, created in postwar Alba thanks ommended dressing ‘the meat of quad- chefs from all over Italy present their dish- to the insight of Pietro Ferrero, now a rupeds’ with a flavoursome cold sauce es ‘contaminated’ by hazelnuts. Its latest worldwide ‘Made in Italy’ success. Para- mostly consisting of spices, onion, dates edition included some surprising inven- doxically, after the industrial product, and hazelnuts. Centuries later, Vincenzo tions: “Hazelnut and Vicciola® wafer” there followed artisanal spreads and in Agnoletti, a 19th century cook in the by Nigro; “Stuffed raviolo with rabbit recent years even ‘zero-kilometre service of Marie Louise, Duchess of Par- genovese sauce” by Domenico Candela, creams’. About twenty growers in Pied- ma, published a recipe for “preserving chef of George’s Restaurant at the Grand mont, Liguria, Latium and Campania Hazelnuts or Filberts”. Later, Giovanni Hotel Parker’s in Naples; “Arctic char in have equipped themselves to process Vialardi, a cook for the House of Savoy, the manner of the Prince-Bishopric of Trent”, by Alfio Ghezzi (who spent years at the Locanda Margon in Trento, two Michelin stars); even a pizza with Pallone di Gravina cheese (from Gravina di Puglia) presented by the pizza master Paolo Ghidini of Al Fienile in Pala- zzolo sull’Oglio (Brescia). Some years ago, Irma Brizi, the professional taster who directs the Hazelnut City Association, founded the yearly event “Nocciola Day” (Hazelnut Day), always held in early December; this year it will be on Sunday the 8th. She launch- es an appeal: “no more American peanuts or cashew nuts with ape- ritifs: try toasted and salted Italian hazelnuts”. And in fact, they are sublime with a glass of Alta Langa or Franciacorta: try it and see. Gigi Padovani

Page 5 Cuisine l Products l Food Technology Two worlds, one cuisine

by Elisabetta Cocito Turin Academician

In Ecuador, uch has been said regarding ting closer to their culture, a way to ‘taste’ taste, studied by anthropolo- and internalise the land that one visits two restaurateurs Mgists, philosophers, gastrono- when travelling, its flora and fauna, the mists and many more. I believe that it places where food is made, by whom from Liguria defies precise definitions and concep- and how and with which tools. creatively integrate tions: if prima facie it seems the most Taste fosters complicity and ‘blending’ instinctive and straightforward sense, between different people and food Italian cuisine in reality taste perception is a complex becomes a cultural mediator, engender- operation involving all the senses and ing new discoveries and newly forged with Latin-American even the intellect through memory, identities. The other, the exotic, once ingredients, culture and education. Hence it is an signalled wealth and social status. With intimate process occurring between the ‘a fine purse and fine steeds’ a gentleman maintaining body and the mind, offering an oppor- could once deck his table with foods tunity to link them in a fertile and fruit- brought from afar, even out of season, the harmony ful rapport. impressing his guests and reinforcing of our tradition. his powerful image. Only the poor were tethered to seasonality and by whatev- Experiencing other countries’ er meagre goods the surrounding land foods is an effective way to get could provide. closer to their culture Today exoticism is available practically to everyone, and speedy transport and storage techniques have made us forget In particular, experiencing the food of the pleasure of appreciating what were other peoples is an effective way of get- once termed ‘first fruits’ or products from distant lands kept for special occasions.

Moving towards the taste of the ‘other’ becomes a way of building knowledge

So value is gained by whomever can turn food into a means of mutual understand- ing, to promote connexion and love; hence the ‘voyage’ towards other flavours becomes a method for construct- ing knowledge. It is no coincidence that the great travellers of yore, from Mon- taigne to Chatwin, peppered their tales with descriptions of tastings or meals in foreign lands. This is also how traditions

Page 6 are accrued: exotic ingredients ‘contaminated’ local ones until they in turn became local, and vice versa. Meanwhile new products appear con- stantly, stimulating the inventiveness of cooks and the enthusiasm of diners: this is given the explanatory name ‘fusion cuisine’. Despite many abysmal imitations and hybridisations of our cuisine abroad, luckily there are also skilled expatriate cooks who represent it honourably, and able foreign cooks who bring their cuisine to Italy or interpret ours creatively pasta served with Italian sauces - unu- the outstanding elements of Italian tra- and laudably. I would like to describe sual but delicious. dition. In Ecuador, therefore, guests ap- what I consider a noteworthy example Manioc (yuca or cassava) is a root which proach food which for them is exotic, of this last phenomenon. is eaten cooked, is a staple for millions for example spaghetti, mixed with A Ligurian restaurateur couple, Luigi of people and was already used by the ingredients familiar to them, such as and Angela Passano, own a family ag- Maya. In both restaurants it is worked avocado, or they are pleasantly sur- ricultural business in Lavagna (Genoa), into crespelle (Italian crêpes), gnocchi prised by plantain gnocchi with pesto. and some time ago they found a second and sauces. Much space is dedicated to The meeting of cultures doesn’t end home in Ecuador. Through their cooking, avocado, thanks to its versatility. They here. Angela and Luigi’s son, Paolo they have succeeded in demonstrating also use achiote, an almost forgotten Passano, gained a degree from the once more that difference can unite small tropical fruit, for colouring food: University of Gastronomic Sciences in rather than dividing. Apprentices of when soaked in oil, its seeds release a Pollenzo and remained in the family’s Gualtiero Marchesi and founding mem- flavourless orange/coffee-coloured pig- agricultural business in Lavagna, where bers of the Rinaldo Zerega Stockfish and ment. he opened La Bilaia, an agricultural tour- Salt Cod Academy, they have opened ism hotel whose annexed restaurant the highly acclaimed restaurants Riviera uses home-grown produce. and da Luigi in Guayaquil. There they Fusion dishes in Ecuador make Here he implements the practices offer an original cuisine, fruit of lengthy the most of local products learned from his parents, but above all, creative efforts to integrate Italian cook- and Italian quality foods he has inherited their love of the fruits ing with Latin-American ingredients, of the good earth, developing a pro- maintaining the harmony, the simplici- found knowledge of the potentialities ty and the freshness of our tradition. Many other examples are possible, but and methods for using South American They started by inventing a recipe for what is noteworthy and should be em- products too. spaghetti, strictly Italian, dressed with phasised is their extensive knowledge His restaurant also serves Ligurian raw tomato, extra-virgin olive oil and of the local produce and land, which food prepared with products from his avocado. It was a great success, encour- stands out in their cuisine. Using pro- family’s agricultural business and re- aging them to create other felicitous duce from their own agricultural busi- visited with an elegant and light touch combinations. Among their most inter- ness in Ecuador, and their original home- in combination with the flavours of esting dishes, one memorable creation land’s traditional food heritage, Luigi Ecuador. His guests have thereby come is fish carpaccio with lemon, oil and a and Angela create food which diners of to know new flavours and aromas from sauce made from naranjilla (a tropical any nationality can appreciate. Through a distant but perhaps not so unknown fruit), which adds pleasing tartness to their work they also wish to honour the land, considering Liguria’s long history the combined ingredients. efforts of the many farmers who cultivate of migration towards Latin America. This Plantain, a tropical fruit similar to ba- local species in an intact natural setting, may partly explain why the menus in nana and eaten cooked, is a staple in which then become precious ingredients both Guayaquil and Lavagna are so ap- many tropical and sub-tropical areas, to create surprising flavours and com- preciated: two equal cuisines, but mirror being affordable and nutritious. Follow- binations in their ‘Ligurian-Latin-Ameri- images of each other, constituting an ing various investigations, Luigi and can fusion’ food. Hence they achieve two affectionate call from those who have Angela succeeded in kneading it, in aims: making the most of local produce gone, bringing part of their homeland, combination with its own flour, into pas- in Ecuador, and contemporaneously to those who have stayed, knowing that ta: maltagliati, gnocchi and stuffed familiarising people in that country with a part of them lies across the sea.

Page 7 Restaurants and Cooks Waiters or dish bearers?

by Rossana Ragionieri Empoli Academician

The professionalism of the dining room staff makes a difference.

he figure of the waiter, who greets, escorts diners to their table, gives T recommendations, takes orders, and brings the bill, is very important in the the best advantage is of no little impor- spitality paradigm: individual tables, restaurant world, though often overlo- tance. Many hoteliers also lament the monitored by waiters who apportion oked. However, we frequently enter wel- shoddy preparation of job interviewees. food and represent the final link betwe- coming and pleasantly furnished premises For instance they are ignorant of clients’ en kitchen and customer. with delicious, ably prepared and beauti- possible food allergies or special dietary fully presented food, yet leave disappoin- requirements; they sometimes do not th ted by the service. If instead of a waiter speak or understand foreign languages; In the 19 century, César Ritz, we find a mere dish bearer, we will pro- and they have insufficient passion, wil- with Auguste Escoffier, reformed bably not return to that restaurant. lingness to learn, team-working ability the hospitality paradigm and motivation. Admittedly, we often have a restricted idea Sloppy, uninformed, inadequate, of waiters: they serve customers. Is this Recently, waiterless restaurants have ap- often poorly presented true? From antiquity to the middle ages, peared, with orders taken by apps and the cupbearer, equivalent of today’s online payments: for instance, Data Kitch- sommelier, was paramount among tho- en in Berlin, Europe’s first automated res- “Sloppy, uninformed, inadequate, often se serving in the dining room and was taurant. If, however, waiters are present as poorly presented”: Maria Luisa Coppa, a trusted attendant who prevented poi- occurs in most restaurants, their special- President of the commerce, tourism and sonings. What we, today, consider as wai- ised education, expertise and current service union ASCOM, pulls no punches ters appeared in the early 14th century knowledge are indispensable, and so are when assessing the waiters of Turin during in the service of Pope John XXII and a professional demeanour, multilingual- the presentation of the professional cour- thereafter became near-universal in ari- ism, an affable manner and polite be- ses organised by the Italian food and wine stocratic courts. haviour. They should likewise display magazine Gambero Rosso, pointing out In 2018, Marco Lungo wrote in an article psychological sensitivity, since admitted- their lack of professionalism. They are often that “in the restaurant world, the job of the ly clients are often exaggeratedly demand- students wanting pocket money or young future is that of the waiter”, identifying the ing or may be odd, nervous or prejudiced. people in their first job, as if no specific dining staff as the weakest link in many The fact remains that we go to restau- skills were necessary to serve customers, restaurants and explaining that “the main rants to eat well, but also to feel good take orders and keep tables properly problem, then, is changing the attitudes and have an enjoyable evening; hence stocked. Just as frequently, waiters don’t of owners, employees and clientele: a we increasingly consider the quality of know the ingredients of a dish and must change for which we hope in the long service important as well as the food, in ask in the kitchen, or are unable to fasci- term, also because it determines the pro- a development that characterises suc- nate customers, directing them towards fessionalism of those who serve our meals”. cessful businesses and will make them memorable flavours and experiences. When in the late 19th century César Ritz stand out. And it will still be the waiter, Instead, a professional in the dining room laid down the law regarding French ho- responsible for serving customers and can competently embody the entire ope- spitality and founded his hotel chain, he satisfying their various needs, who will ration’s efficiency, and presenting this to and Auguste Escoffier reformed the ho- make the difference.

Page 8 Health l Safety l Law Domestic food waste

by Gabriele Gasparro Rome Delegate

The figures continue proportion is traceable to Italian overeat- amount of food that ends up in the bin: ing. The various campaigns against this for instance, careful shopping, resisting to be worrisome, have seemingly been ineffective, since impulse buys, and not purchasing food the data gathered from research organ- packages that we don’t think we can fin- accounting isations continue, alas, to be alarming. ish in time. Among the many ways to for considerable They indicate that in our country food tackle this problem, we must also con- waste still brings concomitant high eco- sider using appliances which optimise economic value. nomic waste, approximately 16 billion food storage by prevent spoilage, while Euros of which 12 billion are caused by others help us to use every part of pur- food waste in homes. chased ingredients and save money by making food from scratch instead of buy- ing pre-made food. For example, vac- mong modern society’s discon- There are many ways to modify cum-packing machines allow better certing features is its enormous our consumption habits food storage: meat, fish, cooked food and Afood waste: products allowed to other foods can be sealed securely and expire, domestic waste, surplus food kept longer in the fridge or freezer. Also bought and not eaten. What stands out Reading these figures, we immediately useful are drying machines which re- is domestic food waste, accounting for perceive to what extent food waste is move liquids from ingredients, allowing 43% of total food waste, according to consequent upon our consumption hab- longer storage. Mixers, even of the wand data from Milan Polytechnic. 15% of this its. There are many ways to reduce the type, are indispensable. These appliances promote use of every part of basic ingredients, reducing waste. Using such tools we can, for instance, prepare soups, purées or sauces using the stalks, leaves or other parts of vegetables which are usually discarded because of difficul- ties rendering them edible in other ways. Mincers can also help to limit waste. These ac- cessories can help us to process ingredients which are too dry to be otherwise used, thereby salvaging them (e.g. stale bread or cheese rinds). Many years ago, in difficult times, advice about efficient food use was given because food was scarce; today, that same advice is given because food is too abundant.

Page 9