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Cdt 265 COVER INGLESE Acca 07/11/1420:00Pagina1

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CIVILTÀ DELLA TAVOLA N. 265 G NOVEMBER 2014 C A C C I A V D E I A M L A C

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N. 265, NOVEMBER 2014

STOABMLME AORFI O CONTENTS

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L’ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA FOUNDED IN 1953 BY ORIO VERGANI AND LUIGI BERTETT , DINO BUZZATI TRAVERSO , CESARE CHIODI , GIANNINO CITTERIO , ERNESTO DONÀ DALLE ROSE , MICHELE GUIDO FRANCI , GIANNI MAZZOCCHI BASTONI , ARNOLDO MONDADORI , ATTILIO NAVA , ARTURO ORVIETO , SEVERINO PAGANI , ALDO PASSANTE , GIANLUIGI PONTI , GIÒ PONTI , DINO VILLANI , EDOARDO VISCONTI DI MODRONE , WHIT MASSIMO ALBERINI AND VINCENZO BUONASSISI . DEAR ACADEMICIANS... CULTURE AND RESEARCH

CIVI LT ÀDELL ATAVOLA 2 Building an Academy 7 The of the dead ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA for the Future (Gianni Di Giacomo) INTERNATIONAL EDITION (Giovanni Ballarini)

NOVEMBER 2014 / N. 265 9 The precious perfume from the woods FOCUS (Nicola Barbera) EDITOR IN CHIEF GIOVANNI BALLARINI 4 Transparency is optional 11 Neapolitan COPY EDITOR in restaurant menus with potatoes SILVIA DE LORENZO (Paolo Petroni) (Claudio Novelli) LAYOUT SIMONA MONGIU 13 Music and TRASLATOR ACADEMY COUNCIL (Savino Sardella) NICOLA LEA FURLAN 5 The Academic Council’s THIS ISSUE INCLUDES ARTICLES BY meeting in Giovanni Ballarini, Nicola Barbera, (Silvia De Lorenzo) Silvia De Lorenzo, Gianni Di Giacomo, Claudio Novelli, Paolo Petroni, Savino Sardella.

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PUBLISHER ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA VIA NAPO TORRIANI 31 - 20124 M ILANO TEL . 02 66987018 - F AX 02 66987008 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.accademia1953.it

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MONTHLY MAGAZINE REG . N. 4049 - 29-5-1956 TRIBUNALE DI MILANO

On the cover: Graphic reproduction of a detail from Still Life with Giant Pumpkin and Fruit (1902-1903) by Nicolas Tarkhoff. On exhibit at the Petit Palais Museum in Geneva.

Rivista associata all’Unione Stampa Periodica Italiana

PAGINA 1 CDAERARI AACCCAADDEEMMICICIAI.N.. S… Building an Academy for the Future Elite groups by nature, academies must contribute to the construction of a future identity.

BY GIOVANNI BALLARINI President of the Academy

tronomy. This is demonstrated by the ibility on the part of the Academy. fact that have been successful At its inception, the elite founders of over time only because they have our Academy belonged to a society in evolved. The example of many Italian which social distances and separations regions is illustrative: they have were not as marked as they are today. achieved and maintained their unpar - One needs only consider the restaurant alleled success through constant inno - world. There were many good quality vations in production that enhance trattorias that specialized in local cui - their uniqueness and quality. Most of sine. At the same time, the difference these innovations were not nearly so in cost of a at a decent trattoria evident a few decades or even cen - and a renown restaurant was nowhere turies ago. near as great as that of a modern fast Tackling the problems of today and food establishment (10 euros) and a building a future with new ideas and high quality restaurant (150 euros). methods is a task for an elite group, Not to mention the dwindling number but they can meet with success if they of intermediately priced restaurants are not in close contact and harmony that have a good cost-quality ratio. with the society of which they are a Today there is a growing divide be - ear Academicians, trying to part. Once again turning to the war tween elite and popular restaurants solve modern problems with metaphor, a victorious general must that is associated with social diversity Dthe solutions of the past in - not only be brilliant, but he must be that is almost tragically accentuated evitably leads to failure. It is an his - at the front lines of his army. He can - by an increasing division between old torical fact that conflicts led by gen - not simply sit in the background and and young. We now have a different erals using methods, and especially consult maps of the battlefield. way of interpreting the tradition of ideas, that were successful in preced - These are the thoughts that have come senex and puer as interpreted by ing wars will always be lost, while to me after visiting the many Delega - James Hillman. commanders using innovative tactics tions that have recently celebrated At this point one must ask the practical and above all military strategies usu - forty, fifty, and even sixty years of ex - as well as rhetorical question of what ally emerge victorious. In spite of the istence, often celebrating the anniver - is the role of the elites, and hence what fact that history is life’s best teacher, sary in the very restaurant where they is, or what should be, that of our Acad - the danger of falling into the trap of held their first convivial meetings. emy - or any academy worthy of the tackling the problems of the present But in many instances that restaurant name. In the opinion of this writer, it and planning for the future using only no longer exists, or if it does there is is herein that we will find the answer past experience is especially grave dur - an abyss between what it once was to the question of a greater “visibility” ing times of social upheaval and espe - and what it is today, just as the rela - for our Academy which, without being cially of rapid change such as we are tionship between the elite founders overly pessimistic, seems to be eliciting currently experiencing. and the current patrons has also less interest in a fragmented society As is true in any attempt at restoration, changed radically. This revealing from which the elites have all but dis - hoping to revive an irremediably lost change in all its complexity merits a appeared, if not retired, to be replaced past is absolutely unrealistic even in mention in this brief essay as it also by extremely invasive and fast moving the areas of nutrition, cuisine and gas - regards the demand for a greater vis - techno-industrial systems. This is a

PAGINA 2 DEAR ACADEMICIANS…

question that cannot be exhaustively ical set of principles that we continue like that”, much less “my mother did answered here, but it is a subject to be to represent. As an elite group today it this way”) plays a fundamental and examined and pondered in a society we have the duty to contribute to the essential role in providing results that such as ours that decreasingly reads gastronomic creations of tomorrow. intrinsically provide some much or develops original ideas and instead We must maintain a set of principles touted “visibility”. supinely accepts pre-packaged slo - for that goes beyond In a society such as our current one, gans. merely collecting recipes to include in - what sort of visibility can be achieved Although it is a difficult task, to in - terpreting the modern day traditions by announcing that a group of persons crease visibility it is necessary to have of Italian cuisine. Is our Academy - or has given an award to a certain restau - appropriate ideas for interpreting better still, are our Academicians, an rant that, owing to its price or capacity modern day nutrition, and to con - elite group capable of building a fu - is frequented by relatively few people, tribute to the construction of a nutri - ture, beginning with a more serious or that a centuries-old culinary note - tional, and above all gastronomic, cul - and deeper discussion of the “Italian book has been discovered in some re - ture within the scope of Italian Nutritional Question” in all its as - mote monastery? Old systems and traditions, especially those set forth pects? strategies will only lose in the modern by the famous traditional cuisine of Such a discussion must start with the war that involves us in the “Italian the bourgeoisie. This is the cuisine still insufficiently studied and evalu - Gastronomic Question” where forma - that our Academy has represented and ated “Italian Gastronomic Question” tion, rather than information, is the that, starting with Pellegrino Artusi in in which gastronomic criticism (which only path toward new ideas. the last century, has established a crit - does not mean “I like this” or “I don’t GIOVANNI BALLARINI

GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MAGAZINE Contributions to the magazine by Academicians are not G Convivial Dinner forms: it is equally important only welcome, they are indispensible. However that the “notes and comments” section of the rating Academicians need to keep in mind some essential sheets respect the 800 character limit (Maximum guidelines, so that their effort and passion are rewarded 1,000 characters) include spaces, in order to avoid cuts by rapid and thorough publication. and errors. Rating sheets that arrive at Headquarters more than 30 days after the event will be discarded.

G Articles: It is essential that articles be sent G Please do not send reports on convivial dinners electronically , in Word format (not pdf) to the following held outside the territory of your Delegation , or on email address: [email protected] those held in the homes of Academicians or places other than restaurants and public settings, as they will G Article Length: To avoid cuts that are irritating for not be published. both the writer and editor, articles should be between 3,500 and 7,000 characters (including spaces). Your G By observing these simple guidelines Academicians computer provides character counts. can be reasonably assured of rapid and accurate publication, thereby avoiding painful cuts. G “From the Delegations” Column: For ease of reading, maximum length is limited to 2,500 G Obviously, the Editors reserve the right to edit all characters including spaces . articles and publish them according to available space.

PAGINA 3 FO CUS Transparency is optional in restaurant menus Nicknames, trendy names - the listing of dishes is quite often a fair of vanities. The truly important information about what’s being eaten is often ignored.

BY PAOLO PETRONI Secretary General of the Academy

he menus of ranking restaurants (must we use that The real drama, however, arises over fish. Buying fish is already terrible term “star studded”?) offer an impressive spec - a problem for the consumer who finds it on the vendor’s T ification of the ingredients used. More than the definition counter with the Latin scientific name (beside the commercial of a dish one finds substantive recipes accompanied by plenty one) and a reference to the fishing zone FAO 37. What on of adjectives and places of origin. A few years ago the custom earth is the fishing zone FAO 37? It’s a mystery -- so much for began of providing praiseworthy information such as “Colonnata an informative label for the fish buyer. Complete darkness lard”, “Lamon ”, “Bronte pistachios” and so forth. reigns in the restaurant. The law compels the owner to specify Nowadays, the type of pasta is described, the grain used is whether the fish served was frozen or not. Nonetheless, some specified, the tomatoes for garnishing always have a name insert an asterisk that indicatesi: “in case of unavailability of and a place of origin: are unequivocally from Pantelleria, fresh fish, it could be previously frozen”. Very clever! Even sardines are obviously from the Bay of Biscay and tuna comes granting that the fish is fresh, nobody tells us if it was fished or from Favignana. All this information about ingredients, even came from aquaculture, and in the latter case, the country though used in miniscule doses, causes the price to go up. Too where it was farm raised. A fish raised in a sea pond in bad that when we consider real content, the information is Orbetello, , is quite different from a fish farmed in a pond lacking. Where do the beautifully displayed porcini mushrooms in Turkey. The greatest sin is silence about the provenance of come from? Silence and mystery. Apart from the fact that crustaceans. Red , small shrimps and may those mushrooms remain pristine in the exhibition case as the come from disparate places, some of which are unacceptable customers eat (the cooks have something else, quite different, for their cultivation and processing methods. We might not to work with in the ), it would be important for us to care where in oil are from, but we are very interested know if they were harvested in our woods or are a tasteless in knowing where the that we are eating raw come variety imported from far away countries. The same question from. Why there is no transparency when we talk fish but total applies to our precious truffles. transparency when we talk capers?

PAGINA 4 ACADEMY COUNCIL The Academic Council’s meeting in Naples The beauty of the area, the growing role of Neapolitan cuisine. An Academic Council with wide participation and intense discussions with many important announcements.

BY SILVIA DE LORENZO

middle class that is increasingly lacking initiatives (as the Guides , the Cookbook , identity. the magazine, and the volumes on Cul - Paradoxically, many people today are tural that are freely dis - searching for recipes and many more tributed on line as well) that allowed pursue innovation. Yet the motivations the Academy to be alive and vital, unlike seem to be tied to a superficial curiosity many other institutions, aligned with and to a fast kind of . All this the changing times. leads to a cuisine made of food to be “assembled”, a sort of “Ikea cuisine”, in which prepared in advance com - ponents are ready to be consumed within those 30 to 35 minutes that each day are devoted to cuisine. Industry has replaced the family and talking about cuisine has replaced the actual cooking. Hence the need for new rules to make a concrete cuisine (in fact, gastronomy stands for the rule of the stomach) where a recipe is separate from the pure and simple preparation of food and is also a system, a lifestyle, and Within the context of perpetual renewal, most of all participation, insofar as President Ballarini made an important thought confronts the past, the present announcement: in accordance with Ar - Opening the session of the Academic and the future. Culture, and not the - ticle 20, paragraph 1 of the Academic Council, President Giovanni Ballarini atrical grandstanding should then be By-Laws, the President’s Council , Iemphasized that the welcome din - the basis of rules, even the innovative meeting on the preceding day, has ner of the previous evening, organized ones, allowing the confluence of regional nominated for the position of Presi - by Naples’ Delegate Vincenzo del Genio, into perennial cuisine. As the dent of the Academy the Academician was the perfect example of the old aris - past teaches us, cuisine must be capable Paolo Petroni, the current Secretary tocratic cuisine of Naples and the demon - of renewing tradition. General. The members of the Advisory stration of how Italian gastronomy Today, the very vitality of the Academy Council and the Territorial Coordinators should evolve: by utilizing points to the road ahead: our institution received the news with a strong ap - the products and the recipes of the ter - has implemented, through culture and plause. ritory and by placing a higher value on ever new rules, a system that keeps While expressing his satisfaction for what has been fading away. We are moving forward with the changing such a response, the President went on living in a complicated age, the President times, while in essence remaining the to propose the co-optation to member - remarked, when the canons and the same. This work must be accomplished ship in the Advisory Council, in accor - rules that guided the cuisine of the aris - through collegial decisions and most dance with Article 13, paragraph 1 of tocracy, destined to merge into the bour - of all, a fundamental point in the Pres - the Statute, of Academicians Renzo geois model that is presently collapsing, ident’s speech, upon the “participation” Mattioni, current Regional Coordinator are not to be found in the cuisine of the of all Academicians in a host of cultural of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and Mario Ursi -

PAGINA 5 ACADEMY COUNCIL

no, current member-elect of the Advisory After voicing his satisfaction with the back in many cases to the foundation Council, replacing Aurelio Pappalardo editorial initiatives, Paolo Petroni an - of the Academy or at least to many and Giuseppe Di Lenardo who is nomi - nounced that the President’s Council years ago. nated to the Honor Roll. The Advisory had chosen as the theme of the Year President Ballarini declared the session Council approved by unanimous vote. 2015: The Condiments: Traditional closed after answering a question made General Secretary Paolo Petroni came Italian and Dressings. He also by the Regional Coordinator of Molise, to the podium to thank, not without confirmed that the foreign Delegations Giovanna Maj, regarding the Academy’s emotion, the President’s Council for the will be able to contribute to the selected participation in Expo 2015 by virtue of nomination to succeed Giovanni Ballarini theme by describing how Italian cuisine the excellent book on the Culture of with whom he spent many academic may be adapted to the requirements of . While pointing out that the Acad - years that brought about important ini - foreign countries. emy will not be officially present at the tiatives in a spirit of intense cooperation. The meeting continued with a report Expo, he announced that it will make He went on to say that if by Counselor Giuseppe De available to agencies, institutions and elected he would work to Martino (in the absence of partners the cultural patrimony of the amplify as much as possible Treasurer Roberto Ariani Academy. In this regard, the President the image and the relevance who attended the session recalled that a protocol has been signed of the Academy throughout of the President’s Council with the Agricultural Confederation the social fabric. He ex - but was unable to be pres - (Confagricoltura) in order to initiate a pressed his confidence in ent at the meeting of the series of joint activities aimed at studying the existing structure and Advisory Council). De Mar - the problems of gastronomy and the the organization (the Sec - tino delved into the 2014 civilization of the table. retariat and the Publication pre-final budget and con - The intense session in the morning was Staff) that are working well and on the firmed that its objectives were achieved followed by a totally Neapolitan working new rules, both clear and valid, of the in terms of strengthening and main - at the Trattoria Pizzeria “Fresco” Statute and By-Laws. Finally, he ad - taining the membership. Looking at the that featured several variations of dressed his personal thanks to President income, he confirmed that contributions, (the one that won acclaim featured rap - Ballarini whose counsel will always be as foreseen, decreased by 5 per thou - ini flowers and ) and the fried valuable. sand. Looking at the estimate budget “cafone”. Petroni proceeded to announce that for 2015, he described the Academy’s A final surprise awaited the guests: a the President’s Council has set the date financial situation as “solid”, enough guided excursion in the late afternoon of May 30, 2015 in Florence for the so to rule out an increase of dues. For to the Monumental Complex Donnaregi - Ordinary Assembly of the Delegates . his part, Paolo Petroni announced that na, an exquisite marriage of gothic and The Secretary General went on to ana - in 2016 a new forum similar to the one baroque, before the gala dinner. The lyze past activities and those that are just held in Rimini will be called as a dinner itself was held in the Diocesan about to be implemented. He pointed mid- event between the ordinary Museum, in the frescoed “Solimena” out that the number of Delegations is assemblies that according to the Statute hall, where long ago the choir of the substantially constant (a small decrease take place every three years. Clarisse Church performed. The menu, took place among the foreign Delega - The President of the Board of Examiners, selected by the Naples Delegation, once tions with several solutions being con - Gianni Limberti, announced that the again brought to the table the aristocratic sidered to improve the situation); he Board had favorably accepted the esti - cuisine of the city, with a scenic timbale stressed the quality of both the content mated budget for 2015. The President flammand (tower of bucatini pasta) and the graphic appearance of the vol - called for a vote and the estimated that came with a flame in the middle, ume on the cuisine of rice, and also the budget was approved unanimously. and the “fricandoncini” of Monsù Guide to the Good Table (this publication Many Regional Coordinators were pres - Francesco, the of the noble family will be sent to the restaurants that are ent at the meeting; they were called to Pavoncelli, and finally dessert and mentioned with a plastic insignia and illustrate the Academy’s operations, the from the territory. an item of exhibition to be displayed in projects and the programs aimed at im - President Ballarini thanked the Delegate the restaurant). In view proving the regional standing and re - of Naples for the hospitality and the or - of some difficulties in providing material lations between the various Delegations ganization, summing up with the word to the two publications, Petroni called of the regions, taking into account “perfection” the excellent choice and for better coordination for the Itineraries certain critical aspects. In this regard, preparation of the various courses, the of Gastronomic Culture and for the Re - the General Secretary announced an splendor of the site and the conviviality gional Coordinators to be in charge of accurate census of territories belonging that spread throughout the tables. sending out the forms for the Guide . to the Delegations, whose borders go SILVIA DE LORENZO

PAGINA 6 CULTURE AND RESEARCH The food of the dead , like all seeds, are associated with the afterlife. Using fava beans as an offering to the dead signified wishing them a quick and happy rebirth.

BY GIANNI DI GIACOMO Academician, Chieti Delegation

he belief that the dead must be major holidays in western Christianity: nourished is widespread throu - All Saints’ Day and the Day of the Dead. T ghout the world. Food is a sym - In fact, both festivals take place in the bol and a metaphor and is associated heart of autumn, the period marking with both work and festival times. The - the end of one growing season and the refore it is not difficult for us to believe beginning of another. Grains have just that it is indeed through food that we been planted and seeds are seen as “de - can establish a dialogue with our late scending into the underworld” in the loved ones. It is the living who prepare heart of the Earth and beginning the special dishes in rituals for the dead: long journey toward future germination. food establishes a one-on-one relation - Enjoying a banquet around the tombs ship because when consumed by the li - or offering food to the dead is one of ving it nourishes the bodies but food the oldest spiritual practices in the also nourishes, thus saving, the souls world, just as is the cult of the dead of the deceased. itself. Among the ancient Romans, Etru - The cult of the dead and festivals com - scans and Greeks and all over the Me - memorating them are an ancient legacy diterranean offering food to the dead and the rituals have many traditions in was doubly linked to funeral rituals and common. One need only take a look at not simply as a way of slaking the “hun - any calendar of rural and peasant rituals ger” of souls: foods were prepared and to understand the importance of two presented according to very precise pro -

PAGINA 7 CULTURE AND RESEARCH

called “soup of the dead” was made with long simmered beans seasoned with fat. Around Piacenza the clas - sic dinner for the Day of the Dead con - sisted of , peeled and boiled with seeds. Offering food to the dead led to the rise of the belief that on the day of their commemorative festival the dead would return to the world of the living to join them at the table. “Cooked for the souls of the dead” was the sad refrain chanted by throngs of poor beggars, armed with bowls and spoons outside the houses of the nobles. In Venice, monks in con - vents frequently prepared a fava soup to be distributed to the poor on the first days of November. In Modena as well the classic “alms of the dead” consisted of boiled fava beans. In fact, from Egypt to Greece, from to cedures. For example, during the May In , in addition to the custom India and even in far away Peru, this festival of Lemuria celebrants threw a of leaving the dinner table set, a lighted has always played a major role handful of black beans over their shoul - candle was placed in the window for in ancient funeral rites. der nine times while repeating a “jacula” each beloved departed soul, and children The most commonly used ritual foods or chant to salute the spirits who had were sent to bed with a packet of sweet for commemorating the dead are sweets. returned from the dead to join the living fava beans and sugared that Every region has its own typical sweet for the occasion. In February, manes , symbolized the link between past and made just for this celebration. In addi - the festal for spirits of the dead took present generations. In the collective tion to “grano cotto” or cooked grain, place. Offerings included a rich variety imagination of the ancients, legumes, the common ones, usually known as of foods: grain, salt, oil, , milk, ho - like all seeds, were connected with the “fava of the dead” or “sweet favas” are ney and the blood of pigs and calves. “ctonic sphere” and the afterlife. Fava fairly hard, usually made with , At the end of the festival the hulls of beans, and seeds of all sugar, various , almonds, choco - fava beans were burned and relatives types were particularly prized by the late, jams, candied fruit, egg whites dined at the tombs of their deceased dead souls, as were , , and pine nuts. In they are loved ones. The same dining ritual was almonds and chestnuts which held wi - called “bones for chewing” and in Ve - repeated on the day known as Feralia thin themselves the power of life. Thus neto, Tuscany and Sicily “bones of the (the last day of the festival of Parentalia the seed represented the cycle of de - dead”, made differently according to that was dedicated to one’s ancestors). ath-rebirth-life and humans, just like the region: in Lombardy, they are made The entire family would gather around the dead, could become part of this with crumbled dried cookies, the tombs of their dead and eat special cycle by consuming them. Offering fava and raisins; in Tuscany with pepper; in foods that had been prepared at home beans to the dead signified wishing Sicily they are made in the shape of while praying for the wellbeing of their them a quick and happy rebirth. praying hands. Also in Sicily, in addition dearly departed. Fava beans and chickpeas are still today to “grano cotto” and “bones of the dead” On the evening before the Day of the considered the classic foods for the Day they also prepare “pupi di zuccaro” or Dead (the night between November 1st of the Dead in some rural areas. The “sugar babies” - little statues shaped and 2nd) an entire series of ritual be - rare black is the main ingre - like the classic Sicilian puppets - and haviors associated with food were carried dient in the Piedmontese soup cisrà frutta di Martorana - sweets out: on that night eating and praying monferrina as well as in the zemino of shaped like fruits. In they did not have their usual convivial and Savona. In Irpinia on November 2 the still make “torrone dei morti” , a sweet social connotations, but food could be well-to-do families often used to distri - and chocolaty candy that are also called shared with neighbors, relatives and bute a soup of boiled chickpeas to the morticelli. friends. needy. In the northeast of Italy the so- GIANNI DI GIACOMO

PAGINA 8 CULTURE AND RESEARCH The precious perfume from the woods The phoenix of international gastronomy and utopia of the senses, the white truffle is essentially pure perfume, and only later comes its flavor (Carlo Cracco).

BY NICOLA BARBERA Academician, Duomo Delegation

ruffles are hypogean - or sym - of the previous truffle and in part on biont underground - mushro - their strong odor, a characteristic that Toms. This means that they live becomes apparent only when the truffle in symbiosis with the roots of plants is mature and thus able to attract wild and . The word truffle (in animals that, in their attempt to dig Italian ; in Latin terrae tufer ) li - them up, manage to disperse the spores. terally means “excrescence of the The white truffle is wrapped in a pale Earth”. ocher outer peridium that can be either In order for a truffle to develop its smooth or rough depending on the spores (reproductive cells) and hyphas type of terrain (softer earth favors the (long filaments similar to those of mu - development of an irregular - shrooms) it must come in contact with like shape and hard packed earth results the roots of a truffle-attracting tree in a knobbier one). The peridium en - (oak, holm oak, evergreen oak, willow, closes the gleba, or pulp which is rather linden, poplar or ) under en - hard, grayish-pink in color and covered vironmental conditions that foster the in whitish veins. The black truffle is sugars necessary for their development roundish and lobated, covered with and growth, within a time frame that thick brownish black protuberances ranges from four to twelve years! Truf - known as “warts”, which are also co - fles are still not cultivable - they only vered with whitish veins. grow spontaneously, and their repro - Of the twenty-five different species of duction depends in part on the spores truffle found in Italy, nine are edible,

PAGINA 9 CULTURE AND RESEARCH

science of studying hypogean mushro - oms. Truffle gathering takes place only du - ring periods authorized by the local provincial government administration, usually between October and February. Although to enjoy its full flavor and aroma the truffle should be eaten im - mediately, it can be preserved for se - veral days by wrapping it and the earth surrounding it in a cloth or porous paper and storing it in a container in the refrigerator. The cloth should be changed daily, making sure that the hard texture of the truffle does not become soft or rubbery, in which case it must be eaten immediately. Cleaning truffles should be done only a few minutes before they are served, using a brush under a stream of cold water and drying them immediately. but only two of them are considered (126-193) was from Alba (He only rei - White truffles are exclusively used raw, valuable: the precious white truffle, gned for 80 days - he was elected and shaving them thinly with an appropriate or tuber magnatum Pico (the term ma - then assassinated by his Praetorian instrument. It is excellent when served gnatum signifies “for magnates” the - guards). In his De re coquinaria (which over hot dishes, thus enhancing its refore, costly; and Pico refers to the was written in the first century but di - aroma: homemade pasta such as the Piedmontese Vittorio Pico, the first scovered only in the 4 th century AD) famous tajarin (tagliolini cut into very scholar to classify truffles). There is Marcus Gavius provided six thin fettuccine ) with , , also the precious black truffle, ( tuber recipes that used truffles. Subsequently fried eggs and fontina . But it is melanosporum ) or winter truffle. These the truffle was abandoned and its un - also delicious on cold dishes like car - two species are followed, qualitatively, stoppable gastronomic ascent only be - paccio Alba style, and made with by two others: the black summer truffle gan during the Renaissance, first in ovuli and porcini mushrooms. Black (tuber aestivum or “thick skinned” truf - France (14 th and 15 th centuries) with truffles are primarily used after briefly fle) and the white March truffle ( tuber the black truffle, and then in Italy with being cooked, thinly shaved or diced, Borchii ). the white truffle. In 1700 the white often in risotto with parmesan , Italy is the world’s leading producer truffle of Piedmont was considered a patè, “vol-au-vent” or millefoglie pa - of truffles (500 tons per year) followed delicacy by all the European courts stries. They can also be combined with by France and Spain. The Italian regions and truffle hunting became a favorite simple condiments (, oil that traditionally are best known for palace sport: In particular the Italian and thyme) and sautéed as in the white truffles are Piedmont, with its kings Vittorio Amedeo II and Carlo typical “strangozzi” of Umbria. The famous Alba variety, the , fa - Emanuele III organized actual truffle name “strangozzi” derives from the mous for its Acqualagna (Pesaro-Urbi - hunts including foreign kings and no - term “strenghe”, or square or rectan - no) variety and Tuscany for its San bles and utilizing dogs, which were gular strings of long pasta. Miniato (Pisa) variety. Norcia, in Um - much more elegant than the traditional NICOLA BARBERA bria, is the home of black truffles. pigs. In addition to being difficult to Truffles have been known since ancient train not to eat the truffles once they times, and the earliest historical testi - unearthed them, pigs also destroyed monials (1700-1600 BC) are attributed the spores as well as the terrain. to the Sumerians. The Romans also It should be also mentioned that in enjoyed truffles ( tuber terrae ) but they Milan in 1831 a naturalist from the were of inferior quality. The tuber ma - botanical gardens of Pavia, Carlo Vit - gnatum Pico never appeared on the tadini, published his Monografia Tu - tables of noble Romans even though beracearum that launched hydnology the Emperor Publius Elvius Pertinace (from the Greek hydnon tubero ) - the

PAGINA 10 CULTURE AND RESEARCH Neapolitan pasta with potatoes Although fairly common and traditional, this dish nonetheless appeared quite late in the recipe books.

BY CLAUDIO NOVELLI Academician, Naples-Capri Delegation

It is easy to speak of historical re - kadaisical care that caused them to cipes, the cuisine of our ancestors, crash to the ground. The same sacks Itraditional cuisine and so on. How received their coup de grace from their historical? How old, and when we say handling by the food stores and were old, what do we mean by that? Tradi - thus sold at a much lower price. They tional for whom? Something joined the potatoes at the end, or at that we were greedy for when best in the middle of the boiling, which we were children, as we look left them merrily bubbling over the back as adult? Is it something fire with a little lard, , and that is no longer prepared at occasionally tomatoes. home because of simple laziness The recipe is not reported by any ma - or (providential) lack of time? nual of cuisine, although Parmentier I asked myself this question and our own Vincenzo Corrado devoted on account of the umpteenth much attention to the potato; in fact, dish that leaves Anglo Saxons in his Treatise on Potatoes Corrado lists and Scandinavians dumbfoun - 54 preparations, among which the pro - ded, committed as they are genitor of our gattò (gate u) that can to protein laden dishes that be simple, or filled with hȃam, chicken defy gout. It is a recipe that liver, sweetbreads, and mushrooms. we might not define as ari - Pasta and potatoes, however, were il - stocratic, given its dark ori - lustrious in their absence; certainly gins, but rather a kind of they were considered too humble a proletarian for dish to aspire to the glory of a cookbo - daily survival. Just like its ok, notwithstanding the fact that in sister foods, it had to obey the second half of the nineteenth cen - the sacred laws of simpli - tury manuals of “family” cuisine started city, speed of execution and to become popular in step with the economy. emergence of bourgeois society. Before It has the rare merit of being our the cook stove one finds not a brigade most carbohydrated carbohydrate, the of cooks but a lone woman, no matter southern ideological paradox that in - whether mistress of the house, chef or trigued Trotsky, unsure as he was as all purpose servant, while things evolve to the mixing of potatoes and grains to the point that the discussions at the in the preparation of Vodka, in the ab - table no longer address the new order sence of which it was good bye to the in Europe but rather the performance revolution, rather than feeding the of sons and daughters at school. hungry people. In our land, the gentle Pasta and potato, however, is still seen and farmer- friendly solanaceous food as too poor a food, and it does not went together with the sub-proletarian even remotely appear among the reci - “garbage”, that is to say with those pes of pythagorean provisions. In his forty-pound sacks of maccheroni that and Crude Naturism were inevitably devastated by the lac - (Hoepli, 1930) Enrico Alliata, Duke

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of Salaparuta, lists 41 ways to prepare potatoes. There are soups made with cauliflower, savoy , beans, pumpkin, , celery, beets and rutabaga, and with time both South and North will replace stale , re - spectively with pasta and rice. Other authors, less health conscious than Al - liata, will look at potatoes and rice with some embarrassment and will present them as cuisine for weak sto - machs, for sick and convalescent peo - ple, who are momentarily confined to a gastronomic limbo, waiting for meat pies, roasted and stewed meats and game. At any rate, there is no mention of pasta and potatoes. Who invented the dish then? Curiously, it is mentio - ned for the first time in the Bompiani Almanac of 1896, page 226, in the se - onion, a few basil leaves and pour into fare erupted, in boroughs and even cond paragraph of the Gastronomist’s the pot. At this point in time, put into buildings, causing family quarrels, in - Calendar , under “Notes of fat and lean the broth 300 grams of ridged ditali terminable infighting over the correct for each month of the year”. (thimbles) (Pasta Cirio Vera) and to - preparation of pasta and potatoes. To The first lean meal for the month of matoes and let boil for another ten add to the confusion of this vexata et January opens up with “Naples’ pasta minutes, before taking it all out and irrisolta quaestio - a troubling and un - with potatoes”. A detail that surely serving it with cheese”. solved issue - if one clicks today on surprises, if not stimulates, is that this In 1965, Jeanne Carola offered a new Google “pasta and potatoes”, within “note” is composed by a distinguished version in her Neapolitan Cuisine . From fourth-tenths of a second he will get lady from Turin, Luisa Pacchiotti, the this version sprang all the present va - 691,000 responses. widow of a man named Pomba, who riations. From that day on, town war - CLAUDIO NOVELLI was the founder and editor of UTET, a printing firm. It is published here by kind concession of the author and the Unione Tipografica Editrice Torinese E-mail addresses (UTET) which deserves the gratitude of so many passionate readers. of Italian Academy of Cuisine The notes had appeared a couple of years earlier in the Journal of Women , President: a fortnightly publication of “education, pastimes and morality” (1869-1924). [email protected] No matter how hard I kept searching for it, the recipe actually appears for Secretary General: the first time in the Collection of Recipes @ of Cirio Cuisine (Portici 1952, page [email protected] 19), under the heading: “Soup of pasta and potatoes”. It was prepared in a different manner, more complicated National Secretariat: than the present day preparation: “In [email protected] three liters of water cook 4-5 potatoes cut into a large dice. After boiling for five minutes, add three thin slices of Editorial office: fresh lard, a pinch of salt and pepper, [email protected] and half a clove of garlic. Sautee 30 grams of butter in a pan, a young

PAGINA 12 CULTURE AND RESEARCH Music and cuisine The great composers of the past were able to combine the sublime culture of music with that of the good table.

BY SAVINO SARDELLA Academician, Pisa Delegation

he appetite is to the stom - the past: Maccheroni Rossini, Donizetti ach what love is to the torte, Risotto Verdi - just to name a “T heart”. This famous quote few. Giuseppe Verdi, who was called by Gioacchino Rossini inspired me to a “refined glutton” by Giuseppe Gia - look into some anecdotes from the cosa, had a healthy passion for home lives of other great composers of the cooking and for the products of his past that demonstrate how a passion region - the plains around Piacenza for music, and musical theater in par - and Parma - as demonstrated by a ticular, goes hand in hand with a love cookbook found at his home Villa S. of the good table. The illustrious maes - Agata as well as some of his corre - tro Rossini was in good company: Ver - spondence with several of his con - di, Donizetti, Mascagni and Puccini temporaries. He was always on the all frequently indulged in the pleasures lookout for a great chef - not just an of the table, especially after they had able cook but true food magician. He achieved fame and fortune. They par - often said “One tyrant in the house is ticipated in the preparation of some enough and I know how much work very refined dishes that became as - it takes to be that tyrant!”. There is a sociated with their names or had been famous caricature of Verdi by Mel - dedicated to them by great cooks of chiorre Delfico that portrays the maes -

PAGINA 13 CULTURE AND RESEARCH

tro wearing an apron and bearing a ported the best products from all over and Aleatico or Lacrima for fruit and steaming dish of maccheroni or saffron for his table, including truffles from cheese. One of the most famous an - rice. Verdi often described his favorite Acqualagna. Rossini Salad with mus - ecdotes describes how when Rossini, recipes in great detail: shoulder tard, , , salt, pepper and seated at the table with Donizetti, re - Saint Secondo style; Verdi soup made of course truffles and Tournedos Rossi - alizes that his dinner companion is in with diced potato dumplings served ni are both famous and have many a bad mood, orders his chef to prepare in chicken or turkey broth; Capon stories associated with them. The Lau - a simple but delicious dessert: thus Supreme, capon breast sautéed in but - renziana Library in Florence houses was born the Donizetti torte, made ter and champagne and garnished a document that discusses the pairings with butter, sugar, eggs, flour, corn - with slices of truffle; or zucchini flan. of food and wine according to Rossini: , candied fruit, Maraschino, Giocchino Rossini’s often repeated re - Madera for sausage and , Bor - vanilla and confectioners’ sugar. mark “I can think of no finer work deaux for fried food, Rhine wine for Giacomo Puccini was another famous than eating” speaks for itself. He im - cold pastries, Champagne for roasts, musician who was a great lover of food. He often gathered his friends, including many writers and artists, around the table at a greasy spoon in Torre del Lago. He often indulged in the pleasures of fine dining after hunt - ing competitions near Lake Massaci - uccoli or on the game reserves of friends. They would fry partridge and roast pheasant, and create dishes like pasta over eels or herring with - es. He loved to finish a meal with mandarin oranges, sparkling wine, and crème caramel. He was also so fond of such typical Tuscan dishes as beans cooked in a flask that he would resort to the excuse of visiting his elder sister, a nun at a convent in Lucca, where he would stop and eat his favorite dish prepared by the pious nuns. SAVINO SARDELLA

THE ACADEMY SILVER PLATE An elegant silver plated dish engraved with the Academy logo. This symbolic object may be presented to restaurants that display exceptional service, cuisine and hospitality. Delegates may contact the Milan Headquarters ([email protected] ) for more information and orders.

PAGINA 14

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