Tag: discovering

Discovering Sutri and its Roman hazelnuts – Italian Cuisine

Ancient village of the Tuscia, with origins dating back to the Bronze Age, Sutri it is within the smallest regional archaeological park in Lazio and stands on a tuff hill framed by Cimino and Sabatino. Here the stratifications of civilizations and dominations have left important traces ranging from the rock tombs to the amphitheater dating back to the 1st century BC, completely excavated in the tuff: it reminds the Colosseum and still preserves the remains of niches, statues, columns. To visit, the Romanesque cathedral, the Church of the Madonna del Tempio and the Grotta di Orlando where, according to legend, the Paladin of France was born.
Inserted in the former Bishop's Palace, the Doebbing Palace Museum in addition to the permanent collection of ancient art and sacred temporary exhibitions, it can be visited until 17 January 2021 From Giotto to Pasolini, conceived by Vittorio Sgarbi who is mayor of the town.

From a naturalistic point of view, Sutri is famous for its hazel groves that produce the Tonda Gentile Romana cultivar, since 2008 certified DOP: it seems to have existed even before the Romans in the wild, in the undergrowth. "The main feature is the slightly pointed shape while the seed, deprived of the shell, looks like a crunchy fruit, with a refined flavor and persistent aroma", explains Marta Cavazza of the Sutri farm of the same name. «The collection of hazelnuts, both manual and mechanical, takes place from mid-August to mid-November. After selection and calibration, they are packaged in 1, 3 and 5 kg nets and partly destined for shelling and partly transferred to the processing departments. 180 ° toasting follows .
Among the nutritional properties of hazelnut, monounsaturated fatty acids (the same as in olive oil), vitamins K and E, minerals such as potassium, calcium and phosphorus stand out.
Much sought after by the confectionery industry, Roman hazelnuts are used for the preparation of Viterbo and "ugly but good" tozzetti. «A traditional recipe from our company are the Pretzels in which the crunchy taste of the Tonda Gentile Romana is combined with salt and our extra virgin olive oil, with fruity and slightly spicy notes,« adds Cavazza. To accompany an aperitif.

Sutri hazelnuts: the Tonda Gentile Romana.

Discovering traditional Greek spoon desserts – Italian Cuisine

Discovering the traditional Greek spoon desserts, many varieties of fruit in a jar characterized and enriched with local ingredients

Since ancient times the Greeks have been experts in fruit preservation, developing and gradually refining techniques and recipes that constitute an essential part of traditional cuisine. THE spoon desserts (glyko tou koutaliou), very popular and widespread throughout the country, they are made with a wide range of fruit which, in addition to seasonal and local fruit, can be enriched and flavored with other ingredients such as honey, flowers, spices, herbs and dried fruit during preparation. There are also special recipes that Greek families pass on from generation to generation. So let's go find out characteristics and varieties of traditional Greek spoon desserts, including recipes typical of some areas and islands of Greece.

Preparation, characteristics and varieties

The so-called spoon desserts are therefore a preparation in which the fruit, left whole or cut, is boiled in the sugar syrup with a zest or lemon juice and a possible addition of flavorings, spices or other ingredients, and then poured into jars of sterilized glass, such as jam. A good spoon dessert requires that the fruit be solid and juicy and the syrup in which it is immersed clear, dense and very aromatic.
The procedure differs slightly depending on the main ingredient, since some fruits may require different quantities of sugar and water as well as different cooking times. The fresh fruit used can differ from season to season, but in general there are some of the most used bitter oranges, grapes, figs, black cherries, cherries and quinces, while among the aromas used in the boiling phase and then removed we have herbs such as mint and marjoram, various spices including cinnamon and cloves, or even flowers and plants that can include rose, jasmine, lemon flowers and vanilla. Also during the boiling, a small amount of blanched dried fruit is poured in flakes or whole, generally nuts or almonds, so as to add flavor and crunchiness to the final product.

In short, preparing spoon desserts is an art and the variations can be many, as the many typical specialties scattered throughout the country. Among these the best known are the one made with unripe pistachios from the island of Aegina, the one with pumpkin and almonds from the island of Milo, the one with unripe whole nuts, honey and cloves from the island of Andros, the flavored one basil from the island of Naxos, the one made with black cherries and walnuts on the island of Icaria and, finally, the preserved unripe citrus fruits from the Peloponnese. The specialty made with rose petals is also much loved by the Greeks (a traditional ingredient often used also for loukoumi sweets), of which the one produced by the monastery of Taxiarchon in Lakonia in the Peloponnese is particularly well known.

History and evolution of a dessert with ancient origins

Spoon desserts have always been synonymous with tradition, hospitality and welcome, all concepts historically rooted in the culture of Greece. In fact, these desserts have their roots in antiquity, an era in which a type of healthy and balanced diet gradually took shape, today known as the Mediterranean diet, characterized among other things by a large use of fruit and dried fruit, but also of herbs aromatic, spices and various seasonings. Not surprisingly, it turned out that the ancient Greeks invented various forms of fruit preservation, including the boiling followed by storage in honey or grape molasses and only later in the sugar syrup. One of the oldest recipes for spoon desserts was called melimilon and consisted of quinces boiled in wine and then placed in jars full of honey. Historically, the golden age of these desserts was in the 50s, when the jar in which it was kept was a source of pride for the housewives and eating these homemade desserts, served to guests on crystal saucers accompanied by tea spoons and a glass of cold water was an important ritual.
If, in the 1960s, thanks to the introduction of the electric refrigerator, their fame declined sharply, they gradually returned to being rediscovered and appreciated, along with many other home cooking preparations that were decidedly healthier and less caloric than those that had spread. It was then that great-grandmothers and grandmothers of our times resumed this tradition, experimenting more and more and using fruits and vegetables produced in different places and in different seasons, including figs, quinces, watermelons, but also zucchini, aubergines, tomatoes.
Nowadays this homemade practice is less widespread than before, but still present and there are many spoon desserts produced in Greece, with every type of ingredient and characteristics.

To taste this specialty, in addition to buying artisanal ones, you can find spoon desserts on the menu of some restaurants and cafes, in general served in summer as a garnish for cups of fresh creamy yogurt or Chios mastic flavored ice cream.

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Discovering the Japanese mayonnaise or Kewpie mayonnaise – Italian Cuisine

Discovering Japanese mayonnaise, a sweet and creamy sauce present in many traditional dishes and which in recent years has also been depopulating abroad

There Japanese mayonnaise in Italy it has not yet caught on, yet it is a delicious sauce that deserves to be tasted. Beloved by the people of the Rising Sun e present in many traditional Japanese dishes, in recent years it has also conquered many international chefs. This special version of the mayonnaise is mainly made with egg yolks, oil and vinegar (not distilled) and has a different flavor and texture than the Italian one. Let's go and discover its history and characteristics as well as the culinary combinations.

How Japanese mayonnaise is made

Compared to Italian or French mayonnaise and in general to those used in the West, the Japanese one is more creamy and dense, with a darker color and a slightly more pungent taste, but with a pleasant sweet note. Naturally, the ingredients used, i egg yolks, which in Japan have an intense orange color indicative of the good health of the hens used raised outdoors, therice or apple vinegar sometimes mixed together and vegetable oil (preferably canola oil or grapeseed). Sauce, like most Japanese recipes, is also characterized by the so-called factor umami, a term that can be translated as "tasty", and which in this case is obtained thanks to the addition of a small amount of MSG (monosodium glutamate) or alternatively a little dashi powder, or the traditional light broth based on two umami flavors, kombu seaweed and katsuobushi, smoked and dried bonito flakes. The secret to obtaining a good Japanese mayonnaise, however, is to take care of the execution of the process emulsion. The emulsion is obtained by slowly adding the above ingredients and stirring rapidly at the same time. In this case, the oil should be poured in small quantities and gradually and the smaller the oil molecules, the better the final result. Although you can try this procedure at home using a mixer or food processor, no tool can be as powerful and functional as those used by the manufacturing companies. Buying packaged mayonnaise also means not running into problems related to the freshness of used eggs, which must be rigorously fresh and unpasteurized. The original and most famous brand on the market, locally and worldwide, is the Kewpie, recognizable by the logo that represents a doll. In Japan, however, other mayonnaises are also marketed, generally sold in plastic bottles with a fine spout that allows you to create a decorative zigzag pattern on the plates, highly appreciated in Japan.

History and traditional Japanese dishes with Kewpie mayonnaise

Just like other typical condiments of the Rising Sun, such as soy sauce, sake, mirin or miso, also Kewpie mayonnaise has distant origins and it has been one of the predominant condiments since it was introduced to the country in 1925. The creator of the Japanese mayonnaise, or Kewpie Toichiro Nakashima, after a culinary trip to the United States undertaken the previous year, in fact had the idea of changing the recipe, adapting it to the typical taste of Asian cuisine in general and Japanese in particular. The sauce has characterized for decades dishes of the national culinary tradition, but the real boom in sales, including international ones, came in 2017, the year in which Kewpie reached the target of 500,000 million Yen, a little over 4 billion Euros.
Among the many Japanese recipes that include this dressing are the Takoyaki, octopus meatballs among the most famous street food in the country, the typical Japanese omelette called Okonomiyaki, made from flour, water, cabbage, meat, mayonnaise and other ingredients, or Japanese-style fried chicken called Karaage.

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Photo: Japanese mayonnaise Kewpie on an okonomiyaki.jpg