Tag: history

Birth and history of broccoli, from the Etruscans to the present – Italian Cuisine

Birth and history of broccoli, the vegetable with extraordinary beneficial properties: from the invention of the ancient Romans to the spread in Europe, up to the landing in America

In the very wide variety of vegetables "made in Italy", one particularly worthy of interest because of his valuable nutritional properties and the broccoli, or the cabbage variety notoriously little loved by children. This vegetable, a real cure-all for our health, is now widespread in most of Europe and the world, but few know that it originated in southern Italy. Let's go then to discover the main stages in the history of broccoli, starting from the Etruscans and the ancient Romans and arriving until the landing in the United States.

Broccoli, the vegetable loved by the Etruscans and ancient Romans

The cabbage family, to which the broccoli belongs, he was much loved by the Etruscans, who appreciated both the taste and the beneficial properties.
This ancient civilization of skilled navigators was in fact devoted to cultivation and it is thanks to the Etruscans and their famous Mediterranean trade that the cabbage also reached the Phoenicians, the ancient Greeks and the populations of the current islands of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Big cabbage lovers were also the ancient Romans, so much so that the famous naturalist Pliny the Elder, between the years 23 and 79 AD, wrote about how this civilization used to cultivate and cook them. It is to them that the merit of the creation of the first variety of broccoli, called Calabrian broccoli, as well as the etymology of the term that derives from the Latin brachium, ie arm, branch or sprout. It is said that the Romans used to boil broccoli along with a mixture of spices, onion, wine and oil (as evidenced in the cookbooks of the Apicius gastronomist) or serve them accompanied to creamy sauces prepared with aromatic herbs or wine, as it is said that they used to eat them raw before banquets to ensure that the body absorbed alcohol better.

The sapling-shaped superfood that has conquered the world

There broccoli spread outside the Italian territory he began in 1533, when Caterina de ’Medici married Henry II and introduced this precious vegetable into the French court, of which at the time were also part of Italian chefs. After France it was the turn of theEngland, where the broccoli were nicknamed Italian asparagus, as mentioned in the 1724 edition of Gardener's Dictionary by Miller. In both countries, broccoli became popular with the passage of time, but the initial reception was not the best, also due to the unpleasant smell of sulfur emanating during cooking. In 1922 two immigrants from Messina brought broccoli seeds to California, giving rise to the first plantation in the city of San Jose, and then contributed to their distribution also in other cities. In the United States, unlike European countries, these vegetables established themselves rapidly and successfully, and already in the 30s their popularity was consolidated.

Around the world in the last thirty years, thanks to new cooking methods and new discoveries on health benefits, including antioxidant properties that help prevent some forms of cancer, the consumption of broccoli has tripled. The most known and loved varieties are the Calabrese, rosette-shaped, and the Romanesco broccoli, known for its pyramidal shape with many small spiral rosettes.

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History of cheddar, the cheese invented by chance in England – Italian Cuisine

The history of cheddar cheese, an English delicacy that has become one of the most popular varieties in the world thanks to its strong flavor and its characteristic deep yellow color

Never like the last few years cheddar cheese has become a global product, distributed in more and more countries and ubiquitous in the fridge counter. Although, as often happens, the varieties sold outside the country of origin often leave something to be desired in terms of quality and are mostly packaged in practical bags, the real English cheddar has a very different taste and texture and above all it is a very respectable cheese. Let's go then to analyze what are the characteristics that distinguish a DOP cheddar, as well as to retrace the milestones in its history, from the origin to the first industrial production, up to its diffusion in the rest of the world.

history-of-cheese-cheddar_Flickr_-Scorpions-and-Centaurs — (Flick: Scorpions and Centaurs)

The story of the yellow English cheese born by chance

It is said that cheddar, like other famous cheeses, is born of a happy accident. The episode dates back to 1100 when the milkmaid of an English village forgot, for an entire day, to go and get a bucket of milk left in a cave, a very common practice at the time to preserve and keep food cool. Thanks to this forgetfulness what he found the next day was hardened milk, the first cheddar in history. Officially this hard cheese is born in a village called Cheddar, in Somerset in the south west of England, where it was probably produced for the first time in the 12th century. This area is characterized by the high presence of caves, a humid environment and the ideal constant temperature, then as today, for the aging of the cheese.
At the time the cheddar came handmade and handcrafted by local farmers, and was intended for farms or for sale to neighboring producers. The turning point in the history of this cheese was the birth of the first dairy of the area, by Joseph Harding, nineteenth-century Somerset dairyman nicknamed the father of cheddar cheese. Thanks to its modern production techniques, it would have seen the light of what can be considered in all respects the first real cheddar in history. Thanks to him and his family, the cheese would soon have made its triumphant appearance in other countries, from Scotland to North America to Australia and New Zealand.

Over the years, the production process continued to improve and focus on efficiency, durability and appearance. In this period also the color of the cheese underwent various variations, depending on the period of the year or on the grazing habits of the cows. To make it more uniform and more brilliant, the producers began to add them annatto seeds with a dark red color and used as a natural dye since the Aztecs.

What distinguishes the classic cheddar recipe

Let's start by saying that the real cheddar should have an intense flavor, at times pungent and earthy, with a sweet note due to the annatto seeds, and that the consistency should be slightly friable. According to the Cheddar Presidium, created by the Slow Food movement, only three varieties of cheddar fall under the DOP certification, as they are made using traditional methods.
The real cheddar is in fact to be considered only that made by hand with raw milk of excellent quality e animal rennet. It is also essential that after the phase of the production process dictates cheddaring, that is the moment in which the curd is kneaded, cut into cubes and turned, followed by a phase of maturation inside a cloth, for a period not exceeding 24 months.

In short, forget the artificial cheddar, vacuum-packed and matured in plastic that you find in supermarkets, the real cheddar is the outside that awaits you, for a tasting not to be forgotten.

Photo: grated cheddar cheese_pixabay.jpg
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Bitter tortelli of Castel Goffredo, history and recipe of a single dish – Italian Cuisine

The bitter tortelli are a typical dish of Castel Goffredo, in the province of Mantua. They are called so because of the particular grass that is put in the filling

The Italian culinary tradition is so rich that sometimes there are recipes that do not exceed the limits of a municipality. This is the case of the bitter tortelli of Castel Goffredo, an ancient dish and very "cooked" by the castellans, but until recently not very well known outside the home. The recent history of this small town in the province of Mantua is closely linked to that of stockings. Even today, most of the yarns and tights that cover the legs of thousands of women come right from here. However, the industrial dimension is relegated to the periphery. Crossing the narrow streets of the historic center, from the mouths of its inhabitants and from the menus of its trattorias, one realizes that it is rather this that dominates the scene. particular stuffed pasta.

Tortelli bitters, the origin of the name

They are called that for the presence in the filling of St. Peter's grass, also commonly known as "Bitter herb". The scientific name is Balsamita major, it blooms around the end of June, when the Saint's anniversary falls (June 29th). The plant is part of the family of aromatic-balsamic and has, as you may have guessed, a pleasant bitter aftertaste. The recipe has been handed down from generation to generation, but mostly orally. There is very little literature on this subject, apart from a few cookbooks preserved in the beliefs of older housewives who, they assure, have always made these tortelli.

It's a short step from pumpkin to bitter grass

In the nearby Mantova, the dough is filled with pumpkin and their tortelli are famous throughout Italy. Here, in Castel Goffredo, instead we put this particular grass that still grows spontaneously in the gardens and in the vegetable gardens of the houses. The idea of replace the cucurbitaceae with the aromatic plant it must have come to some housewife who, in times of thin, with the little she had, will have worked to create a new dish. The fame is not comparable to that of the Mantuan tortelli, but lately also bitter ravioli are starting to come out.

In the recipe "publishes" all the ingredients

Only some of the "risidure" (dialectal term to define the women who run the house) know the original recipe, which, however, they keep jealously secret to reserve the true dish to friends and relatives. The following is the public version. For the pastry it takes 300 grams of 00 flour, three eggs and one yolk. The ingredients for the stuffing are: 600 grams of herbs, 80 grams of butter, 50 grams of sage, an egg, an onion, a clove of garlic, 20 leaves of bitter herb, 40 grams of grated bread, 80 grams of grana padano, salt pepper and nutmeg.

Here's how to prepare the filling

First clean and blanch the herbs in salt water. Then drain them, trying to remove all the excess liquid, and cut them – not too fine – with the knife. Fry in butter the sage, onion and garlic. Once the herbs have also been seasoned, combine them in a bowl with the eggs, Grana Padano cheese, breadcrumbs, sage, onion and garlic, nutmeg, pepper and salt. Mix everything and finally add the raw chopped bitter herb. Prepare the dough of egg pasta cut into squares, fill with a teaspoon of filling and fold into a triangle. Cook in salted water and serve with a sprinkling of good grated cheese and a tablespoon of melted butter and crisp sage.

At the Tortello Amaro Festival in Castel Goffredo to eat the real ones

Foreigners have a single chance to be able to taste the truly original and is the Bitter Tortello Festival, scheduled this year from 13 to 16 June at the Parco la Fontanella. On this occasion the housewives themselves will get to work, offering those who are not local the chance to taste the real Tortelli Amari of Castel Goffredo or the Tortelli Amarissi, "Just like the castellans like". The rest of the menu will also be based on dishes cooked with this herb: braised pork with pork bitter polenta, bitter polenta with straccone cheese, Amarburgher with fries, Buon Umore cake, Bitter ice cream is GranitinAmara. For those who could not go to the party can always try them in some country restaurants, such as La Viola, La Pialla, Il Roccolo, or in neighboring towns such as the Selvole which is located in the hamlet of the same name, at the trattoria Da Laura in the Perosso hamlet, at the Agriturismo San Lorenzo in the hamlet of Casalpoglio.