Tag: Library

The yeast library really exists and is located in Belgium – Italian Cuisine


Over 125 specimens from all over the world are kept in the spaces of the Center for Bread Flavor in Puratos. Here's how to visit them also in a virtual way

Not only cinema, science and contemporary art: also his majesty the sourdough – for someone challenging, for others faithful companion of this long quarantine – it can boast its very own museum. Or rather, a kind of library, at times similar to a bank, created and managed by Puratos, an international company active in the bakery, pastry and chocolate sector: the space in question is located inside the Center for Bread Flavor of Sankt Vith, a Belgian town of 9 thousand inhabitants on the border with Germany, and collects over 125 types of mother yeasts from 25 countries of the world.

Photo: Puratos.

The mother yeast library

It all began in 2013, when Puratos was contacted by a Syrian baker who asked for a sort of "political asylum" for his beloved mother yeast: his children, heirs of the family business specializing in chickpea flour biscuits, decided to replace it with a less demanding industrial yeast, but he still wants to leave a tangible trace of his precious baking ally to the world. This is where it enters the scene Karl De Smedt, a real guru of the topic, who decides to start the project of the Library of the Mother Yeast. «Traveling around the world, Karl De Smedt had already been able to discover how different the mother yeasts of the different geographical areas were, says Laura Cafasso, digital marketing & communication specialist of Puratos Italia. "Hence the decision to launch the initiative on the web Quest for Sourdough: through this portal, each baker would have had the opportunity to apply for his own mother yeast for a permanent place in the archive that Puratos was building in Belgium. Something very similar to the Seed Bank of Svalbard, in Norway, where the most precious specimens of seeds are kept to be protected and passed on to future generations .
The applications made through the web platform were thus examined by De Smedt and the company's experts: each selected mother yeast, because judged as badge of a production worthy of recognition, was thus taken through a special kit, properly analyzed and therefore inserted within the library, complete with an identification number and entrance ceremony. To date, all the natural yeasts present in the Sankt Vith complex are kept in optimal conditions in refrigerators at 4 ° C, and are regularly refreshed with the original flour with which they were produced, to recreate the original conditions of the bakery. Without any alteration from their original version.

Photo: Puratos.

The stories inside the yeast

The very first mother yeast to enter the Belgian library was an Italian specimen. Pugliese, to be precise, used for the preparation of the famous Altamura bread and fed with durum wheat flour. But the stories enclosed in the Sankt Vith refrigerators are really the most disparate, as also tells the New York Times: there is the number 100, Japanese, produced from rice sake; or the number 72, Mexican, constantly fed with an egg, lime and beer mix. But we also find a very original Canadian mother yeast, 106, coming directly from the end of the nineteenth century and from the stories of those gold miners who traveled around the North American continent armed only with hope and some supplies of subsistence. In short, the specimens preserved in the Biblioteca del Lievito Madre in Puratos are presented to all intents and purposes as an album in jars straddling history and traditions. "Our space can obviously be visited in person, by contacting the company and agreeing on an appointment, but at the moment, due to the health emergency, everything is postponed", continues Laura Cafasso. «For all fans who in recent weeks would like to deepen their knowledge, however, one is available virtual tour very detailed, with numerous testimonials and various video contributions . A precious way, in short, to expand the skills learned during this quarantine spent between ovens and stoves, which has seen us all – at least once – proudly wearing the baker's apron.

Photo: Puratos.

Incoming search terms:

5 books of Sister Germana to have in the library – Italian Cuisine


Sister Germana, the "cook of God" passed away at the age of 81 and left us many works, books, cookbooks and agendas that tell about poor cooking, home cooking, with practical and sincere advice, here are some to consult when you are missing ideas or need advice

Sister Germana, first name Martina Consolaro, born in Crespadoro in July 1938, becomes part of the order of nuns of the famous Christian of Turin as a young sixteen year old and in 1958 she was entrusted with home economics lessons, cooking classes for girlfriends about to get married, which allowed her to cultivate her passion for cooking. The first cookbook arrives in 1983, When angels cook, three thousand recipes, two million copies sold, 32 reprints. Many other successful volumes followed, about forty papers and more, the invitations on television and the collaborations with Radio Maria, Famiglia Cristiana and Visa began. Now look at the bookstore and if you are missing these titles we advise you to get them, they will come in handy.

Home agenda 2020

The irreplaceable daily agenda of Sister Germana, the latest published book, full of proposals, advice, curiosities, ideas and food for thought. His Home Agenda has just passed the prestigious milestone of 30 years. His recipes draw from the Italian gastronomic tradition, that of home cooking, recipes prepared in the family for the whole family, which enhance simple and inexpensive ingredients, through genuine and easy to make dishes, which follow seasonality, parties and anniversaries.

Sister Germana's cookbook, the family kitchen

Recipe book released in 2017, in the preface Sister Germana writes "over 56 years I have invented more than 3000 recipes, all tested and written just as they are made, simply: for this reason my recipes" always succeed ", just knowing to read". Recipes for every day and recipes for the holidays, which bring the family together around the table to enjoy the pleasures of good food together.

Today I cook saving … despite the euro

In 2005 he came out with a book dedicated to the kitchen of savings, many ideas for preparing healthy and tasty dishes while being careful of the portfolio. Saving not only at the supermarket at the time of purchase, but also at home when we put ourselves in the kitchen, being careful not to throw anything away, to also use those ingredients that might seem waste and that instead turn into useful products for recycling recipes and save fridge, with a very special section dedicated to children.

The best of Sister Germana's cuisine

The book published by De Agostini in 2001, presents more than 400 recipes divided according to the most practical and usual criterion: appetizers, first courses, fish, meats, vegetables, eggs, sauces, desserts. Recipes created by Sister Germana with imagination and passion, traditional dishes to which the cook has drawn with intelligence, proposing them with a simple and confidential language.

The great book of easy cooking

The fully illustrated guide to prepare and present magnificent recipes, released in 1996. The complete encyclopedia of the easy cooking of Sister Germana, a test cook who has been able to embrace the needs of families, recommending the right dishes for every occasion. More than 700 recipes including appetizers, first courses, main courses, side dishes and desserts, each recipe is explained with clear words and beautiful illustrations, which allow you to intuitively understand the steps to be carried out.

His life is told in an autobiography, The life and recipes of Sister Germana, released in 2018. "Say it with a plate! his special motto that reminds us to always cook with the heart.

Trento, opens the library entirely dedicated to wine – Italian Cuisine

Trento, opens the library entirely dedicated to wine


It is named after Bruno Lunelli, who inaugurated the fortune of Ferrari bubbles and who brought his land to the knowledge of the classic method. It is privately owned but open to the public

A space entirely dedicated to wine. It is not a cellar, but a library, with ben two thousand titles dedicated to Italian production, from the cultivation of grapes to wine shops. It was opened in the Villa Margon complex, a Ravine of Trento, and is called BBL: it is the acronym of Biblioteca Bruno Lunelli, because the collection of books is named after the Trentino who inaugurated the fortune of Ferrari bubbles and who brought his land to the knowledge of the classic method.

It was his son Franco and his nephew Marcello who wanted to enrich the Italian cultural heritage with this special library, which also includes books of a literary type and others of scientific setting. Among these, thanks also to an important legacy made by Italo Roncador, one of the major protagonists of Trentino viticulture, to Marcello Lunelli, there are also rare and difficult to find titles, as well as the most complete collection of wine guides Italian, starting with the first, published just fifty years ago (and edited by Luigi Veronelli), up to the most recent, published in 2019.

The library named after Bruno Lunelli (to whom the municipality of Trento had already dedicated, recognizing its merits, a few decades ago, a small square in the historic center of the city), even if privately owned, is open to the public: books, destined to become more and more numerous, are available to all wine lovers, to its long history and its vast world. To check the availability of a volume or to request a loan, just make a telephone booking (Lucia, 0461.912666) or an e-mail. In the link the opening times.

In Italy there is also another important collection of themed volumes: it is that, in Castagneto Carducci, province of Livorno, of Attilio Scienza, member of a family that has been producing wine for generations, who has collected, in a lifetime of work and passion, a vast library of about 15 thousand volumes on all aspects of wine culture (from technique to history, from sensory analysis to graduation theses). Also included are ancient oenology and viticulture texts. And all are available to interested students and scholars.

Proudly powered by WordPress

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. Click here to read more information about data collection for ads personalisation

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Read more about data collection for ads personalisation our in our Cookies Policy page

Close