Tag: oldest

Conciato Romano: the oldest cheese in the world – Italian Cuisine

An ancient cheese, indeed the oldest, produced since Roman times. Strong, penetrating, aged in terracotta amphorae and seasoned with oil and vinegar. A Slowfood Presidium from the province of Caserta to try, sparingly as is done with truffles

Conciato Romano is not among the oldest cheeses in the world; Conciato Romano is the oldest cheese in the world. Mentioned by Pliny as by Martial, it has been produced in the upper Caserta area since the time of the Samnites, but nowadays it is not a cheese for everyone, since we are no longer used to smells and flavors like this strong. In fact, for value and intensity, we could venture to define it "the white truffle of the south": it takes very little to give a unique touch to dishes as well as to pizzas, since there are infinite ones based on Conciato (we are still in Campania ). It was also the first Slow Food Presidium of the province of Caserta, in 2002; an important milestone for an area too often known for other reasons. And its history today is intertwined with that of people who no one has helped, if not their fatigue; people who have fought and who still fight, with their heads held high and their backs straight, without ever bending over.

The Roman Tanning

It owes its name to the original tanning technique, or the fact that in the past the cheese was cunzato, that is, seasoned with oil and vinegar and then placed in amphorae to be transported together with Falerno, the wine of ancient Campania. The addition of "Roman", on the other hand, is due to the discovery of Roman deposits on site, which only took place later. Today it is produced from sheep, goat or bovine milk, with kid rennet; after pressing by hand, the small wheels are salted, dried in the beech farmhouse and then tanned in this way: they are washed with the cooking water of pettole, a fresh pasta shape which, being a natural antibacterial, allows the subsequent absorption of the sauce. In fact, later, the forms are precisely tanned, that is, seasoned with extra virgin olive oil (preferably of the local variety), local wine, the ancient Casavecchia grape and chilli, thyme and oregano because those were there and still are in the mountains. Finally, its destiny is to mature for a long time, at least 6 months, both in glass demijohns and in amphorae, so that it can absorb all those smells that it will release so intensely when it comes out. An unforgettable moment every time, as if all those years of history came out of that amphora with each seasoning. This, at least, is the Tannery of the La Campestre farmhouse, the only one to ensure one traceability total on their product: "I always hope they come and check here, so they see how we work"Liliana Lombardi.

The La Campestre farmhouse

Liliana Lombardi, between the two women today at the reins of the Agriturismo La Campestre in Castel di Sasso, wanted to keep the sheep and over time managed to convince her husband, Francesco, who had already grown up with the sheep. Of their two children Manuel, the oldest, has always had clear ideas about his IT future; while Fabio, the younger brother, has always preferred the earth to books; that same land that first gave it life and then took it away, one day like any other, on a tractor. It is after this tragedy that Manuel and his wife Eulalia have no doubts and decide to join their parents with the same sang 'and soul of his brother to carry on his dream: to make the Roman tanning known in the world, practice clean agriculture and restore dignity to the work of the farmer, especially in an area like Caserta. Today La Campestre, from the name of the locality, also has rooms and a restaurant (the Conciato museum is coming soon), where only dishes based on their products are served. Alternatively, there is no shortage of restaurateurs who from Caserta to Los Angeles get their supplies from the Lombards, such as Rosanna Marziale, Among the first customers for years now, or Maria Rosaria Stellato, who has just opened his restaurant.

Where to eat the Roman Conciato

The grit and exuberance of a hurricane in life, the delicacy and precision of a surgeon in the kitchen: this is Maria Rosaria Stellato from the restaurant My soul of Caserta, opened just last July 2017. Here the soul is first of all what she puts into it, class of '87, always well anchored to her land and its products, including first of all the Roman Conciato de La Campestre , in the 12-month menu on 12. We find it in dishes such as grilled octopus with papaccella and potatoes, where the Conciato enhances everything, while the result is different in the burnt wheat ravioli with garlic, oil and chilli on pumpkin cream, not to mention theClock of flavors: it's his cheese tasting, where the Roman Conciato is paired with a dark chocolate. Exactly its two souls. Exactly the two souls of this land.

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Back to Menfi Inycon, the oldest Sicilian wine show – Italian Cuisine

Begins Friday Inycon 2019, the oldest review of Menfi wines, to learn about the products of the vine but also to appreciate all that this wonderful land has to offer

They could only be the vestiges of ancient Greece to welcome in the territory of Menfi Inycon 2019, the oldest review of wine in Sicily. The town in the province of Agrigento, the home town of the most exciting Greek architectural memories, will live a dense moment of culture, art, wine and food, starting from Friday 21 June until Sunday 23. What better time than the summer solstice for celebrate quality viticulture but also culinary excellence, art, culture and music? In Menfi, producers, writers, artists and farmers will take turns in the three-day event to show the public the best of this lucky corner of Sicily. "The great protagonists of Inycon 2019 – explains Mayor Marilena Mauceri – will be the districts of Menfi, custodians of the tradition, hospitality and culture of these lands where peasant wisdom, developed through technological innovation, has reached levels of excellence in the wine and agri-food sectors. Inycon 2019 will be a great collective party that will see all the people of the Contrada gathered together to celebrate and share with the public beauty of this happy corner of Sicily, whose most authentic expression is represented by the peasant community, the faces of the country people and its food and wine products ".

Wine, land, sea

Wine tasting, theater performances, debates and conferences on sustainability of the reception of Menfi will be the unmissable events of this three days in which all knowing how to do this corner of Sicily will be laid bare. As stated by Nadia Curreri, Councilor for Tourism, Sport and Culture, Productive Activities and Crafts of the Municipality of Menfi “We are very proud of the program of the new edition of Inycon. After more than twenty years, in fact, the event has entered the calendar of summer Italian tourist events not to be missed, so much so as to be a powerful and effective territorial marketing tool that sees the whole community cohesive to reach a common goal: to illuminate and to make visible all the merits of the Menfitana identity and its territory ".

Virtuous example

The payoff "Memphis and the colors of his land" accompanies the logo of Inycon 2019 and contains the new vision of the event that is proposed as model of virtuous tourism and fly for the entire economy of the territory. A center to which all the virtuous actions that make Menfi and its lands an irremissible experience to live not only in the summer, but in every season of the year, converge and then radiate.

Inycon – Memphis and the colors of its land (21/23 June 2019) For the detailed program: inyconsicilia.it

In the oldest acetaia in the world, a new story about balsamic vinegar – Italian Cuisine

The Giusti family has been producing balsamic vinegar for more than 400 years and has just inaugurated an exhibition that tells about what is not just a simple ingredient, but a heritage of history and know-how

The products that represent the food and wine excellences of our country are not only good: they tell stories, they hide secrets, they pass on know how to do. THE'balsamic vinegar, for example, otherwise called theBlack Gold of Modena, whose first traces date back toRoman age and that still today comes to life in the barrels jealously preserved in the attics of the Modenese houses, with a heritage and a recipe transmitted from generation to generation.

The oldest vinegar in the world

What a charm acetaie: rows of ancient barrels, arranged in increasing order from the smallest to the largest, corked with a doily held in place by a stone or with a piece of jute, to let the vinegar breathe, but do not let the insects enter. The oldest he boasts to own it Giusti family which more than 400 years ago started the first barrels of batteries in the attics of the Via Farini house in Modena. At the helm of the Gran Deposito Balsamic Vinegar of Giuseppe Giusti, founded in 1605, they have succeeded over the centuries 17 generations, the last represented by Claudio Stefani Giusti, born in '73, who left a successful career as a manager in the consulting sector to collect the legacy of his ancestors and transport the company to a young and international dimension.

The 600 historic barrels of the 1700s and 1800s are still in operation.

Good grapes, fine barrels and (a lot) of time: this is how the perfect balsamic vinegar is born

The rules for obtaining a "perfect" Balsamic vinegar? He wrote them in 1863 Giuseppe Giusti in occasion of the Modena Agricultural Exposition: choice of grapes, quality of the barrels and, fundamental, time. The more ancient the cask, the more intense the aromas and the character transmitted to the balsamic vinegar: for this reason the 600 historic barrels from the 1700s and 1800s still active are the heart of Acetaia Giusti: it is from here begins the long journey of aging balsamic vinegar.

The museum of balsamic vinegar

Since last October the vinegar factory is located in a new building, the old barn of a agricultural village of mid-nineteenth century completely restored, where it was also inaugurated a new and enlarged museum. The exhibit tells through 10 thematic rooms the long and fascinating history of balsamic vinegar, deeply linked to the city of Modena and the Giusti family. A journey through time and space, in the inestimable heritage of objects and documents preserved for generations: from the ancient jars used for conservation, to the tools used over the centuries by the vinegar makers, up to the first bottles and advertising posters of the early twentieth century. Among the most precious relics there are the casks as the "A3" barrel with which Giuseppe Giusti presented himself in Florence in 1861 on the occasion of the Italian Exhibition called by the Savoy, obtaining a gold medal for a 90-year-old balsamic. The Giusti family has always participated in the Expo of the late nineteenth century bringing the vinegar also directly into cask and in 1929 obtained the coat of arms of the king by Vittorio Emanuele III Vendors of the Real Casa Savoia.
If the museum finds space in what used to be the manor house of the village, a space for tastings and hospitality was set up in the former home of the workers: in 2017 20 thousand visitors came from all over the world. Because balsamic vinegar is not just a condiment, but an ingredient in all respects, and the demonstration of where ingenuity and passion can bring us.