Tag: tells

How much sugar does my child consume? The sugar meter tells you! – Italian Cuisine

A new online tool is born to compare how much sugar our children consume with how much they should consume to avoid health risks

Excessive consumption of sugar in the diet can cause health problems. According to the Larns (Reference Intake Levels for the Italian Population) drawn up by the Sinu (Italian Society of Human Nutrition), the consumption of sugars (those naturally present in foods and those added) should be limited to quantities of less than 15% of the energy introduced daily, while a high intake, i.e. greater than 25% of the total daily energy, is to be considered potentially risky for the development, for example, of obesity is diabetes. In this sense, the most at risk are the children, more subject to the consumption of baked goods, sweets, juices, ice cream For this reason, nutritionists and pediatricians engaged in the service of Grana Padano Nutritional Education, the sector of the Grana Padano Consortium that has been promoting and disseminating the principles of balanced nutrition for over ten years, have devised a tool which allows you to calculate sugar that every day is consumed compared to what one should consume, also proposing healthy alternatives with less sugar.

Sugarometer, a tool for pediatricians, schools, families

The sugar meter can be used by smartphone, tablet or PC and is already available at this link. The program, supporting a pediatricians, schools and families, it can be used by the doctor and dietician as part of the food anamnesis, in the classroom as a teaching tool and in the family to guide the parent towards a more responsible choice of food for their children.

How the sugar meter works

With a simple click on the foods that are consumed daily and after indicating the quantity, the tool adds up the simple sugars consumed in a day from males and females from 2 to 17 years, measuring both the sugar naturally present in the food, and the added sugars during the processing of baked goods, ice creams, creams, etc., such as sucrose and fructose. After displaying the sum of the teaspoons of sugar consumed in a day, the program la compare with the amount of sugar you should be taking instead according to the Larn benchmarks. The sugar meter does not just warn about the excessive consumption of sugars, but also provides a free pdf manual that offers healthier alternative foods with less sugar, including simple recipes to make at home, as well as useful notes to learn more about the food and its consumption limits.

Beware of added fructose

An 8-year-old male child should on average consume no more than 7-8 teaspoons of sugar in a day, including that naturally contained in the food. According to the experts it is fine favor the sugar naturally contained in food, for example fructose in fresh fruit or lactose in milk, but you have to limit the added amount and to sweeten prefer honey. It is also important to limit the consumption of beverages and foods formulated with fructose and high fructose corn syrups, as well as reducing the use of fructose such as sweetener.

"In addition to the excessive consumption of sugar, a big problem that we have been observing for a long time, in recent years the intake of fructose added to drinks and foods has increased," explained the professor Claudio Maffeis, Full Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Verona. «This contributes to the appearance of fat liver and the increase in circulating levels of lipids and has been indicated as one of the factors that promote excess weight and metabolic syndrome. So good there fresh fruit, but pay attention to sucrose (commonly understood sugar as well as disaccharide, ie glucose + fructose) which is usually added to drinks and foods, to fructose used to sweeten some drinks and to fruit juices or packaged foods .

Beppe Palmieri, the best maître in the world, tells his story – Italian Cuisine

Interview with the master and sommelier of the Franciscan Osteria in Modena. That reveals the honors and burdens of a room master. Between rigor, passatelli and zero alcohol. In 25 career years

"This is the historic office of me and Massimo, it has existed for about 15 years. A space only ours .

I'm with Giuseppe Palmieri, called Beppe, restaurant manager, maître historian and sommelier of the Franciscan Osteria in Modena, in his "secret refuge" a stone's throw from the restaurant, a place full of contemporary art, a long wooden table, like those of the famous Franciscan Refectors of the Food for Soul project, for their meetings and a wardrobe room where he, very elegant, changes every day before the service. Called "the most famous waiter in the world", Palmieri is practically a legend in the sector. But he mocks "I consciously chose the role of wingman years ago", but without victimization, indeed "the real revolution takes place in the dining room. It is here that the economic success and ideas of a chef are decreed. What makes the difference? The human factor . We at La Cucina Italiana spent a day with the staff of Massimo Bottura's restaurant, (the service in the July issue, co-directed with the chef) twice better in the world according to the ranking World’s 50 Best Restaurant, also meeting him, since 2000 at the service in via Stella, in Modena, in the room taken 5 years earlier by Bottura. Born in Matera in 1975, a strong and determined character, he has a blog with the evocative name Glocal, a manifesto of his vision of food and catering, a book «Room and Kitchen (Artioli 1899, pp. 169, 35 euros), logbook of his experience in Osteria Francescana. Entrepreneur, he managed for 7 years a grocery store selling high quality sandwiches, in Modena, the legendary Geni Alimentari Da Panino, which after the lockdown decided to close but only to look at new adventures and «keep up with the times .

How do you manage a hall from the first in the world?
«It has always been natural for us to look at the collective, there are no groups: for this reason, from the oldest to the youngest we have always placed and related on the same level. I built it immediately: to function, our structure could not be vertical but horizontal, making us equally responsible ".

What does a good waiter stand out from?
«I love to repeat that waiters are made, not born, experience, work ethic are required. Then the leadership and talent actually emerge on their own. A leader is recognized for his sense of responsibility towards his colleagues. I find the term "collaborators" detestable. If you invest in an authentic way on a relationship of esteem and friendship between colleagues in a strong way, great respect is born, there are no subordinates .

Explain yourself better
«If you have a dream, you need others to make it happen: everyone must give something, with the same commitment, with the utmost pride. Then of course, it takes self-discipline and an exceptional psychophysical condition that allows you to go beyond your limits. We must be well, be happy with what we do. If the individual is not aligned, it compromises the work of the whole .

It is said that even if Hell is in the kitchen, Heaven must reign in the dining room. How do you find time to recharge and how do you manage to always transmit harmony, even in your busy days?
"There is a very important moment for me and it is when I come to my" bedroom ", as I call it, right in this studio. Here I change and pick up my clothes. I have a ritual that particularly relaxes me: I rinse my face, always rest the keys on the same place, brush my teeth, choose the dress, polish the shoes, tie my tie. In all, I don't spend more than 10 minutes .

Very short as relaxation.
"It's the spirit of the room, you can't stop."

It is always very elegant: is shape also substance?
«I think so, given my role. Even in what I wear, I want to give importance to my past, and therefore to things that are of a certain age. Let me give you an example: a shirt or a jacket even if they wear out, I am certainly not to be archived: first of all because they remind me of experiences and those lived moments give value. Then because a quality garment, the older it gets, the more beautiful it is. Imperfections give charm .

Is there a dish that you associate with many meals eaten with the staff of the Osteria Francescana? Maybe a holiday recipe?

«I think what I loved most here was the passatelli in broth. When we grant them, and occasions are really rare, that dish takes on the connotations of a kind of comfort. It represents us more than others because it is a great historical recipe from Emilia. Then it has a symbolic value: it is the recovery dish par excellence, although prepared with noble ingredients. Broth is a luxury: to make it good, you need excellent raw materials and a long time. Finally, there is a world in the dough for passatelli: the bread crumbs and another main ingredient for us of the Francescana, or the crusts of Parmigiano Reggiano. Finally, to prepare them you need the contribution of an entire community because you have to collect many ingredients. Usually it works like this: there are those who remember that there are two bags of leftover bread or a little grated Parmesan. Then in 2 or 3 the broth is prepared. It is one of the dishes of our collective in which I have not seen anyone reject the encore. Then, every time there is a comic aspect … ".

Comic?
«Yes: the moment you use passatelli, the rough path from the pot to the chair begins. We see broths falling, people sliding. We laugh. This too is part of the party, of the magic .

In the Franciscan hall, there are incredible works of contemporary art: what do they represent for you?
"Those who make avant-garde re-discuss the classics: here, these works are the proof, the summa. On the other hand, I like to think that we have always lived in rigor. "

In fact, his motto is "low profile, very high performance". It has a military feel to it.
"Exact. From an artistic point of view there is a work that represents me and that I find at the same time a milestone. It has been exhibited for several years right here in Franciscan: Us Navy Seals by Vanessa Beecroft. For the first time a woman managed to photograph these deployed US Navy soldiers. It means breaking a bulwark. The same approach that guides the creation of our dishes .

You are a great sommelier: how does the staff toast?
"It does not do it. In our history of the Franciscan, in 25 years, we have never drunk a glass of wine. We love what we do so much that we couldn't do otherwise. The luxury of a good glass of wine, whether it is a Nebbiolo, a Sangiovese, a Lambrusco or a glass of Bordeaux, we grant it when we are not operating. The secret for those who do our job is concentration in the intensity of the effort. Always".

There is a spy in the cart (which tells us how we are) – Italian Cuisine

The food remains an authentic passion for Italians: even if they have to pull the case crisisin fact, the budget for the food sector "holds" (14.2% of family spending, two percentage points more than the average European) as taste remains the driving factor in the choice of food for 78 out of 100 Italians. Instead, the to cook like a little less. The time spent in the kitchen has been drastically reduced: 37 minutes average per day against 60 of twenty years ago. In parallel, purchases have increased ready meals (from salads in a bag to cooked dishes) and electric pots (instant pots) for quick cooking. And then more and more often we eat outside the home (36% of food spending). But above all the habit of ordering is spreading lunch or dinner on the phone or on the web and app to have them delivered directly to your home, as more than one does Italian out of four. It was the edition that photographed the habits of Italians 2019 of the Coop Report, Which explores the evolution of our country, both in terms of consumption and lifestyles and attitudes social. An observatory that, year after year, has become an important compass to understand how it is changing Italy just starting from the supermarket cart and the articulation of the expenses of the families.

Sushi is the sprinter among the "fast" dishes
Rapid and protein: these are the three characteristics of Italians' favorite food in the last year. The search for a difficult one equilibrium between private life and large load of work (400 hours a year more than the Germans), coveted by one Italian in two, pushes to prefer ready-made foods short while and with little effort. And so in a year the sales of "Instant food" increased by 9.3% to € 1.6 billion. And the offer has also increased: from the carpaccio di meat or fish with pizza, from stuffed pasta to meatballs, from pasta salads to polenta, from the fruit ready to the shelled dried fruit, there is only the embarrassment of the choice. The one that stands out on all these proposals is the sushi: 42% of those who do the super shopping usually buy it when they go to do the expense.

The menu turns into a single dish. Single
The Italian meal, with courses well marked by the appetizer sweet? Filed for the holidays. In everyday life the main dish wins, better if ready, even in a more meaningful sense large (from the first or second courses ready to fourth range fruit and vegetables) and without preclusion towards the most meal solutions modern, represented by replacement bars, by snacks sweet or savory. All product categories with growing sales, often in double digits. Something is also on the beverage front changing. We remain the land of wine, we continue to love the "bubbles" (and so we buy more and more sparkling and prosecco), but we are more and more "Beer lover": we bought them 7 million of hectoliters in 6 months.

Italian? It is always better
THE'Italianness is another key theme reported by the Coop Report. Half of Italians when shopping must be guided by the values of "made in Italy" and the supply chain. And these attributes come to count even more than taste and taste price. 78% of consumers are reassured from products with 100% Italian origin, whose sales in 2018 are grew 4.8% compared to the previous year. Another 42% believe that a controlled / safe supply chain is synonymous with quality. Therefore, the area of security is the predominant one in the choice of what buy and consume, and is worth more than double compared to pleasure e gratification (20%).

Gourmet always, more and more healthy
There is another basic trend that has been accompanying us for some years: it is the salutismo, which drives food spending by 27% of Italians. For 71% of Italians eat with quality food it is the most important habit to cultivate one's well-being. And this attitude is expressed in many ways different. Among those that emerged in the last year, the first is the preference for foods rich in fibers to the detriment of those who mainly supply fats and carbohydrates. In fact the food that has seen more purchases increase has been vegetables (+ 8%) and even fruit was purchased more than in 2017 (+ 2.2%). The second phenomenon of the year is the boom of the flavored waters (+ 164.7% sales by value) that goes hand in hand with the parallel collapse of the sodas carbonated. The advance of dried fruit continues (+ 4.1%). And then there is the "sanctification" of the protein, linked to physical form, performance and tone. You are in the shopping cart more cold cuts (+ 2.9%), more cheeses (+ 1.5%), more dairy products (+ 1.1%) and even more meat which, after years of crisis, has returned to growth (+ 3.5%). Also in 2019 the increase in sales of meat continues (especially packaged (+ 13.2%) while collapse those of substitute products, such as vegetable frankfurters, frozen ready meals veg, tofu, seitan and croquettes vegetable.

Also in Italy comes the "Greta effect"
The most recent novelty is concrete ecologism, that is the adoption of choices and styles of consumption that are attentive to the sustainability environmental, which in the case of food drives the expenditure of 22% of Italians. From the growth of the shared mobility (adopted by 4 out of 10 Italians) to the preference for fashion clothing sustainable (1 Italian out of four) to finish with the attention to search on the labels indications, stamps and information on sustainability (one Italian in two). And this sensitivity green is even greater in young people, who fall fully within the definition of "generation Greta ", and in the over 40s, the so-called "perennials", which are much greener than the millennials. Yet this desire for purchases "Ecological" he is not yet completely satisfied with what is on the market. Only 16.4% of the companies proposes eco-friendly products and so 14% of consumers find it difficult to make a purchase "Green".

Manuela Soressi
October 2019