Trout, chicken cutlets, eggs, courgettes, red mullet… You can put a lot of foods in carpione. Because carpione is a marinade with unique versatility: It is a conservation method born from the need to prolong freshness and edibility of freshwater fish, present throughout Piedmont in the many lakes and rivers. The name derives from the fish of the same name, the first to be traditionally used for the preparation “in carpione”.

The carpione in Piedmont

The classic recipe includes an initial phase of frying of the main ingredient (freshwater or saltwater fish, breaded meat or vegetables) and followed by a phase of marinade in vinegar with garlic, onions and sage. The “bagnetto” – a name used in Piedmontese to describe tasty sauces – was born when still there were no refrigerators and the only way to keep a product fresh for a long time was to preserve it inside an airtight substance.

In addition to vinegar, it was historically common to preserve fresh fish and meat in salt, in oil or in animal fatlike lard. Those who were better equipped could also resort tosmoking and to thedrying of foods, to prolong their shelf life.

Like most traditional dishes that have survived to this day, carpione has origins in Piedmontese poor cuisine. It climbed the social ladder, until it reached the tables of the nobles thanks to the chefs – coming from the countryside – who cooked in the palaces and castles. Even today it is a very popular dish in Piedmont, you can taste it in traditional version in the taverns and trattorias of the region and in innovative versions in large restaurants, such as the Langhe carpione by Enrico Crippa, chef of the three-starred restaurant Cathedral Square in Alba.

Carpione around Italy

Piedmont It is not the only region to boast a typical vinegar-based preparationis also found in most of the southern regions that have undergone Arab influence, and in the version of “scapece” or “scabeccio” in Liguria. The etymology of the name this time does not derive from the name of an animal, but from the Spanish escabecheliterally a vinegar sauceThe Piedmontese version strictly requires the addition of sage, garlic and onions, while scapece – depending on the recipe – can be added to wine, mint, bay leaves, pepper or saffron.

Also in Veneto There is a vinegar-based preparation that is part of the regional gastronomic tradition: saor. A marinade commonly used for sardines that involves the addition of onions, raisins and pine nuts to the vinegar base, whose name derives from the dialect term for “flavor”.

Three very similar processes but with three very different origins – as the etymologies of the names attest – even if all created to respond to the same problem: food preservation without a refrigerator.

20 recipes in carpione