Tag: Tree

The Spaghetti Tree and the Story of the BBC Prank – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

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For a moment (or perhaps longer) millions of Britons believed in the existence of a spaghetti tree. It happened in 1957 because of a BBC documentary that aired on April 1st. It was supposed to be an April Fool’s joke, in fact: a stunt that no one thought could be taken seriously. Instead it became legendary, even remembered like the first joke ever to air on TV.

The Spaghetti Tree Documentary

Protagonist of the story aired on the main television broadcaster in the United Kingdom, a small Swiss family from the Canton of Ticino which, in a particularly hot spring, finds itself grappling with an incredible harvest of spaghettii: soft strings of pasta that emerge from the tree branches. When looking at those images, the British are struck: almost no one in the 1950s knows about spaghetti, it is considered an exotic ingredient. Those few who eat them buy ready-made spaghetti, seasoned in a jar.

The incredible stories of Richard Dimbleby

But the documentary is convincing, also thanks to the narrative voice of the highly credible BBC television host Richard Dimbleby and his detailed story. A story in which theItaly for “the incredible plantations of spaghetti trees in the Po Valley“, where even “spaghetti grows on trees all of the same length”. «For lovers of this dish – says Dimbleby in the documentary – there is nothing better than real spaghetti, grown at home!. All this with the complicity of the Austrian cinematographer Charles De Jaeger, most likely the mastermind of the joke since shortly after he lets it be known that at school the teacher accused his classmates of being so stupid as to believe that a spaghetti tree could exist. It is Charles De Jaeger who thinks of hanging spaghetti on the tree and, after a series of attempts to find the perfect consistency, i.e. the most realistic one possible, he succeeds and shoots the video.

The result? BBC telephone switchboard down, besieged by thousands of people asking for information on how to grow spaghetti at home so they can eat them as soon as they are picked. «Just put a sprig of spaghetti in a can of tomato sauce and hope for the best, reply the operators, reserving apologies for those who do not grasp the (British) humor of the documentary and protest against the fact that the BBC has broadcast a fake. Whether it’s a joke, many don’t care.

The legend of the spaghetti tree

The fake, however, set a precedent, so much so that ten years later in Australia the Melbourne television station HSV-7 invented it a similar story starring a Sicilian family, with less pleasant implications for the journalist and presenter Dan Webb. After the airing of another made-up story about spaghetti trees, Webb is forced by the publisher to respond personally, with handwritten letters of apology, to the requests and protests of angry viewers because they cannot tolerate attending certain masses on stage.

What happened to the spaghetti tree

Meanwhile, the spaghetti tree has become a legend, so much so that over the years in Anglo-Saxon countries even food education campaigns have been launched (the cover photo is of one of these) which have made it the protagonist. Campaigns to explain to children that no, unfortunately this tree doesn’t exist, that spaghetti comes from durum wheat, but also that the real ones are really good. If they are then seasoned with tomato, they are a delight.

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Christmas tree cookies – Italian Cuisine

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Put all the powders (flour, cocoa, sugar and yeast) in a bowl and mix.

Also add chopped butter and eggs and start working.

Once you have a homogeneous dough, wrap it with cling film and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Take the dough again, roll it out into a fairly thin sheet and create your own trees (my mold had the star already integrated, but of course a normal tree without a star is also fine).
Arrange the saplings on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then bake for about 10 minutes at 180 ° C, in a preheated convection oven, then remove from the oven and let it cool completely.

Prepare the ice: put the sugar in a small bowl and add the lukewarm water, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing well: you should get a thick but fluid mixture (if not, add a little more water or powdered sugar, depending on the situation, to make it more fluid or denser).

Once you have a nice smooth icing, add the food coloring and mix well to get a uniform color.

At this point you can proceed with the decoration: using a sac-à-poche with a very small hole, create the green base for your tree, then add sprinkles, mini Smarties or other decorations to create the decorations.
Let it rest at room temperature until the ice has dried well.

The Christmas tree cookies are ready, you just have to serve them.

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The show of the Christmas tree of Gubbio – Italian Cuisine

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It is the largest Christmas tree in the world made up of threads of thousands of lights that are placed on the mountain overlooking the city, a characteristic village between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, where you can taste typical dishes such as crescia al panaro

One evening, in 1981, a Gubbio, a characteristic town ofUmbria, someone had the bizarre idea to fill in the Mount Ingino of lights, starting from the medieval village and reaching the basilica dedicated to Sant’Ubaldo, patron saint of the city. Forty years later those lights represent, as ascertained by the Guinness Book of Records, thebiggest Christmas tree in the world and, according to a recent research by DYS.com which analyzed Google searches and Instagram hashtags, also the best known worldwide.

The tree of Gubbio, a magic of thirty football fields

The Christmas tree is made every year by a group of volunteers thanks to which this tradition endures over time: its installation requires 1300 hours of work on the wild slopes of the mountain. The big bright fir is accessed on December 7th with a ceremony attended by popes and presidents of the Italian Republic over the years. Composed of thousands of lights of various types and colors (there are 400 only those present within the shape of the tree) extends, starting from a base of 450 meters, for over 750 meters in height (like nearly thirty football fields). This unique show, in the course of its history, has been around the world: the wonder and the emotion it is capable of arousing, in fact, generate a feeling of closeness and brotherhood, first of all among the inhabitants of Gubbio, and then in every person who discovers it, even if only through a photo. And this year's tree is even more magical thanks to the installation, along the path on Mount Ingino, of audio points positioned on the trees that play a Christmas playlist.

Adopting a light is possible

The lighting systems of the largest Christmas tree in the world (1350 sockets and plugs are used to connect the light points) employ a power of about 35 Kw and consume on average about 11,500 Kwh every year, but part of the electricity needs are covered by a photovoltaic system which makes the tree more sustainable. Those who wish can adopt a light for a year, perhaps giving it to someone special, thus contributing to the cost of lighting the tree.

Gubbio, the city of madmen

Gubbio is nicely called the "City of fools" to emphasize the unpredictable nature of its inhabitants (which leads them to realize, in fact, enterprises such as the largest Christmas tree in the world). Visitors can also try to earn a "crazy license" with the intercession of a Gubbio (an inhabitant of Gubbio) and passing the test of three laps of running "with a fraternal and playful soul" around the Bargello fountain or "fountain of the mad" which is located in front of the fourteenth century Bargello palace, one of the buildings that characterize the city together with the Palazzo dei Consoli with its "big bell", al cathedral which dates back to the period between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, al Ducal Palace and to church of San Francesco, just to name a few, not to mention the set of squares and alleys that give the suggestion of being in the "City of stone" of Umbria between the Middle Ages and the Italian Renaissance.

Gubbio at the table

The city, surrounded by a territory of natural landscapes often unspoiled, it holds a rich heritage of art, history and culture, is characterized by handcrafted productions (such as that of ceramics, wood, iron, lutherie, plaster and leather processing) and various gastronomic specialities. They reign on the tables of Gubbio game, sausages, cheeses, oils and fine wines, without forgetting the truffle black and white, hidden in the woods of the area. Alongside grilled roasts and full-bodied tagliatelle, the most typical dishes are the Easter crescia, a fluffy cake with cheese, and the cake to the text or crescia al panaro, a sort of crushed bread, excellent with cold cuts or with freaked, a stew which can be lamb, duck, chicken and rabbit or more meats together, cooked for a long time in a pan with tomato, anchovies, white wine.

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