Categoria: RURALITUDINE

ruralitudine

2018 the year of italian food

2018 the year of italian food.

it is a news by Mipaaf – politicheagricole.it and Mibact – beniculturali.it

The 2018 Year of Italian Food, will promote the intertwining of art, food and landscape, which represent the best cultural attractions of our country.

A glass of wine in the hand of Bacchus, abundant dishes of game, fish and shellfish for a lavish feast, baskets full of bunches of grapes, breads, apples and pomegranates, cascades of cherries of all the red pantones. It is art that first recognizes the cultural value of food, its symbolic, social and aesthetic value, as well as vital, from the Greek-Roman era to the advent of baroque and contemporary art. So the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism, together with the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, inaugurates the 2018 Year of Italian Food with a social campaign focused on food and signature dishes, those made with tempera and light dark, in marble or ceramic, beautiful to conceive scent and taste.

The Instagram account @museitaliani mails and shares about 50 digital posters, among which are the Karo stele at the Egyptian Museum in Turin, the Cena with nuptials by Gherardo delle Notti, the Still Life with peppers and grapes by Giorgio De Chirico, so like the sculptures by Darren Bader at the Madre Museum in Naples and the advertising posters kept at the Salce Museum in Treviso. They could not miss the Last Supper by Leonardo, the frescoes of Pompeii, the still lifes of the Villa Medicea of Poggio a Caiano and the paintings of the Neapolitan School.

The rules of the social campaign do not change: the invitation to visit the more than 420 museums, archaeological parks and places of Italian culture continues to seek, photograph and share the theme of the month with the hashtag #annodelciboitaliano.

Announced by Ministers Franceschini and Martina last June, the 2018 Year of Italian Food will enhance and promote the interweaving of art and landscape food, which represent the best cultural attractions of our country. Sharing photos will become a collective report that, through food, will also tell the story of our society, the evolution of taste, highlighting how much the enogastronomic heritage is part of Italian identity.

All info about #annodelciboitaliano available at: www.beniculturali.it/annodelciboitaliano

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logo #annodelciboitaliano:

The link between food, art and landscape will also be the heart of the tourism promotion strategy that will be continued throughout 2018. Several initiatives will be launched to raise awareness and promote, even in terms of tourism, historical rural landscapes, for the involvement and the promotion of supply chains and there will be a specific focus on the food waste reduction.

Italian Maurizio Martina ministry of agricultural and food and Dario Franceschini ministriy of forestry and cultural heritage and tourism announce they proclaimed the 2018 National Year of Italian Food. Starting in January, events, initiatives and events linked to the culture and to the enogastronomic tradition of Italy will take place.

All the initiatives of the Year of Italian food will be characterized by the official logo.

It will focus on the appreciation of UNESCO recognitions related to food such as the Mediterranean Diet, the vine of Pantelleria, the landscapes of the Langhe Roero and Monferrato, Parma, the creative city of gastronomy and the recently inscribed Art of Neapolitan pizzaiuolo. It will be an opportunity to support the candidacy already started for Prosecco and the new one linked to Amatriciana.

At the same time, initiatives will be launched to raise awareness and promote, even in terms of tourism, the historical rural landscapes, for the involvement and promotion of supply chains and there will be a specific focus on the fight against food waste. The close link between food, art and landscape will also be the heart of the tourism promotion strategy that will be continued throughout 2018 through Enit and the network of Italian embassies in the world and will highlight how the food and wine heritage is part of the heritage cultural and Italian identity.

“We have a unique heritage in the world – said Minister Maurizio Martina – that thanks to the food we will be able to enhance even more: after the great experience of Expo Milano, the national food and agricultural experience returns to be a widespread protagonist in all the territories It is not only a matter of underlining the economic successes of this sector that in 2017 touches the record of exports to 40 billion euros, but to reaffirm the deep connection between food, landscape, identity, culture. project of the food districts We will do this by involving the protagonists from farmers, breeders, fishermen and cooks, and I think that in this perspective it is right to dedicate the year of food to a figure like Gualtiero Marchesi, who truly embodied these values making them known internationally “.

“After the success of the 2016 National Year of the Roads and the 2017 National Year of the villages, 2018 will be the Year of Italian food, an important opportunity to enhance and put into the system the many extraordinary excellences and make a big investment for the image of our country in the world Thanks to the collaboration of the Ministries of Culture and Agriculture, Italy will be able to promote itself abroad in an integrated and intelligent way enhancing the intertwining of food, art and landscape that is surely one of the elements badges of Italian identity “. The Minister for Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism, Dario Franceschini announces the launch of a social communication campaign for state museums from January 1, 2018, which focuses on the relationship, over the centuries, between the arts and food and wine, underlining the fundamental role in the construction of Italian cultural heritage.

All info about #annodelciboitaliano available at: www.beniculturali.it/annodelciboitaliano

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logo #annodelciboitaliano:

2018-01-02
Why do we have to wait for Black-Friday?

Why do we have to wait for Black Friday?

Here are some simple tips for purchasing on-line wine, food and more on Dispensa dei Tipici.

Getting discounts does not have to be a prerogative of the Black Friday only, you can also choose to pay the goods at a fair price throughout the year.

There are so many smart ways to buy at discount prices online or in person, just do a search on search engines and you’ll find thousands of them.

Here are some simple tips for purchasing on-line wine, food and more on Dispensa dei Tipici.

1 – Sign up and Log in to get your customized prices

It’s free, you do not have to pay anything and you are not obliged to buy minimum quantities. You can browse the products with all the calmness and tranquility you need.

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But, on the first purchase you’ll get 15% discount, applied at the cart amount

2 – Sign up and Log in to activate quantity discounts

an idea to take advantage of discounts is to do the shopping with family/friend.

Combine more people orders has three advantages:

– share and pay less the shipping costs
– pay less for products thanks to quantity discounts
– the wine and the food, shared, taste better

3 – Contact our customer service

If you do not find the product you are looking for, if you have any doubts or any other issues, please contact our Customer Service

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Yes they seem to be annoying, but you can get first sight of sales and offers and curious and tasty news by Dispensa dei Tipici.

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2017-11-19
Novello wine, carbonic maceration and beaujolais nouveau

Novello wine, carbonic maceration and beaujolais nouveau.

it is a news by La Fillossera – lafillossera.com

The tradition of novello wine has also spread in Italy, but there are many differences with the French cousin beaujolais nouveau.

Beaujolais nouveau or primeur wine is the new wine produced in the French region of Beaujolais which is an AOC area, or appellation of origin contrôlée, similar to the Italian DOC, near Lyon.

The grape used to obtain the beaujolais nouveau wine is Gamay. The technique used for the production is carbon maceration.

What does it mean with this technique? Carbonic maceration consists in placing whole grape bunches in steel containers previously saturated with carbon dioxide. In the absence of oxygen, the grapes modify their metabolism by starting intracellular fermentation (yeast on the skins, in fact, are aerobic organisms and “fed” oxygen penetrate inside the grapes). The skins yield their colored pigments to the pulp, increase the glycerin along with the demolition of malic acid and volatile compounds are formed.

Maceration may last from 5 to 20 days at about 25 ° / 30 °. The grapes are then pressed and the must started at normal alcoholic fermentation.

Which are the characteristics of the wine obtained with carbonic maceration?

With this technique a soft wine is obtained, with a low content of tannins, in which smells are dominated by primary aromas and an alcoholic strength of not more than 11%.

Organoleptically the beaujolais nouveau wine has a brilliant red color with purple reflections, an aromatic bouquet characterized by a fresh fruity, easily drinkable and a little persistant. It can be served fresh like a white wine. For its characteristics, it must be consumed in a short time, at most within six months of bottling.

Beaujolais nouveau wine in France can be marketed from 6 November and bottled until 31 December of the vintage year.

And in Italy? The tradition of novello wine has also spread to Italy, but there are many differences with the French cousin. In Italy, in fact, any vine can be used and carbon maceration can also cover only 40% of the grapes. Also since 2012 the novello wine can be marketed starting from 00.01 on October 30th. The total minimum alcoholic strength by volume shall not be less than 11% vol. and the maximum residue limit for residual reducing sugars must not exceed 10 g / l.

Generally speaking, Italian novello wine is a marketing tactic rather than a product of our tradition and it have not to be confused with new wine because, as explained, it involve a different production technique.

It matches well with chestnuts for a seasonal mix, but it can also pair with cold cuts and cheeses not too seasoned and aromatic.

+ info about La Fillossera

+ news and info “signed” La Fillossera

2017-03-18
Aridoculture and territory. A cue for responsible water management

Aridoculture and territory. A cue for responsible water management.

it is an article by Ergane – ergane.org

Water management in agriculture is a major challenge for modern society.

Since ancient times the fertility of the soil and the presence of water have allowed the development of human civilizations. A rich soil brought nourishment to people and animals. In ancient times, great attention was paid to the management of water for irrigation: think about the Nile and ancient Egyptian lands worked.

At present, the needs imposed by the market induce small and large growers to exploit water more and more wickedly. It is estimated that in Italy more than 50% of water withdrawals are intended for irrigation purposes. Our agricultural productivity per hectare in terms of water withdrawals is the lowest among European ones. With Spain, Italy is the country that records the highest rate of water resources available, and most irrigation systems are raining. This means higher water waste, since it is understood that surface watering, especially when applied in the hottest hours of the day, as is often the case with large agricultural industries, produces a fast evaporation of water.

Agriculture and industry largely consume drinking water that often returns polluted and are the sectors that pay the lowest rates for drinking water use. The problem is clearly linked to the current economic-social model, so there is no product seasonality or territorial context, in that large-scale agricultural production, like a real food industry, does not take into account climate, temperatures , soil or other factors that could determine a specificity of production, but essentially focuses on the intensive production of standard food to feed the global market of the undifferentiated product.

Irrigation is an indispensable practice for agriculture, however it can be used according to a precise programming and balance of water availability in the soil. There are many strategies to reduce water waste in agriculture, it is enough to look back at our past and take the lead in improving future techniques.

For example, in our territory (Apulia, Italy), which has always been characterized by hot and slightly rainy summers and relatively mild winters, agricultural production in the past was essentially based on low-water crops. Today we talk about aridoculture to refer to those strategies implemented for decades by our ancestors, without any other means than direct observation of the context and the empirical evaluation of available resources. In Permaculture, sustainable and resilient ecosystem design, “Observe and Interact” is the first principle to be respected in order to be able to design in the respect of nature and without energy waste. This same approach allowed in the past to obtain more than satisfactory harvests, with zero use of manual irrigation techniques.

Aridoculture prefers, in fact, cereals, legumes and other varieties with autumn-spring cycles. In this way, the rains and the lowest temperatures are linked to this time of year: black chestnut, cicerchia (like fava bean), white beans and hemp are just some of the typical cultivations, without forgetting the olive and the vine. The production of other more needy irrigation crops must not, of course, be eliminated by our imagination, but we can think of reducing domestic and non-large-scale production and triggering other water-saving, interconnected and equally effective strategies.

For example, the use of drop irrigation systems in combination with mulching. The drip system avoids water waste because it is based on the principle of water distribution close to plant roots, in the quantity and frequency most suitable for the growth phase of the crop. Mulching, on the other hand, consists in creating a layer of 20-30 cm of straw or other organic material that acts as a constant cover for the cultivated soil, thus greatly reducing the evaporation of irrigation water and the soil is protected by direct sunlight.

There is another strategy, very similar to mulching, which is based on the use of straw of branches and raws, previously smudged and processed into chips. The BRF method, which is based on Bois Ramèaux Fragmentès (chopped fresh wood), was conceived in France by Professor Gilles Lemieux and provides full coverage of the cultivation soil with a layer of 20 cm of short chips with a diameter of less than 3 cm. Chips favor and, if necessary, recreate the biological activity of the soil (fungi or mushrooms, microflora, animal microorganisms), improves the structure of the soils, but also the power of water retention. It is essentially based on the symbiosis of mushrooms / lignin, an organic chemical component present in all plants. The mushrooms are the only ones able to biotransform lignin, digesting its enzymes and thus producing stable humus. Lignin and mushrooms have unique properties and characteristics, which make them a decisive pair for the origin of soils and yet we still know little.

Water management in agriculture is a major challenge for modern society. Lack of responsibility in the management of water resources in agriculture is much more dangerous than improper use of domestic water. Experimenting new, interconnected strategies, looking at their territorial context is the starting point for a truly sustainable agricultural model that changes the horizon of anticipation and improves the starting conditions of future generations.

+ more news by Ergane

2017-03-15
The must

The must.

it is an article by La Fillossera – lafillossera.com

The must is the juice obtained by pressing the grapes.

There are hundreds of substances that can be found inside the must, following the main ones:

Water 70-80%
Sugars 17-23%
Organic acids 0.7-1.1%
Tartaric acid 0.3-0.7%
Malic acid 0.2-0.6%
Citric acid and others 0.01-0.03%
Mineral substances 0.1-0.2%
Nitrogenous substances 0.05-0.1%
Pectic, polyphenol, anthocyanins, flavorings and precursors 0.02-0.03%

Water is the base of the must in which all other substances are dispersed. Sugar is the element that will determine the amount of ethyl alcohol in wine. Of course, much higher the must’s sugar degree will be, much higher the wine’s ethyl alcohol will be. Knowing the percentage of sugar in the must you can calculate the alcoholic strength of wine using the following formula:

% By weight of sugars in must * 0,6 (conversion factor) =% by volume of ethyl alcohol into wine

The acidity of the must is mainly related to the fixed acidity that in the wine gives that pleasant feeling of freshness. From the previous list, it is possible to observe the presence of so-called volatile acids (acetic acid) which together with the fixed ones constitute total acidity.

Polyphenols, in different shapes, along with winemaking techniques, are key to defining the personality of wine in terms of color, structure, tannicity and longevity.

The odorous substances found mainly in the skin, such as terpenes, aroma precursors and sulfur compounds, impress the aromatic characteristics of the wine. During fermentation, these elements are able to dislodge themselves from sugar molecules by releasing their aromatic kit. The main ones are related to a group of alcohols, terpenes, which are partially free and partially glycosylated. This transformation takes place through the yeast enzymes that break the glycosylated aroma into sugar and the volatile aroma which becomes perceptible by the smell.

Pectic substances, present in small quantities in small quantities, in the various forms such as pectin, gums, muclavinos and pentosans have the peculiarity of giving the wine the softness. A very useful example to understand the effects of these substances on the final product are wines obtained from grapes favored by the noble mold that exhibit a higher concentration of pectic substances that make the wines particularly soft.

Minerals and especially vitamins are the “fuel” of the yeasts and allow the latter to develop and carry out fermentative processes. The most important vitamin and B1 that has an accelerating function for alcoholic fermentation and avoids the formation of substances that can bind to sulfur dioxide. Nitrogenous substances inorganic (eg ammonium salts) favor the work of yeasts while those in organic form can cause turbidity in wine. The enzymes present in the must increase the rate of chemical reactions.

In addition to substances that favor fermentation in the must, many “indigenous” substances can be found which can result in incorrect fermentation and therefore variable quality products. Some of these are polyphenoloxidase and laccase, which are found mainly in grapes clashed by fungal parasites and which cause the oxidation of certain substances with possible oatmeal and loss of aromatic freshness. Proteases also have negative effects because they cause protein breakage, releasing amino acids and peptides that are easily assimilated by yeasts.

Corrections of the must

Corrections are mainly done to change the composition of the must that is not always optimal. Their main goal is to vary the sugar concentration and acidity as needed.

Increasing the sugar level

To increase the amount of sugar in the must you can use different methods:

Cutting with sugar-rich musts: almost in disuse.

Addition of rectified concentrated must: concentrated must is obtained by evaporating a certain amount of vacuum water to avoid sugar caramelization and alteration of organoleptic characteristics. In quality production, only rectified concentrated grape must (MCR) is used, which, as previously mentioned, undergoes a subsequent rectification by obtaining a solution of water and grape sugar with sensory profiles that remain unaltered.

Sugar Addition: Sugar addition is not allowed in Italy, apart from liqueur wines, while in some areas of northern Europe may be used.

Adding mild wort or sweet filtered: obtained respectively by adding a high amount of sulfur dioxide to block fermentation and centrifuging and filtration of a partially fermented must with a sugar content of 18-20%.

Increase in acidity

The increase of the acidity of the must is made by the addition of tartaric acid. The acidity level is very important because, during the fermentation, the acids are transformed and this can cause a decrease in the vivacity of the color and taste perception of freshness. Acidity also protects the must from bacterial and fungal diseases.

Decreasing acidity

This activity is very rare and is carried out by adding salts such as calcium carbonate, neutral tartrate, and potassium bicarbonate. This practice is desirable for musts obtained from grapes produced in cold vintages and therefore have not reached a perfect maturation state.

Osmosis and reverse osmosis

These methods, very expensive, are applied to reduce or increase the substances (sugars and acids) without altering the sensory characteristics of the must. The principle on which it is based is the use of a semi-transparent diaphragm which has the property of passing, in the case of osmosis, a portion of less concentrated liquid to the more concentrated liquid and, in the case of reverse osmosis, a portion of liquid With greater concentrations towards the liquid with a lower concentration. In the first case, less concentrated musts are obtained and in the second case concentrates more concentrated.

Concentrators with cold vacuum evaporator

This method has been spreading in recent years due to the quality of the final product with a remarkable increase in extractive substances. In addition, the equipment used has a minimum footprint and is very easy to use. The machining mode is to deprive the solid part of the solid part and send it to a small reservoir within which a push depression is created that evaporates pure water at a temperature of 22 to 24 ° C.

Must treatments

The must before going to the winemaking stage is subjected to various treatments aimed at promoting fermentation, enhancing its characteristics and avoiding unpleasant effects due to bacteria or molds. Below we will look at the different treatments:

Clarification

Is made by clarifying substances such as gelatin or bentonite, casein or silica gel and then with centrifugation or delicate filtration. These activities allow the clarification of the must, also favored by the cooling that allows solid parts to fall on the bottom of the tanks. Refrigeration is achieved with insulated tanks, double wall, inside which a refrigerant is circulated.

Decanting

A treatment that is performed to clarify the must without adding of clarifiers. The treatment is done by cooling the must at temperatures from 6 to 10 ° C to reduce the solubility of the solid particles and thus promote precipitation. This treatment can be done using pectolytic enzymes that allow for more precise precipitation without the aid of clarifying substances that may alter the sensory characteristics of the must.

Addition of sulfur dioxide

Is the most widely used treatment and consists in the addition of potassium metabisulphide must. The amount of sulfur dioxide that is used depends on the bacterial charge and the effects that you want to obtain; Thanks to the antioxidant properties, it limits the damage caused by oxygen and oxidative enzymes by reducing the diurnal phenomena; Favors clarification; Inhibits the development of wild bacteria and yeasts by favoring elliptical and selected yeasts and promotes the solubilization of polyphenolic substances present in the skin.

Types of must

The must can be subjected to further treatments which give rise to various products used in the wine sector.

Must of partially fermented grapes

It is obtained by partial fermentation of grape must and having actual TAV greater than 1% in volume and less than three-fifths of its total TAV (the one which has reached the total transformation of sugars into alcohol).

Concentrated grape must

Concentrated grape must is obtained by partial dehydration using physical means excluding direct fire (which would produce sugar candy) so that the value indicated by the refractometer at 20 ° C is not less than 50.9%. The most used means to reduce the percentage of water and to obtain concentration are vacuum evaporation, refrigeration with the subsequent removal of water as ice. The grape must used must have a minimum natural TAV set for the wine-growing area and belong to specific cultivars. Its effective TAV must be equal to or greater than 1% vol.

Rectified concentrated grape must (ZUI)

The rectified concentrated grape must (ZUI) is the non-caramelized liquid product obtained by partial dehydration of grape must. Performed by any authorized method, excluding direct fire, so that the value indicated by the refractometer at a temperature of 20 ° C, used according to a method to be established, is not less than 61,7%. Adjusted concentrated must is to be considered a private product of all those natural substances, other than sugar and water, which could make organoleptic changes to the must to which it is added. Its use makes it possible not to apply both must and wine to further correction procedures, guaranteeing wines of a certain quality.

Mute must

The mute must is a must to which sulfur dioxide has been added in order to stop its fermentation. It is said to be “silent” because of the absence of the typical gurgling of the fermentative process.

Cooked must

Parsley caramelised fruit obtained by the elimination of water from must or mussel by direct heating to normal atmospheric pressure. The resulting sugar concentration is subject to measurements with a Babo or Baumé density meter, which is calibrated at a well-defined reading temperature. If the reading temperature deviates from the calibration value, a correction coefficient must be entered.
Sweet filtered. Partly partially fermented, whose further fermentation has been obstructed by filtration or centrifugation, and with the aid of other treatments and practices permitted.

“Mistella” or “sifone”

Product obtained from a must with total natural alcohol of not less than 12 °, rendered not-fermentable by the addition of wine spirits or spirits in quantities such as to produce the alcoholic strength of alcohol (actual alcoholic strength by volume) between 16% and 20% % Vol.

+ news by La Fillossera

2017-03-13
Fake news food

Fake news food.

it is an article from Coldiretti Giovani Impresa – giovanimpresa.coldiretti.it

With fake news food, for 3 Italians on 4 scary at table.

Three Italians of four (equal to 66%) are concerned about the impact of what they eat on own health, also due to the fake news food on the characteristics of foods that are multiplying in the net and pushing on senseless and even dangerous behaviors.

This is what emerges from the Coldiretti / ixe survey, which was presented at the Coldstream Campaign campaign organized by Coldiretti and the dall’Osservatorio sulla criminalità nell’agricoltura e sul sistema agroalimentare during the training course, organized in collaboration with the Scuola Superiore della Magistratura.

The web is becoming a place in which easily communicate fake news about food with a worrying avalanche effect in a situation where, according to the Coldiretti / Ixe ‘survey, 53% of Italians used it at least occasionally during the year to collect Information on the quality of food.

About 25% of Italians participate in community / blog / internet chat focused on food, which affects purchasing choices in a not always correct and truthful way. “Incorrect food information has a greater weight than in other areas because it directly affects health. That is why we must pay particular attention to and be grateful to those who are committed to revealing deception, “said Coldiretti President Roberto Moncalvo. “The Internet, however, should not be criminalized because it can play an important role in a system where,” said Moncalvo, “food information unfortunately is likely to be influenced primarily by large multinationals through the availability of invested advertising resources.

For us fake news food is also the advertising of oranges that contain just 12% of juice or that of olive oil of great brands that imagine Tuscan landscapes while it contains the one imported from Tunisia or still the ham that is made with pork Germans without any labeling information for consumers”.

2017-02-28
Eat that are good for you.. the fava beans

Eat that are good for you.. the fava beans.

Article taken from biodiversitapuglia.it by Antonella Berlen

Eat, that’s good for you, patiently solicited the grandmother, while the granddaughter was in front of a soup with pumpkin and beans with their skins.

I was wandering with obstinate slowness my spoon for the dark and dense bottom of the pot, in the undertaking to remove all the pieces of pumpkin from unwelcome contact with the fava beans, and suspicions of pale sparkling garlic pieces, drawned under many rounds of extra virgin olive oil.

I just could not swallow that soup. And it was not even clear to me how it could get me all the good, that my grandmother believed, I thought she lied shamelessly to tempt me to eat.

When I think about that moment, I imagine myself in a painting with farmers around a table lighted by a low light, with my eyes looking to the flypaper hunging from the lamp, trying to count how many flies, flying flying approaching the light, were remaining imprisoned.

While watching them, gingerly pushing the plate towards the center of the table in the hope that some fortunate flyer, in an attempt to break away by the flypaper, was loosing a wing falling inside the plate, saving me from that soup.

But the flypaper was lethal, and mortifying my expectations, that event never occurred.

And even in the case it might have happened, thinking back, I’m not certain that my grandma would have passed to the dog or to the chickens that unwelcome meal.

The grandmother would have pulled away the poor fly and the dish would have remained on the table. Although in that case I might have motivated the refusal asking to replace with bread and cheese…

But how was I confess that I did not fill the spoon because I was afraid by the fava beans? And that it was because of those their thin lips curved, that made the fava beans alive and grinning at may eyes. I did not bring it to my mouth!

With my eyes fixed on the plate, I used just to say: “I do not like!”.

And my grandmother, to respond: “But if you have not yet tasted!”.

And I, to close that tight exchange of words: “I just know it!”.

At that point, my grandmother, with a deep sigh, was convinced to eliminate the fava beans, which were the ones that made me better than everything, and I used to scrape up and ate all the pieces of pumpkin, taking them from the cooking liquid in the pot.

They tasted of clay pot flavor, extra virgin olive oil and garlic. And fava bean..

It was not bad, but, although I began secretly to familiarize with that flavor, I continued to eat slowly demonstrating a sad expression, to show despite the removal of the legume all the effort that cost me to please my grandmother.

So, slowly, thanks to the taste mediated by those pieces of pumpkin, I have learned to accept the complete pot and appreciate that solid and precious soup with fava beans.

And I realized, after some time, that the grandmother was not lying urging me to eat that plate of beans and pumpkin, and that her confident and affectionate “eat that is good for you”, no matter what food she was referring (garlic, pumpkin or beans with peel were all products of her farming work) was convinced, sincere and conscious.

My grandmother lovingly cared for her fields while my grandfather was in America, and she particularly kept me to eat the fava beans because, as a good farmer she was, she knew and liked by experience both the taste and the beneficial properties.

They were easy to be cultivated and had beneficial effects on the soil ground. They could be enjoyed fresh in the spring, after being pulled out of the skin, alone or accompanied by bread and sheep’s cheese, or they could be enjoyed dry in the winter, with peel or without, in soups and tasty soups, fried or cooked in the ashes.

My grandmother did not definitely know terms such as nitrogen, minerals, folic acid, potassium, antioxidants, herbal and fiber plant sterols, nor the names of all minerals contained in those beans, and even how long existed on this earth and where they came from . It was enough to know that there were, and they were very good to cook and useful to “move my bowels” regularly, to maintain a low body pressure and, as they were rich in iron to treat anemia. What more could do you want from a fava bean?

Every good farmer, in the past, had within him a natural sailed pharmacist, expert not what they contained certain foods or herbs, but for what they were useful to treat or prevent.

My grandma was a good farmer.

And hers “eat, which is good for you” was the right thing to say.

But who knows what would have thought, if I’d revealed that those beans would come a long way, and 50 years later would come up, but much higher than any other legume contemplated in fables.

Because a courageous and determined Princess would travel between stars, planets and blacks holes always taking with her beans, lentils, fava beans and black chickpeas, confirming her healthy eating habits and the fact that, in fables, between princesses and vegetables has always been there a certain feeling.

My grandmother would probably listen to me with her holy patience and despite the scientific side of this revelation, she probably had taken the advantage of my fantasy, and would say: Have you seen?

She bring with her because they make her feel good!

So, stop making all these moaning, and eat!

My grandmother used to put the fava beans in water in the evening.

The next morning she passed, in a clay pot called “u ‘pignatidd” setting it into a corner of the chimney, with bay leaves, pepper grains and water.

Then she used to cut an high slice from the central part of a large onion, dropping them on the mouth of the pot.

I never wondered if she use to do that to replace a lid or to take advantage and use the steam even to cook the onion, then she ate apart seasoned with extra virgin olive oil and salt.

Every time she went to check the cooking status, she added if necessary, more hot water that was holded in a small saucepan. If necesary she used to regulate salty.

Meanwhile she cooked pumpkin, cutted into large pieces, and kept aside in a plate covered by another plate, under a table cloth.

When fava beans was right, she pulled out of the water and added to the pumpkin, adding salt if necessary and small pieces of garlic, and a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil.

images by biodiversitapuglia.it

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2017-02-18
The wine’s minerality is a metaphor
The wine’s minerality is a metaphor.

Article taken from vinopigro.it by Elisabetta Tosi

These are interesting times for a philosopher …

Some have banished the word from his wine descriptors vocabulary, those who continue to use it, in the belief of being however understood by all, and there are those who does not give up to the smokiness of the concept and insists to seek an explanation for something else. Yes, we speak of wine’s minerality, that strange thing that escapes the canonical classifications of fruity / spicy / floral / tertiary tastes-perfumes and so on. In short: when the wine reminds us of something, but we can not say precisely what, rejected all the usual descriptions, at the end, usually, it is termed mineral .For this, personally, am not so hostile to the word: for lack better than, is just one way (vague, generic) to call something that is neither fruity or spicy, etc.).

Not just common mortals and the experts seems to be curious about this odor / flavor; even the Masters of Wine have organized a special study session on the subject, which The Wine Monkeys related.

In short terms:
- The minerals present in the rocks of the soils on which they grow vines are not transmitted to the plants. Nor to their clusters. Even less to the final wine. The minerals that serve to its survival screw brings them out of the ground, or rather from the humus;
- As someone has already suggested, the minerals in itself does not smell like anything. The flint did not smell nor taste. What we label as “scents of flint” it could actually be the result of a mechanical action (rubbing, speak) which releases sulfur and iron particles in the air, which got some perfumer, in fact.
- Conclusion: boh? Whatever it is the wine minerality, it is not the taste of the minerals present in the vineyard.
Is that enough? No. The agreement about wine minerality is only apparent. For winemakers means everything and nothing – a few of them, interviewed during a research meeting, came to submit 17 groups of terms, ranging from floral to gunpowder – and the consumers have an even more vague concept. At the end, it was concluded that the minerality is a concept that exists (as it is used), but that does not have any precise and unambiguous definition, because the terms used to describe it are too many and often contradictory.

At this point, there was nothing to do, but a group of Masters of Wine have been submitted for a blind tasting of 15 white wines that – in the collective imaginary – are defined as “minerals”. Cause – we assume – the different participants’ sensitivity to that feature, at the end not even the Masters of Wines have shown unanimous consent. If you say that a wine is mineral, you don’t mean much, they agreed at the end.

Moral? It is not clear what can be attributed what we call minerality of a wine, and it is not even clear what is meant, at the end, for minerality.

Maybe it’s a metaphor (of our confused times). Or, as someone suggested, it is just one way (yet another) to confuse the poor, unsuspecting consumers …

Ps: perhaps the best definition of minerality has due to the soil scientist Lydia Bourguignon: “minerality is the perception that has the taste of mineral rocks”, although so saying introduce a new additional element of discussion: the concept of perception …

Yes, they are interesting times for a philosopher.

(Pictured, a white limestone #crurock by a cru of Valpolicella)

images by vinopigro.it

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2017-02-13
The myrtle: the everlasting love plant

The myrtle: the everlasting love plant.

article read on lastregadelsud.wordpress.com written by Valentina Lisci Spina

As ever this year I witnessed heated debates on the fruit picking, herbs, flowers, berries and mushrooms. Just passed the period of the olives, including a “they are too green” and “they are too black” to be collected, it was the turn of the myrtle.

And even I, modestly, I suffered my dose of scolding for having picked up, listen, listen, before December 6. The feast of St. Nicholas, according to local old men, opens the dance to Myrtle harvest. I do not know why (but if someone knows, I will be pleased to find it out).

With climate change we are witnessing, harvesting the fruits of nature is no longer regulated by more or less stable given. The berries were so purple and juicy that I collected, without ceremony, but to thank the huge old trees that have offered me. The only indication that I follow for the collection of berries (not only myrtle) is one of common sense: not too raw, not too ripe.

This shrub grows florid Mediterranean vegetation, blooms in late spring and often blooms again in the summer. The flowers inebriating fragrance were used in the preparation of ” water of the angels “. The berries appear at the end of autumn, can be harvested from late November to late January, and are processed immediately, even during the dayorder not to lose aromas and properties.

Myrtle, “sa murta”, is known for the excellent liqueur made from it, a digestive unmissable in Sardinia.

In the kitchen it is an incredible spice, in addition to many dishes.

The latest trend is to use it to garnish ice cream (I like!).

If you want to obtain a jam, please, do not do like me, take care not to crush the berries too otherwise the result will be so astringent to suck you in the mouth! The action of the tannins, responsible precisely the astringent taste, is attenuated by the time: to have a softer flavor the best is to wait a few months before consuming either jam and liquor.

In phytocosmetics, the essential oil is used in creams, soaps, shampoo and shower gel, because thanks to its anti-inflammatory, astringent and balsamic, cleanses and tones the skin.

In some areas of Italy is used to put some small branches of myrtle in the bride’s bouquet, because it is considered a symbol of eternal love. Plinio called it “myrtus coniugalis”, and it is no coincidence that the plant of the myrtle is consecrated to Venus, goddess of love.

In short terms, myrtle holds together and make falling in love … especially those who discover it for the first time!

Have a good collection and prudent tasting!

Valentina

photo by lorenzovinci.ilgiornale.it e idrotermevillasor.it

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2016-12-17