Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Pitigliano in Tuscany

Jewish conclave from the 1600

The southern tip of the Maremma Toscana is made of an array of colors, huge pine trees and coast narrow roads. Here and there I notice well-kept farm houses with children running in the yards and the smell of freshly cut grass. I am traveling to Pitigliano, a small town in the province of Grosseto , in Tuscany . The day before my arrival I spoke to Ernesto Celata, a man I have not yet met but has given me a sense of reassurance and fraternity. 

Ernesto is the leader of an organization called “Civiltá Giubboniana,” which researches and collects artifacts of the past and blends history with legend. 

At first, I really didn’t know what to expect since my traveling was intended to research the past of a specific heritage, but by the time I got into Pitigliano, I suddenly realized the amount of wealth and dedication that Ernesto placed in his life.
I approached the town from the Eastern part, and later found that it’s not the most handsome.  Ernesto is there waiting for me at the door of his office. We meet for the first time, and even though I am an Italian-born, I get the sense of being in a foreign land. As he greets me, almost  immediately, I perceive the sense of knowledge and love he has for his town, the place where he was born and cultivated his immense passion for history.
Walking the streets of Pitigliano is almost as impressive as walking in the Forum in Rome for the first time. You get transported into the past.  The noise of the daily life goes unnoticed.  Ernesto notices that I am truly excited and begins with what I think he loves to do the most – speaking about the “Little Jerusalem.”  “Walter,” he says with a strong voice and perfect Italian,
 
“Pitigliano is situated at 313 meters above sea level on the main road (SS 74), and proudly stands out on the top of the crest of a rugged outcrop of tufaceous rock, surrounded by deep green valleys.  Rivers Lente and Meleta flow timelessly on. The earliest traces  of the town’s origins date back to the eneolithic period. Evidence of the ancient Etruscan settlement abounds in the many tombs found in the surrounding countryside.  Also and in a small section of the old town wall, next to the Porta Di Sotto at Capisotto, which has survived unharmed by time. 


 It  consistsing  of large tufa block embedded in the underlying rock face which are presumed to date back as far as the 5th century B.C.” 


 “In the Middle Ages,” he continues, “ Pitigliano was presumed to have belonged to the Aldobrandeschi countship. The Aldobrandeschi were almost certanly of Longobards extractions settled in the area in the 8th century B.C.”

In 1293, after a series of events that led to the submission of Pitigliano to the neighboring town of Sovana and the division of the vast territorial patrimony between the two branches of the Aldobrandeschi family, the countship came into the possession of the Orsini fmily from Rome, owing to a marriage between the two families. The count Niccoló III Orsini (1442-1510), nicknamed “Il Pitigliano,” was the most distinguished of the Orsini family, largely recognized for his generosity and bravery. The Orsini family ruled Pitigliano until the year 1561 when the population rebelled and placed itself under the protection of the Medici family, hence becoming part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany . Ruled under the Dukes of the Asburgo Lorena, the town underwent and eventful period of modernization and was finally liberated from the remaining feudal system. Eventually the town became a part of the kingdom of Italy by consent in 1860. It is almost amazing how much historical knowledge Ernesto possesses.  He takes a break while we are walking toward the historic center of the town, approaching Via Guglielmo Marconi.  Ernesto goes on explaining that through oral tradition bears witness to the presence of small groups of Jewish in Pitigliano in the late 13th century-when many Jews started leaving the ancient basin of Rome to find open air markets in other Medieval cities. Around 1560, the settlers had created a County, which became a borderland just out of the Papal State. At the turn of the century, two different Popes carried out the process of placing the Jews in ghettos. The new born community, however, did well in running local economy out of its feudal condition into a modern one.  Eventually, under the De Medici ruling, many new rules were devised such as the Capitoli in 1622.  At that point local Jews were forced into the Ghetto of Pitigliano, a cluster of houses standing on the edge of the south-western cliff of the town, with two small entrances opening to the street and closed at night. The people in the Ghetto were joined by the Jewish refugees from Castro, a city which was destroyed in 1649 by the Papal Army. A further raising of the houses of the Ghetto was needed. In 1735.  Gian Gastone De Medici lay down the right of all citizens of his Grand Duchy to freedom of worship, starting the process of repealing the Capitoli of 1622.  Along the street adjoining the Ghetto, over the following century, many Jewish craftsman and artisans opened work shops and storerooms, so that Ghetto is still the nickname of the present day Via Zuccarelli. 

The Jewish community of Pitigliano grew to about 400 people out of 2,200 population, just before the Unity of Italy in 1860. By 1870, however they started a slow decline, owing either to mixed marriages or to the fact that there was no Papal State anymore. 

Many Jews could go across what had been the Roman Catholic home country, to get to the main southern Italian regions, in order to sail to the religious goal of the Jewish historical route - the Promised Land. Nevertheless, in the days of the Italian Dispersion, the so called Sbandamento - September 1943, when the Italian soldiers surrendered to the Allied Forces, and the Nazi Army claimed to take away their new enemies mainly Jewish.  The Jews of Pitigliano began hiding the original things of the Synagogue, and they started hiding themselves, too; in farms, in woods, in the grottoes by which all the cliffs of tufa around are honeycombed, protected by most people of Pitigliano, with whom they had lived in peace so far. Niney-nine percent of them were saved, and by the end of the war the Jews, as well as many of their Christian fellow countryman, couldn’t go on staying in a town exhausted by war. Most Jewish people of Pitigliano would emigrate, joining the families professing the same religion in bigger cities.
The Synagogue closed in the late 50's, and after about a decade of neglect it collapsed, as it rose on the edge of a cliff, next to the Old Ghetto. Only the arch of the women’s gallery and the back wall of the temple stayed up. In 1995, after four centuries from its birth, it was rebuilt. I received a lesson on history and since Ernesto did all the talking I am wondering when he’ll ask me questions.  He eventually does with great charisma. “ Walter,”  he says, “how did you get involved in Jewish cooking and why does this heritage mean so much to you?” I pause for a second, and instantly fifteen years of my life in the United States reappear before me in a vivid slide of emotions. “Ernesto,” I proudly reply, “I began reading on Jewish cooking several years ago as a student in college, mostly because of my interest in history. I realized that for many centuries Jews were the center of persecutions and tyranny and I wanted to showcase that their heritage was not all about sadness and tears.  I believed that they had made a great contribution to the world, not just in business, trading and  finances but also in the field of gastronomy. When I was growing up I spent a lot of time with my father, who was very involved in politics representing the Stars and Crown Party of the defunct Monarchy in Italy. I specifically recall an instance when traveling to a nearby town, my dad went into a store to purchase cigarettes and I stood near the car. An old man came by and asked me if I had trouble with the car, but I replied that I was waiting for my father. The man asked me who was my father, and I replied, Alessandro Potenza. The man then said, “‘Oh, you are the eldest of Rabbino’s family.’”  I stood speechless since I did not know what to say, it was the first time I had heard that word.  It was, I believe, the fall of 1960.  Minutes later my father came back, and I asked him about why the old man called him Rabbino. My dad went on to what felt like an eternity. He said, “‘Son, during the Second World War, I was stationed in the town of Bardonecchia in Piedmont, and during the Sbandamento in 1943 about 200 jews were living there. As the Nazis were patrolling the area, the Jewish residents were hiding in small farmhouses outside the town.  I thought  it was safer to hide them  in a Catholic church.’”  In essence, the Jewish families were placed in a basement of a rectory whose main entrance was sealed with cement, and every day my father and others would bring food and necessities. This went on for 28 days. Eventually the Germans left, and since then my father was nicknamed “Rabbino” from the Jews of Bardonecchia. I was aware of his time spent in the military.  He had served under Mussolini and retired as a Commander of the Bersaglieri after 25 years in the Italian Army. Twenty seven years later, I opened my first restaurant in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, where I began offering Jewish cuisine to my patrons.  I celebrated the Passover and the Hannukah, and began offering cooking classes on the foods of the Sephardim or the Jews of Sephardic extraction, mainly from the western countries of Europe, as well as the basin of the Mediterranean sea and as far as India. Soon I realized that the foods from the Sephardic Jews was much different to the Jewish food available here in the States, which has an Ashkenazic influence, usually from the Central and Eastern European countries. Some the recipes, such as the “Orecchi Di Aman” made at Purim (Triangle pasta filled with a mixture of  prune and poppy seeds, then fried) were unknown here where we generally make something very similar called Hamantashen.  Also the Italians make Muggine in Bianco for the High Holidays, and here we call it Gefilte fish.  My extensive research brought me to understand the difference of flavors of the two cuisines, and some of their regulations at specific Holidays. Some of the foods, which are considered kosher by the Ashkenazim, are permitted by the Italkim or Sephardim and vice versa . For example, rice, which is a staple for the Italian-Jews at Passover, is considered chametz, or leavened food by the Ashkenazim.  Whereas chocolate, cheeses, and other milk products, so widely used by the American Jews during Passover, are absolutely forbidden by the Italkim. These were some of the reasons of my research, but I believe that the most important rely on the fact that many people are surprised to hear that there are Jews in Italy. When I say that there are in fact streets named Via della Sinagoga, or Piazza Giudea or quartieri called Giudecca, my Jewish friends remain surprised and puzzled. They are not aware perhaps that the Jews formed a small community and assimilated well into Italian society. In fact, the Jewish presence in the Italian Peninsula is the oldest in the Western Europe, and uninterrupted for two thousand years. They lived in Southern Italy and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, since the second century B.C. and in Rome they settled in the Trastevere area, the Suburra and in Porta Capena.  Much evidence has been left behind such as the Arch of Titus which portrays Jewish slaves carrying a menorah. Jews were linked to each other through their religion and their foods, and is visible in many dishes. Jews brought eggplant and fennel into the Italian peninsula, vegetables that were considered poisonous by the gentiles. The famous fritto misto made with vegetables and fish have a Jewish background. Many dishes adapted by the Romans such as ceci con pennerelli (chick peas with bits of meat from the knuckle) or aliciotti con l’indivia (anchovies with endive), reflect the pauperization of the old Jewish community. And if in the Jewish ghetto of Rome food was exotic and cosmopolitan, it was no different in Venice where the three Synagogues, stood together in the piazza, La Spagnola , La Levantina e La Tedesca. They represented, along with the Italian, the different styles of the Venetian Jews. The coexistence in the ghetto bore fruit in the kitchen. The levantini made rice with raisins as is popular in Istanbul today, The Iberian ponentini introduced salted cod dishes, sweets made with almonds and chocolate cakes. Together they brought into the ghetto the range of spices and aromatics from their land of origins. The ghetto of Pitigliano was no different than those in the big cities.
One of the most emblematic evidence is in a street called Via Marghera, which is a small passage off Via Zuccarelli. Here at the end of a narrow vicolo, between restored Jewish homes there is the Oven of Azzime. The oven completely excavated from volcanic rock, with two windows protected with metal grates showcasing the menorah . Inside a large marble counter top is visible where the Jewish women would prepare the sweets during Passover, as well as the matzoh. The oven itself decorated with refractory material allowing the heat to disperse evenly. In this famous location, many varieties of unleavened focacce and other fragrant sweets were prepared during holidays, and the aroma attracted many of the local Jewish and Catholic children who would stand near the entrance in anticipation of free samplings. The noise and the fragrant smell of those holidays traveled throughout the old ghetto transmitting happiness and family unity. Numerous are the dishes of the time which stood the test of time and are still part of Jewish traditions of Pitigliano, such as the Torzetto, made with sugar, water, flour and poppy seed essence, shaped like a diamond with a hard consistency. The other sweet of great significance is the Sfratto, which resemble a large cigar, filled with nuts and honey, wrapped in a crumbly dough. Its unusual name derives from the 17th century when Cosimo De Medici orders the Jews of Pitigliano inside a single quarter. At first the Jews living in the suburbs were forced to pay expensive taxes and to wear a sign, then they were forced to leave their homes and confined inside the ghetto. Officials working with the Duchy would pound the doors of the homes with a stick ordering the immediate removal from the houses. This process was, and still is, called sfratto.  However, among the fine delicacies of the Pitigliano gastronomic repertoire I personally favor the “Biscotto Di Pasqua,” an Easter bread-like dough, shaped round or as in the old tradition in the shape of an 8, which achieves a gorgeous bronze color during cooking.  It probably takes its name from the Spanish “bollo” which means round cake or Ciambella in Itaian.  It’s certainly the oldest sweet in Pitigliano, perhaps introduced by the Spanish Jews who fled the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century.  The richness of the culinary heritage of Pitigliano finds its roots in the local produce.  The town has boasted a highly active production of fine wines.  The white (D.O.C.), red, dessert and sparkling wines produced today are the result of hundreds of years of experience put together with advanced technology.  The same can be said for its olive oil and its excellent earthy flavour from the cold pressed sun ripened olives.  Both the wine and the oil blend beautifully with the Pitiglianese cucina enhancing its flavours.  It is worthwhile tasting the “Zuppa Di fagioli” (bean soup, “Aquacotta” ( a vegetable soup served with a poached egg on top, or the famous “Buglione,” a lamb stew with tomatoes, garlic and olive oil.  As we move into the new Millennium, our world springs faster, but the traditions which preserve the local rural live of Pitigliano are still very much alive today.  Two fine examples are “La Torciata” and “La Befana,”.  The first takes place on St. Joseph’s Day on the 19th of March.  At sunset, children, teenagers and adults dressed in sack cloth and holding a flaming torch in their hands, form a procession and walk in the dark from Via Cava back toward the town.  It really is an impressive sight to see.  Perhaps much more solemn than the traditional Befana, which falls between the 5th and 6th of January.  Il Benfano (male) and La Befana (female) dress themselves in strange, often comic costumes and blacken their faces so as not to be recognized.  They then go around the countryside visiting farmhouses and singing songs accompanied by a guitar or an accordion, in exchange for food and a glass of good local wine.
My day is almost over in the tiny jewel of Pitigliano, and as I sadly say goodby to Ernesto, the guardian of all these culinary traditions, I leave Via Ciacci with a promise to return to relive the excitement, to get transported back in time into a world that has remained untouched, filled with history and a richness of family values.  As I drive away, I grasp a final glimpse of the Jewish Cemetery on my left and although there a no Jewish families living in Pitigliano, I suddenly realize that this heritage will never vanish, and the town that once hosted a strong and vibrant Jewish community in Italy is here to stay to be witness for generations to come.
Walter Potenza 

Posted by Chef Walter at 20:08:00 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

My father's story

Written to the Israeli Embassy in Italy

My name is Walter Potenza, I am the eldest son of Alessandro Potenza. He was a Catholic man born in the town of Mosciano Sant' Angelo in the province of Teramo, located in the Abruzzo region which is located on the eastern shores of the Adriatic sea on the 3d of November 1915. His parents were Michele Potenza and Angela Faraone in Potenza. At the age of 21 my father joined the Italian Army specifically the Bersaglieri Corp. Initially he was stationed in several cities in southern Italy as well as the islands of Sardinia and Sicily.

As Italy entered war in 1938, he was sent to Albania and to Greece. Later he was forced to join the black shirts and became a member of the Fascist party under Benito Mussolini. Thought the years his achievements were highly rewarded by many promotions to the point that he became Sargent Major and after 20 years in the service awarded the recognition of Commander of the Battaglione Monte Rosa in the city of Torino in Piedmont. His all military career was practical unknown to us children and to my mother. I guess the pain of the war made him very conservative and private. As we were growing up, he never mentioned the times he spent in the military. Occasionally we would be watching television and documentary would appear on Russia and Germany. He would simply say "I was there ". He got out of the military in 1947, and married my mother a year later. Growing up I never really became interested in his youth and his military career. After the military, I was told he became involved in politics, originally with the Party of the Christian Democrats and later with a party named Stars and Crown, financially supported by the richest man in Italy of the times ; Achille Lauro", a man who built his fortune in the shipping business in Naples.

The party was created to attempt a return to Italy of the King and Queen of the Savoy family, sent in exile in Portugal. In the summer of 1965 at the age of 12, my father and I were riding around a town called Montone, not far from my home. We stopped at a tobacco store, and he went in for a purchase. An older gentleman walked by and asked my name and who I was. I replied….. and he said to me: So, you are the eldest of Rabbi Potenza. It was the first time I had heard the word. I went home and asked my mother, and she said that was a nickname that my father had before she met him. I came to the US as a student in 1972, and upon one of my trips home, I asked my mother that I was interested in obtaining my father's military records. She said that it was impossible but that my father's best friend was still alive in Rome, and that I should ask him on the procedure. I contacted the man Costantino Peretti. Met him in a coffee shop, and began the wonderful research on Alessandro Potenza's 30 years in the military. I was finally allowed to obtain his records, and found the written agony of his young life.

While talking to Costantino, he shared that he was in the same Battallion with my Dad for 4 years, and that's how they became inseparable friends. Among many of the stories, one particularly stayed with me. On October 18 1944, as the Germans were retreating from Italy, they were capturing many Italians and most Jews. The Jews had been in Italy for centuries, and well amalgamated in the Italian society. In the area around Casale Monferrato, Novara, Torino and other small towns, a number of Jews had been living for long time. My father was then stationed in the mountain town of Bardonecchia near the French border of Piedmont on the north-western part of Italy. During the German retreat my dad and other military officers hid a large number of Jews in the basement of a church, and sealed the openings with cement.

This went for almost 19 days. After the Germans left the Jews were let out and moved to France and Alsace. This story and many others have been the shining light on the youth of my dad, a man I hardly knew, since I left Italy so young, and his best friend is no longer with us. Years later while my aunt (father sister) also shared many stories on the military life of Alessandro Potenza. I also found that in 1960, the Jewish Federation in Rome awarded my father and other military officials for their efforts during those terrible years. He is no longer here as he left for a better place on June 19, 1982. I became a professional chef, and have dedicated the past 21 years, searching for my father's past, but most of all on researching the gastronomy of the Jews in Italy.

My restaurants in Providence, Rhode Island have always offered a Jewish menu that reflects the contribution made by the Jews to the gastronomy of Italy.  It seems like I am always drawn to that heritage, especially on the history of their cuisine. I think I am doing what my father would have done if he were here. I feel that my involvement in the Jewish cuisine is homage to him, and to those who were with Commander Alessandro Potenza on that sad October day in 1944. I wish that there was some that I could do to honor my father for his efforts during the war, but most of all to treasure the memory of his silence, a painful reminder he carried with him until he died, and never shared with anyone else.


Walter Potenza     www.chefwalter.com
 

Posted by Chef Walter at 13:10:39 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Coeliac Disease.....what is it?

Often overlooked and misunderstood...is here for real.

Celiac disease is a significant medical condition that can result in a number of serious consequences if not diagnosed and treated properly. It is a permanent intestinal intolerance to gluten in food. Celiac disease is a condition in which the mucosa (lining) of the small bowel (intestine) is damaged. This results in a flattening of the tiny finger-like projections, called villi, which line the bowel. The function of the cells on villi is to break down and absorb nutrients in food. In untreated celiac disease, the lining of the intestine becomes inflamed and has a characteristic flat appearance. This is referred to as villous atrophy. The surface area which enables the absorption of nutrient, and minerals is seriously reduced which can lead to nutritional deficiencies. In people with celiac disease the immune system reacts abnormally to gluten, causing small bowel inflammation and damage. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and oats.
People are born with a genetic predisposition to develop celiac disease.

They inherit a particular genetic make-up with the genes DQ2 and DQ8 being identifies as the “celiac genes”.

Gene testing is presently available through some pathology laboratories, by blood test or buccal swab test. It is suspected that environmental factors also play a role. In many cases, the condition will not have been diagnosed in other generations, however a first degree relative (parent, brother, sister, child) has about a 10% chance of also having celiac disease.
Celiac disease affects Caucasians and West Asians. It is uncommon in the oriental Asian and full-blood Australian Aboriginal populations.  People with celiac disease remain sensitive to gluten throughout their life, so in this sense, they are never cured.
 
Even if symptoms disappear, damage to the small bowel can still occur, if gluten is ingested. However, after the removal of gluten, the small intestinal lining steadily returns to normal or near normal, and so does the absorption of food and nutrients.

People with celiac disease should remain otherwise healthy as long as they adhere to a diet free of gluten.
 Relapse occurs if gluten is reintroduced. The disease was once considered to be a childhood condition, which only produced symptoms in very young children. It is now well recognized that symptoms can appears for the first time at any age from infancy to senior years. Many have few or no problems during childhood but develop symptoms only as adults. In addition, the symptoms of celiac disease can range from severe to minor or atypical and can even be clinically silent.
 
Some symptoms may be confused with irritable bowel syndrome, or wheat or other food intolerance, while others may be put down to stress, or getting older.

Celiac disease is treated by a lifelong gluten free diet. By specifically removing the cause of the disease, this treatment allows abnormalities, particularly that of the small bowel lining to recover. As long as the diet is strictly adhered to, problems arising from celiac disease should not return.
 At the start of the treatment it may be necessary to supplement current deficiencies of nutrients. Some people may also have a transient intolerance to lactose (the sugar found in milk), at the time of diagnosis and may be advised by their doctor to temporarily restrict the amount of lactose in their gluten free diet.
 The normal digestion of lactose should return once the bowl repairs with the gluten free diet. In some people, a low lactose diet is required for a longer period of time.

Today many chefs and manufacturers across the globe are working together to create new foods, high in taste and without gluten.

A whole range of ingredients are now found in elite marketplaces, and the sophistication of the recipes are so elaborate that people who are intolerant to gluten do not have to feel different in their selection any longer.

 

This article was sourced and translated from the Celiac Society in Italy .
 Walter Potenza
Posted by Chef Walter at 12:43:46 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Saturday, May 24, 2008

A lesson on grains !


Depending on calorie needs, it is suggested that all Americans over the age of 2 years should eat at least three 1-oz.-equivalent servings of grains each day. Most grains, including barley, millet, oat, rice, rye and wheat, are the single-seeded fruits of the grass family. However, some grains, such as amaranth, buckwheat and flax, are fruits or seeds from non-grass plants.

Amaranth and quinoa, for instance, fall into the category called “ancient grains.

Amaranth was prized by the Aztecs, while quinoa was a favorite of the Incan culture.

As small seeds, they are similar in appearance. When you put amaranth and quinoa together, unless you’re a really good grain person, it’s hard to tell the difference, because it’s a very small kernel. Flavor will set them apart, since amaranth is often described as having a peppery taste, with a unique whole-grain flavor and a slightly toasty, nutty flavor note.

Perhaps the two grains were so valued by ancient cultures because of their superior nutritional profiles.

 Both grains are imported, and both are high in lysine, methionine and cysteine, making them more complete than most grains. Quinoa, in addition, can be used just like rice in any recipe you would use rice. It cooks in half the time of regular rice (12 to 15 minutes). It’s a little bit smaller than rice and some people combine the two in recipe applications.
Both quinoa and amaranth are ideal grains for those who must maintain a gluten-free lifestyle.  Most gluten-free products are corn-, rice-, potato- or soy-based. Amaranth offers a higher degree of nutrition and variety compared to corn and rice and also holds its own compared to soy and potato. In creating gluten-free products, it combines well with rice flour, corn flour, sorghum and a variety of other gluten-free sources. Advantage can also be taken of amaranth’s superior nutritional profile to boost specific nutritional aspects of a product, such as the iron content of a snack product or flatbread.

Those with celiac disease also have difficulty getting enough fiber, iron and calcium in their diets. Amaranth provides all three in abundance.”

Other Fine Grain Ideas

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) Buckwheat goes beyond pancake mixes: Japan’s soba noodles, Brittany’s cràpes and Russia ’s kasha are made with buckwheat. Botanically, buckwheat is a cousin of rhubarb, not a grain, but its nutrients, nutty flavor and appearance have led to its adoption into the family of grains.

Bulgur (Triticum) Bulgur is most often made from durum wheat, but almost any wheat can be used. Because bulgur has been precooked and dried, it needs to be boiled for only about 10 minutes, making bulgur a nutritious food for quick side dishes, pilafs or salads. Bulgur’s best-known use is in tabbouleh.

Corn (Zea mays mays) Although sometimes dismissed as a nutrient-poor starch, corn is lately being viewed as a healthy food. Treating corn with alkali creates masa harina and hominy and liberates the niacin. Eating corn with beans creates a complementary mix of amino acids that raises the protein value.

Emmer, Farro (Triticum turgidum dicoccum) Emmer, an ancient strain of wheat, has been replaced by higher-yielding strains, except in Ethiopia , where it still constitutes about 7% of the wheat grown. In Italy , it is known as farro or grano farro. Semolina flour from emmer is still used for special soups and other dishes in Tuscany and Umbria , and farro is thought by some to make the best pasta.

Grano (Triticum turgidum durum) When durum wheat kernels are lightly polished, they become grano, a side-dish full of nutty flavor and al dente texture. Minimal processing means that some of the outer casing is removed to cut cooking time to about 30 minutes. In Italy , grano predates pasta, but is still enjoyed in traditional dishes.

Kamut grain (Triticum turgidum turanicum) Kamut grain is another heirloom grain. Years of selecting, testing and propagating brought Kamut, an ancient Egyptian word for wheat, to prominence. Today, millions of pounds of this rich, buttery-tasting wheat are grown on organic farms and made into whole-grain products.

Millet (Panicum miliaceum) Millet is the leading staple grain in India, and is commonly eaten in China, South America, Russia and the Himalayas . Millet has a mild flavor and is often mixed with other grains or toasted before cooking to bring out the full extent of its delicate flavor. Its tiny grain can be white, gray, yellow or red.

Rice (Oryza sativa) White rice is refined, with the germ and bran removed. Whole-grain rice is usually brown, but can also be black, purple, red or a variety of hues. Converted rice is parboiled before refining, which drives some of the B vitamins into the endosperm so that they are not lost when the bran is removed, making converted rice healthier than regular white rice. Brown rice is lower in fiber than most other whole grains.

Sorghum, Milo (Sorghum spp.) Worldwide, about 50% of sorghum goes to human consumption, but most of the U.S. crop is fed to animals or finds industrial use. Sorghum,also called milo, can be eaten like popcorn, cooked into porridge, ground into flour for baked goods or brewed into beer.
Spelt (Triticum aestivum spelta) Spelt is a variety of wheat formerly widely cultivated. It can replace common wheat in most recipes. It is higher in protein than common wheat. Anecdotal reports say some people sensitive to wheat can tolerate spelt, but no reliable medical studies have addressed that issue.

Additional grains of interest are:
 Teff (Eragrostis tef), used primarily by Ethiopians.
Triticale, of which about 80% of the world’s crop is grown in Europe , and
 Wild rice (Zizania), which is not technically rice at all, but the seed of an aquatic grass.

Walter Potenza
www.chefwalter.com
 

Posted by Chef Walter at 14:41:50 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

The Jews in Sicily


Passover 2008 at Walters' Ristorante d'Italia


This year’s Passover is celebrated on the 19th of April. Perhaps very few readers know of the great affinity between the Jews and the Italians. The history of these two cultures is embedded in many of the traditions they share, and certainly the foods. Here, I am sharing a chapter from my up coming cook book about the life and the foods of the Jews in Italy . Enjoy!


Between the year 1170 and 1173, Benjamin da Tudela (Jewish merchant from Tudela) made his stop in the Italian soil returning from the Orient. In his writing he is taken by emotional surprise while witnessing the opulence and the magnificent visions of Sicily . In his diary he writes; “you descent to Messina at the beginning of the island.

Here we have about 200 Jewish families. It’s a land filled with plantations and gardens, here gather the majority of Jewish pilgrims to embark for Jerusalem . From here on a two day trip you arrive to Palermo the largest of the cities, with about 1500 Jewish families, as many Muslims and the rest are all Catholics. It’s a land with a great abundance of spring water source, many romantic brooks and an incredible variety of foods; from grain to the finest spices and herbs lined neatly in their outdoor markets. Everyone here sells food, large bags of almonds and dates are in every street I walked”. After spending time describing the fine monuments and royal gardens, Benjamin mentions the lovely architecture of the central buildings with an obvious design influenced by Arabic style. Palermo was the city with the largest Jewish community in the all country, about 8.000 of the 100.000 population in the city was of Jewish extraction. This demographic exploit formed during the prosperous and industrious age of the Arab Emirates, and strongly maintained throughout the Normans occupancy. Since Palermo was the capital of the Sicilian reign its Jewish Inhabitants enjoyed a period of wealth and social recognition. The Normans especially, offered equal political and social participation to the Jews, or at least a very flexible respect for their traditions and religion. However, they could not achieve the right to own slaves, which was exclusively a privilege of the Normans and occasionally to some of the Muslims. Under the Norman’s jurisdiction the Jews were obligated to pay a tax in exchange for their right to profess certain job, and own specific commerce. For instance they were very involved in the fishing business, which they controlled in the ports of Trapani and Marsala among others. They developed the first system of bringing fresh seafood to the central markets, until then, usually, people who wanted to purchase fresh fish had to go to the ports for their supply. They became famous for their smoked herrings which they exported to Turkey and some of the Greek Islands . It is also widely believed that the salines (salt farms) in the western coast of Sicily were partly operated by Jews. The other two major occupations that the Jews particularly controlled were the manufacturing of silk which they learned from the Arabs (who brought the methods to Spain and eventually to Sicily ), and the fabric dye business. With the latter they set up trades with Indian business cooperatives in Calcutta and exported silk to most of the northern countries in northern Africa . It all began with king Ruggero the II. In the summer of 1147 the king on his expedition to Byzantium took many prisoners back, and with them a large number of Jewish artisans and masters of fabric design. They settled in Palermo and the art of the fabric design was born. For four centuries the Jewish fabric business led in the Italian peninsula with a strong hegemony, practically the leaders in the industry. At that time Palermo and other Sicilian cities did not have ghettos, or areas dedicated particularly to the Jews, but simply in an area called “Giudecca” where they conducted their business, usually in the proximity of the synagogue the center of community, administrative, scholastic and social life. In the giudecche the communities were large,  many of the residents dressed poorly, and occasionally were harassed by the Christians. But in all, Jews were well integrated in the lifestyle of the new land and enjoyed great life conditions, equal if not better than the Saracens and the Greeks, and it was no different in Agrigento, Siracusa or Catania .

For the next 300 years, the history of the Jews swung between periods of security and tolerance and periods of segregation and restriction. On June 18, 1492 the Sicilian Jews were reading for the first time the regal decree issued by the king Ferdinand the Catholic and queen Isabella of Spain which ordered their expulsion from the Island .

Actually for many years before Jewish community life was deteriorating, but they never felt that it would come so suddenly. But the worst part of the tragedy was yet to come. Many relocated from Spain and Portugal, and many were still trying to escape the Iberian Peninsula alive. As the Marranos reached Sicily they realized it was time to move again. The repercussions on Sicily were enormous; it was in fact the end of a tragedy, a drama that concluded in the Italian soil in the part owned by the Spanish Kingdom . The deteriorating of the Jewish life in Sicily begin time before 1492, mainly provoked by the preachers involved in the Inquisition, accusing the Jews of converting the Christian friends. The year 1474 was the most brutal for the Jewish settlements. An up roar among some of the radical Sicilian citizens sacrificed the life of 360 Jews in the town of Modica . Violent demonstration took place in Siracusa, Sciacca and other areas around the peninsula. Many of the new arrived from Spain continued their trip to Jerusalem in fear for their life. Some of the Jewish leaders who had contacts with the central government called for a meeting with a viceroi to discuss the possibility of maintaining the old privileges. The compensation requested from the viceroi for the exchange was absurd; 5000 florins, paid first, followed by 1000 each month. The money was to be used for the war in conquering Granata. But this arrangement did not last very long, subsequent to this, businesses were confiscated, homes were taken from the Giudecca area, commercial transaction were forbidden and the Jews could not leave the island without the permission from the viceroi. After years of constant progress and privileged social status, the Jews were practically destitute, forced to sell much of the properties to the gentiles, at lower price, sacrificing their businesses, mostly forced to shut down, along with the sale of the central synagogue in Palermo , revered to be the most artistic in the all island. This was perhaps the major set back to their religion. When they were able to leave they were allowed to take with them just a mattress and a blanket. In Taormina some of the Jews asked for a special permit for transporting the blanket that covered the Torah, and some cheeses made in the style kosher to consume during their trips. The Sicilian Jews totally abandoned the island, and to this day, except for few sporadic cases, the Jewish nucleus never went back to Sicily , but it’s important to remember that the Jews that left in 1492 took with them not just their meager belongings, but wonderful memories. Fifteen centuries of perfect happiness, while sharing a deep culture and great economic impulse. This remembrance will be with them forever wherever they may settle. The demonstration of care and loyalty received from the Sicilian citizens till the very end of their fate will be forever embedded in their traditions.

Walter Potenza

Posted by Chef Walter at 14:50:16 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Sweet ode to Saint Joseph


March 19 is San Giuseppe, the day the Church sets aside to honor Joseph, Mary's husband.

The month of March is meteorologically inconstant and capricious, and confirms his character as a month of transition as far as temperature and vegetation is concerned.
In the farmland the farmers begin the process of “beating the grass”, as if they want to shake the long wintry shadows away. March 19th, and in the middle of Quaresima the Feast of Saint Joseph is celebrated. For one day, food abstinence is broken, and we return to the pleasure of the glutton table. One of the catholic expressions of gastronomic devotion toward Sainthoods is the sweets. And it is with sweets that we celebrate Saint Joseph , the Saint of the fritters, a profession he had in his younger days. To clear the path, we ought to know that fritter, can be either savory or sweet. The most recognizable and prominent of the savory fried repertoire is the “Crispeddi Siciliani”, or Sicilian fritters, filled with ricotta and anchovies. The second most representative variation, and of course sweet, is the Zeppole from Campania, the lovely region with Naples as capital city, and the famous coast line we all love: the Sorrento peninsula. In the classic Neapolitan version, Zeppola appear shaped as a ciambella, round in dimention, made with a mixture of flour, sugar and liqueur of choice, usually a Strega from Benevento . They can be fried in vegetable oil, or baked in hot oven, and while still hot, dusted with confectioner’s sugar. The Zeppole from Puglia , are much more elaborate, because the mixture include eggs, which makes them much richer. The Pugliesi Zeppole and also are fried twice. In Umbria the frittelle (zeppole) are made with rice as an added ingredient, and in Tuscany , rice, milk, flour, and eggs are combined to a lovely blend, rich in flavor and softer texture. For the rest of Central Italy, the famous bigne’, or crème puffs are usually offered around Saint Joseph, made with butter, and filled with a variety of crèmes if preferred. If you ever wondered why in Italy we use a French word to identify a sweet for Saint Joseph, it is because during the Napoleon invasion in the last part of the 1788, the Emperor, with his megalomaniac character visualized Italy as an annex state to France . He succeeded in part, specifically with French language as second language, and few other miniscule evidence. However, some sporadic words in gastronomy are still unfortunately visible, one being the bigne’.

 Neapolitan sweets.
When speaking about sweets it is imperative to concentrate the research to the region of Campania, specifically the towns surrounding the city of Naples , and the various provinces, which constitutes the food mosaic of the region. The Vesuvius territories offer apricots, honey, cherries, wild cherries, lemons, oranges, walnuts and figs. Other areas of Campania display traditional sweets, made with products of nearby forests, such as the famous hazelnut of Montella, or chestnuts from Roccamonfina.  Rustic Ciambelle, Taralli, Mostaccioli, Roccoco, Torroni and Zeppole are the pride of the Center-South belt of Italian cooking, most of them created in the 1600.

 Sfogliatella
But let’s return to Naples , and talk about the famed Sfogliatella, considered by many one of the finest food creation of the 1700. La Sfogliatella and the Roccoco’ were the two prized inventions that elevated the city to be one of the finest Capital of Europe of the time. The elegant origins seems to be connected to the Middle Ages, and inspired by Arabic traditions, eventually re-made by local nuns in honor to religious feats.


Eventually in the second par of the 1700, the Monastery of Santa Rosa in the town of Amalfi began the commercial production of sfogliatella, with the initial designs to simulate the hood of a monk’s outfit.

The sweet was offered as a gift to the benefactors of the convent. The ingredients eventually modified slightly. Candied fruit replaced dry fruit, and in the year 1818 Pasquale Pintauro who owned a pastry shop created the first hand-held sfogliatella that it is pretty much the shape of the epicurean we enjoy today. La sfogliatella, independently of the size, can be made of puff pastry or flaky dough. The first, shaped like a clam, has very thin layers of dough, enriched with lard, and filled with a crème made of semolina flour, ricotta, eggs, and sugar. At the end the blending of candied fruit and orange water occurs. The latter, has essentially the identical filling as the first, but the technical method is different.

Struffoli
A note about struffoli is really a must in a sweet contest of Neapolitan cooking and celebration of Sainthood. They are popular in Campania , and surrounding regions, and through time have become the symbol of Christmas. However, during the celebration of Carnevale during the two weeks prior to Lent, they re-appear again, topped with hundreds of miniscule colored jimmies, often imparting a contagious happiness to the table. Struffoli is similar to Cicerchiata, another fried sweet, very popular in the Centre South. The etymology of the name, takes us back in time. In fact Struffoli, seem to have derived from the Greek word “strongoulas”, (rounded), and it seems that from the Hellenic culture we have adopted their preparation. There are other non- official versions available, such as the word “strofinare”, which is the method used to work the dough before cutting it in many little balls, or “strutto”, (lard), the fat used in the 1700 to fry the struffolate. However, recent discoveries in the city of Naples general archives, provided two separate treaties written by poets Latini and Nascia, citing Struffoli as sweets prepared in the same manner as we do today, that is, fried, tossed with honey, sprinkled with colored jimmies…….and still gratify us after all these years.


Walter Potenza 

Posted by Chef Walter at 10:35:23 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

History of the fork...........


“An early nineteenth-century American complained that “eating peas with a fork is as bad as trying to eat soup with knitting needle”

Through centuries we’ve always served ourselves with our hands, or with very sharp knives to bring pieces of foods still hot to the mouth. We’ve used these methods even if various instruments made with bones or steel were already in existence, and often used to carry large pieces of meats from cooking pots to tables. But we often wonder where the fork came from, considering that it appeared much after the introduction of the spoon and the knife.
In the town of Ventimiglia in the Liguria region there is a museum that features unusual artifacts regarding the fork. It seems that the sharp instrument was already used by the Romans, even if it did not have the sleek appeal of today’s design. In the Italian literature forks were included in writings and poetry of the times in the prominent cities of Venice, Pisa and Florence after the year 1000. They were utensils used primarily by the aristocrats and merchants, whereas in the high courts the traditional etiquette was to pick solid foods with fingers pointed directly to the plate…a practice initiated by the Roman philosopher Ovidio from the Abruzzo city of Sulmona .
The first modern fork is mentioned as having been used in the eleventh century by the wife of the Venetian Doge, Domenico Selvo. It resembled the three prong’s design we currently use for salads and dessert. St. Peter Damian (1007-1072), the hermit and Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, was appalled by this new adopted practice and open rejection of nature, and soon excoriated the whole procedure in a passage entitled “Of the Venetian Doge’s wife, whose body, after her excessive delicacy, entirely rotten away”. Forks are mentioned again three centuries later, in 1361, in a list of the plate owned by the Florentine Comune. From this time onwards, forks are spoken of frequently; more than two hundred years were to pass, however before they were commonly used for eating.

 King Henry III of France and his companions were satirized by Thomas Artus in 1605 for their fork-wielding effeminacy. “They carried their meats right into their mouths” with their forks, exclaims the author “stretching their necks out over their plates…….They would rather touch their mouths with their little forked instruments than with their fingers”.

They looked especially silly, chasing artichokes, asparagus, peas and broad beans round their plates and trying without success to get those vegetables into their mouths without scattering them everywhere.
 Italy and Spain led the world into the adoption of forks around the 1600. Initially it was mostly used on hot oily pasta, too hot to be picked up by hands, but eventually the search for table etiquette by the common folks made it a daily routine. The simple practice filled their egos, and allowed them to feel less inferior to the prominent. The nobility however, did not feel that using the boring object was obligatory, and continued for many years to ignore it, preferring abundant stacks of towels for wiping, a practice that in their minds projected civility and refined behavior.
 The use of individual forks began to spread as the seventeenth century progressed. Until then, people would often share forks with others, wiping them carefully on their napkins before passing them on. Antoine de Courtin, in the late 1600s, advised using the fork mainly for fatty, sauce-laden, or syrupy foods, otherwise hands would do.
 By the middle of the 1700, the diffusion of the fork was well received, and the first strings of pasta were twirled around the three prongs. Eventually the prongs were designed to be four, larger in size for better holding, and of course from then on the nobility proceeded in devising elaborate designs for the handles filled with precious stones which symbolized power and wealth. For some strange coincidence in the 20th century the use of the fork diminished especially in the Western world, as more people returned to the use of hands when eating. The latest data from the National restaurant Association show that 61% of our food is held with our hands, usually in the shape of sandwiches, pastry, raw vegetables and fruit. 

Walter Potenza 

Posted by Chef Walter at 10:25:42 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

The clea plate project

A moral obligation from all of us!

Obesity has replaced smoking as the biggest health issue in the United States .
 In the past, when overweight adults were the only ones contributing to the fat epidemic, few people noticed. But once the press started reporting on obese children and how their numbers have tripled since 1980, and how they were becoming more likely to develop obesity-related diabetes, then the focus was food, especially the wrong kind.
 We as Americans consume one-third of our daily caloric intake away from home. Two-thirds of us are overweight, and about one-third are obese. The Agriculture Department says that the average person took in 300 more calories a day in 2000 then in 1985.
 Targeting obesity and searching for the right diet has been a goal of our government as well as certain segments of the food industry. But our inability to lose weight without joining a diet club or buying into a television infomercial is connected to our national perception of food.
 We really don’t understand how our taste buds function and how they are connected with our brain.
 We know and recognize, for instance, salt, sugar, spicy and bitter tastes on our tongue. But we find it difficult to connect with the many other interesting flavorful surprises available. After years of consuming food with sugar, salt, stabilizers, fillers, hydrogenated fats, hormones, steroids and whatever else injected by food manufacturers, our bad habits have caught up with us.
 Several studies done last year show that many adults and children still belong to the “vacuum cleaner club” and will eat what is put before them, regardless of how much food is there, and the poor quality it offers. In addition to issues of caloric intake, this behavior has increased the visibility of many new allergies, specifically the gluten intolerance commonly known as celiac disease.
 However, the future is promising. We are, as a nation, making an effort to eat and drink better. The baby boomers are driving the effort, with ample disposable income, as they make concerted efforts to conduct research on good wines, sustainable local produce, local seafood and other healthy choices.
 The “discovery” of organic and natural ingredients which started 23 years ago has finally blossomed from a an intriguing niche to a bona fide, significant market segment. It matters then, that we live in one of the better food regions in the nation. Rhode Island has some of the best locally grown food for quality and diversity.
 Many of the immigrants who settled here brought with them the food culture of their land, and have shared with us immeasurable flavors and complex recipe structures.

 Rhode Island comfortably belongs in the second-tier of national hospitality centers, behind New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Boston . However, I believe that with just a little effort, we could elevate our reputation even higher. 

 I propose a civic commitment to be entitled “The clean plate project.” Those who sell food and spirits would offer nutritionally sound, safe and tasteful food.
 The project would require that every food business owner provide consumers a list of ingredients, and their origin, with special emphasis on food for children.
 Our restaurant patrons should know which oils we are using, where our meats come from, the growth location of our vegetables and our seafood status. We chefs and restaurateurs have a moral commitment toward the wellbeing of people. We control their diets away from home, and so we really can make a difference in helping them lead a healthier lifestyle.
The clean plate project will protect consumers from ingredients that could generate unwanted allergies, artery clogging preservatives, chemical fillers, genetic modified organisms and possibly serious birth defects, and offer them an opportunity to understand the choice they make and their benefits.

 New York City is removing trans fat from its 24,600 eateries, and that alone could have a ripple affect in the country. Researchers found that the near elimination of trans fat produced through hydrogenation would prevent between 72,000 and 228,000 heart attacks and deaths from coronary heart disease in the U.S. each year.

 Earlier this year a bill was introduced in the New Jersey legislature that would require restaurants with 20-plus locations to post on their menus the total number of calories, saturated and trans fats, carbohydrates, and sodium per serving. Restaurants, while they are not the sole source of sustenance and do not force-feed their patrons, have been blame in part for some unhealthy menu offerings through the years.
 They are not alone. The national and local media also play an important role in educating consumers on healthier choices. Lately we notice articles and reviews in our newspapers in which oversized piles of greasy foods achieve glorification with a strange euphoria by food writers. These are also the same writers who know very well of the danger of obesity, diabetes and our fragile health care system.
 A normal body cannot consume more than 40 ounces of food and beverage at once without discomfort, and the media ought to understand that good food is not cheap and that cheap food is not good.  The clean plate project welcomes establishments that feel that it is time to protect the health of our children and adults by listing the ingredients used and allow the consumers to make the healthy choice. If we live in a state where food is our pride and joy, providing truthful and honest information to the consumer should not be much of a hardship.


Walter Potenza

Posted by Chef Walter at 06:34:57 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Panettone

The connection between food & religion

Panettone has become a national symbol of the Italian Christmas, and lately assimilated into the festivities of many other Catholic countries, however, this celebrated ancient bread is a typical product of the gastronomic tradition of Milan . Over the centuries, a great number of legends have grown up around the origins of this dessert. It is said for example that a certain Toni, a Milanese baker in the service of Ludovico il Moro, Duke of Milan, invented the panettone, which was called “pan de toni”……toni,s bread in his honor. Another legend assigns the invention to the patrician Ughetto della Tela. It is a romantic account, set in the 15th century. According to it, Ughetto fell in love with the beautiful Nelita and, to be close to her, worked as a boy in the shop of the girl’s father, a Milanese baker. To win Nelita’s favor and her father’s acceptance, Ughetto decided to add raisins to the dough of the breads that were the baker’s usual product. The truth is more prosaic. Panettone grew out of the daily habits of the humble farmers of the Milanese countryside who used the few resources available to them to improve the flavor and appeal of the daily fare. Panettone was of the same lowly origins as polentina, a mush made from rye, millet and corn, and much time was required for it to become the sumptuous dessert it is today. The evolution of the recipe was slow and appears to have been linked to the growth in the range and quantity of products available on the market. The transformation of a poor and lowly bread of rural tradition into the tall, puffy and spongy panettone of the present day was due entirely to the skills of Milan ’s bakers.
In the 1606 reprint of ‘Raccolta delle Parole Milanesi dichiarate”, a collection of Milanese dialectical terms, edited by Giuseppe Capis, panaton was defined as a “large bread, which is made on Christmas day”. Alessandro Manzoni, a 19th-century Italian author who wrote the famous novel “I promessi sposi”, describes how Renzo Tramaglino, one of the book’s protagonists, goes in the 16th century from the countryside to Milan, where he is astounded to find ”round, very white bread” which was not usually eaten in rural areas. The bread of the city, the production of which was confided to bakers, was white and virtually unknown outside the city’s walls. While the ancestor of panettone is the dark, fairly flat bread of the country tradition, the “puffy, white bread” than more closely resembles the modern panettone is a product of the city. Panettone began to be known in the countryside around Milan only in the second half of the 19th century. It is not easy to establish when it ceased to be bread and became a dessert, However, the addition of raisins to the bread to sweeten it is no recent novelty. According to the Latin author Petronius, a dessert bread of rye stuffed with raisins was popular in ancient Rome . What is certain is that panettone developed by degrees. Made initially with simple, standard ingredients, it was gradually enriched through the addition of more sophisticated products. In the 1818 edition of Francesco Cherubini’s “Vocabolario Milanese Italiano”, panettone was described as follows. “Panatton or Panatton de Natal. A type of bread from wheat flour enriched with butter, eggs, sugar and raisins, or sultanas; the surface of the dough is cut in an almond shape so that the result, after baking, is numerous crescents. Its weight of about one kilo or more, and made only at Christmas. Since candied fruit is not mentioned, it is obvious that the practice of adding it was introduced later. While panettone has become the symbol of the Italian Christmas, it is a delectable dessert that deserves to be appreciated through the year. It makes an excellent snack for children and is a natural complement of the coffee and milk of their grandparents.

Walter Potenza

Posted by Chef Walter at 16:50:59 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Tomato in Rhode Island......did you know?

Newport and the tomato connection.....in this State everyone is linked!

It is impossible to write about tomatoes without mentioning the name of Michele Felice Corne , who in the 19th century lived in Newport for 23 years, achieved some artistic fame earlier in life, in Massachusetts, but he would never go down in history as a great painter. He would, however, achieve a footnote of distinction in American gastronomy. Born to a noble family on the island of Elba, in 1752, Corne was drafted by the Neapolitan army to help repel the brief French occupation of Naples in 1799. He rose to the rank of captain, but soon became disgusted with war and sought deliverance on the ship Mount Vernon, bound for Salem, Massachusetts. He quickly became involved with the high society circle, and his artistic work widely appreciated by the local bureaucracy. He also worked in his garden as a pastime and particularly enjoyed his daily macaroni, Catalonia wine - and, in season, his favorite food: tomatoes. Corne must have been  astounded when he arrived in this country to see the red fruit - eaten in Europe since the 16th century - prized here for its beauty, but not its taste. Although the tomato sprang from the New World, in the United States the "love apple" was considered poisonous. People believed that to eat this member of the deadly-nightshade family was to exhibit love sickness - madness. In fact, anyone eating the tomato was thought to be suicidal. Thomas Jefferson, in Virginia, is said to have eaten tomatoes, and tomatoes were used in cooking in South Carolina in the late eighteenthcentury and in Creole New Orleans in the early 19th.  Nevertheless, it took Michele Corne to change the fruit's reputation. "Corne, moved to Newport, Rhode Island in 1822 with his friend Billy Bottomore. Corne not only ate tomatoes, while in Newport but, wherever he went, he spoke of their delights. "There is that potato," the Italian once said. "He grows in the dark, or in the damp cellar with his pale, lank roots; he has no flavor; he lives underground. "But the tomato: he grows in the sunshine; he has a fine rosy color, an exquisite flavor; he is wholesome; and when he is put in the soup, you relish him and leave nothing in the plate]" This popular love for the tomato created some mistrust among locals, and soon after he was accused of being insane do primarily for the indulgence of the fruit he so much adored. In the summer of 1831 Michele Felice Corne took a bagful of tomatoes and consumed the entire amount before an incredulous public in a courtroom of Newport. Mr. Corne died on July 10, 1845, at the age of 93. His grave, in Newport's Old Cemetery, is marked with a granite obelisk. Unfortunately, much of his art no longer exists, except some examples in the Peabody Museum, but the corner of Corne and Mills Street in Newport is still there, where maybe the first triumph of the golden apple occurred. But while New Engladers began accepting the tomato, in Italy, it was pasta that was getting all the attention and virtually from the moment it was combined with the tomato, became popular as well as fashionable. Consumption spread rapidly throughout society and serving pasta with tomato at formal as well as everyday, meals was a sign of distinction. However, the addition of sauce made pasta a messy dish to eat with the fingers, the common way of eating it until then, and an instrument that was as curious as it had been neglected until that time, the fork, soon began to appear on the tables of the middle class. That implement had been around in various forms for several centuries and had filled various functions at the tables of refined and snobbish households throughout Europe. However, its use as a standard utensil had not been established. The fork was put out on the tables of a restricted number of nobles in order to impress guests rather than assist them in eating. The spread of the practice of eating pasta dressed with tomato sauce led to the adoption of the fork as an everyday utensil.

The numerous models previously known were abandoned. The shape and proportions of the fork were modified and, within a few years, a single format appeared. The new standard implemented had four curved tines, the length of which was no more than twice their width. Any maitre d’hotel could deliver a lengthy commentary on the precise shapes and function of forks, including those used for eating fish, meats, “sauced”dishes, dessert and fruits. And he would not doubt express disapproval of any misuse of the utensil. It is a fact, however, that for two centuries now it has been the practice in private homes and most restaurants throughout the world to use for nearly all purposes only the fork designed for pasta, with its four curved tines.

Walter Potenza

Posted by Chef Walter at 22:54:16 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |