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ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINAA CULTURAL INSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ITALY

FOUNDED IN 1953 BY ORIO VERGANI

www.accademia1953.it

CIVILTÀDELLATAVOLAACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA

INTERNATIONAL

EDITION

CdT_263_COVER_INGLESE_Acca 25/08/14 13:00 Pagina 1

DEAR ACADEMICIANS...2 Collecting, creating and using recipes (Giovanni Ballarini)

FOCUS4 The Academy’s Year of Rice closes with serious production problems (Paolo Petroni)

CULTURE AND RESEARCH5 Getting to know our roots

6 An aroma sought for centuries (Renzo Pellati)

8 Caviar from Crucoli (Adriana Liguori Proto)

10 Cum grano salis (With a grain of salt) (Gianandrea Paladini)

12 The well dressed tagliatella (Tito Trombacco)

On the cover: At Breakfast, by Laurits AndersenRing (1854-1933) on display at the National Mu-seum of Art, Copenhagen, Denmark.

S O M M A R I O

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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

INTERNATIONAL EDITION

SEPTEMBER 2014 / N. 263

EDITOR IN CHIEFGIOVANNI BALLARINI

COPY EDITORSILVIA DE LORENZO

LAYOUTSIMONA MONGIU

TRASLATORNICOLA LEA FURLAN

THIS ISSUE INCLUDES ARTICLES BYGiovanni Ballarini,

Adriana Liguori Proto,Gianandrea Paladini,

Renzo Pellati,Paolo Petroni,

Tito Trombacco.

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PUBLISHERACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA

VIA NAPO TORRIANI 31 - 20124 MILANOTEL. 02 66987018 - FAX 02 66987008

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MONTHLY MAGAZINEREG. N. 4049 - 29-5-1956

TRIBUNALE DI MILANO

Rivista associataall’Unione StampaPeriodica Italiana

L’ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINAFOUNDED IN 1953 BY ORIO VERGANI

AND LUIGI BERTETT, DINO BUZZATI TRAVERSO,CESARE CHIODI, GIANNINO CITTERIO,

ERNESTO DONÀ DALLE ROSE, MICHELE GUIDO FRANCI,GIANNI MAZZOCCHI BASTONI, ARNOLDO MONDADORI, ATTILIO NAVA, ARTURO ORVIETO, SEVERINO PAGANI,

ALDO PASSANTE, GIANLUIGI PONTI, GIÒ PONTI,DINO VILLANI, EDOARDO VISCONTI DI MODRONE,

WHIT MASSIMO ALBERINI AND VINCENZO BUONASSISI.

CIVILTÀDELLATAVOLAACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA

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C A R I A C C A D E M I C I . . .

BY GIOVANNI BALLARINIPresident of the Academy

D E A R A C A D E M I C I A N S …

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Dear Academicians, recipescontinue to elicit a greatdeal of interest, not only as

historical documents but also as a safeharbor for our cuisine. And also as anopportunity to imagine, and dreamabout cuisines, environments andplaces associated with a past fromwhich we increasingly feel distant, ifnot altogether absent.This complex of sensations becomesespecially strong when it regardsfoods, places and times (always fewerand fewer) that we fear are vanishingforever. Recipes are not only an aid inthe preparation of food, but also anevocation that stimulates our memo-ries and becomes food for the soul.This is especially the case when, ashappens more and more often, speak-ing of food and cuisine maintains anidentity and reveals subconsciousmemories of people and places, espe-

cially of the family. Recipes were animportant, if not fundamental part ofan image of the family and belongingto a local society that is now at risk ofbecoming blurred, if not disappearingaltogether. As such, they should be re-covered and preserved for their socialas well as general cultural value.The cultural role of recipes is moreimportant today than ever before.They are custodians of tradition, eventhough it has correctly been said thateverything can be found in a recipe,but it always lacks the essential quality:interpretation. Cuisine is like music. There is alwaysroom for improvisation, but it mustbe based on, or have, knowledge asits point of departure. That is why mu-sic requires a score to be interpretedby the artist. Recipes are the musicalscores of cuisine.We are often reminded that the realrecipes, like real stories, are those ofour mothers, or of the town’s elders,while all others are spurious, if not il-legitimate. Not only is this true forstrictly gastronomic aspects, but alsothe human ones of a personal and fa-milial identity, whose importance webecome aware of only when we are atrisk of losing it.Therefore there cannot be any storiesof peoples’ lives, or biographies thatat some subconscious level do nottake food - whether its preparation ordescription - into consideration, withall the subtleties of recollection. Notonly the descriptive words, but alsothe odors and aromas, visual aspects,tastes and sensations that a recipe can

evoke in different people familiar withthem. Such memories in turn elicitsimilar, if not parallel, recollectionsin others, leading to dialogues on thesubject of food that not infrequentlycan lead to greater interpersonal un-derstanding.Talking about recipes goes beyondnarrow nutritional confines and set-tles into our subconscious. It is an areathat is even more important givenhow little it has been studied. Eventhe recipes of the recent past resembleold maps that represent forgotten andeven lost landscapes. They can helpus relive them in our subconsciousand impel us on a voyage of rediscov-ery to the time and place of theirpreparation. Sometimes such subcon-scious memories are the most accu-rate ones. It is a voyage that is no lessvivid emotionally just because it re-sides in our imaginations. It is one inwhich we seek and renew the familylifestyles of our grandparents andgreat-grandparents, whose portraitsand relics we sometimes retain butwhose lives are difficult to imaginewithout associating them with thetable.Even in the recollections of our imagi-nations there is nothing more concreteand evocative than a recipe from thepast. We can imagine how these disheswere prepared for holidays or for everyday, in one season or another, duringa winter in the city or a summer in thecountryside.The evocative and often reassuringsymbolic value of a recipe in a time ofnutritional insecurity and vanishing

Italians love to collect recipes. Talking about recipes goes beyond narrow nutritionalconfines and settles into our subconscious.

Collecting, creatingand using recipes

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D E A R A C A D E M I C I A N S …

traditions can perhaps explain the ava-lanche of widely disparate recipes thatare presented in books, magazines,newspapers, television programs, theInternet and so on.How then should we judge theserecipes? A large part of them are a re-flection of a society based on fleetingimages rather than on a lasting reality.Then there are an increasing number(at one time inexistent) of “advertis-

ing recipes” that are aimed at sellinga given product. Unclear, untried anderroneous recipes abound, and thereare many “garbage recipes” that canbe discarded without regrets.In the midst of this “great sea” ofrecipes, however, we should all beaware that there is still a need for se-rious books and magazines with goodrecipes that prove that Italian cuisineis alive and well and capable of pro-

moting ides, scenarios and above allvalues that will last over time. And asin the past, only the best ones will sur-vive. Recipes constitute a cultural do-main that is essential to serious andknowledgeable academic research,and therefore not immune to its diffi-culties. Conducting such research re-quires wisdom, balance, and above alla critical sense.

GIOVANNI BALLARINI

EXPO 2015TO REINSTATE LOCAL NUTRITIONAL SYSTEMS

Expo 2015 has the mission of “Feeding the Planet”, a theme that correlates the access to resources, the availability offood for humanity, sustainable production and environmental safeguards. A package of needs that requires profoundmodifications not only in production, but in consumption and alimentary patterns as well, as Olivier De Schutterpointed out in his address of January 24, 2014 at the Human Rights Council of the United Nations under the title “AReport on the Right to Food”, available on Internet. According to De Schutter, the Reconstruction of Local Nutritional Systems is of particular interest in sustaining aneco-compatible and sustainable rural development, a reduction of poverty among farmers and a slowing down of mi-grations from the country to the cities that by 2050 will be populated by more than six billion people. Local nutritional systems are of vital importance for city dwellers who must be connected with local producers in waysthat go beyond the unclear and generic “zero kilometer” concept, and most importantly with their production therebyreducing rural poverty and alimentary insecurity. By promoting access patterns and direct connections between producers and consumers, small scale agriculture maybe strengthened on a small local scale, typical products of the territory may increase their value, dependence on im-ports may be reduced, while alimentary traditions and those of local cuisine, bound to products of the territory andold traditions may be safeguarded. The local nutritional systems also reduce energy consumption and the environmental impact of transportation, thusfavoring the sustainable value of the global alimentary system and at the same time improving the environmentalknowledge of city dwellers. Local alimentary systems connect the traditional patterns and cuisines that enrich and differentiate Italy insofar asits traditions must be protected by making sure that they improve starting from better knowledge, a principle thatour Academy has been upholding from the day of its foundation.

AGREEMENT PROTOCOL BETWEEN THE ACADEMY AND THE AGRICULTURAL CONFEDERATION

The Italian Academy of Cuisine and the Agricultural Confederation (Confagricoltura) have signed a pro-tocol that has a common objective, that of enhancing the Italian traditional gastronomic patrimony in view ofMilan’s Universal Exhibition (Expo) in 2015.The two organizations will collaborate in developing the theme “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life” by coopera-ting toward the success of this great event, both in the preparation phase and during its course.The Agricultural Confederation asked the Academy to be its partner on account of the Academy’s patrimony ofknowledge, studies and professional wealth that underpin the safeguarding of a cultural patrimony such as thatof Italian gastronomy with a large variety of regional cuisines and typical productions.The protocol calls for implementing a series of initiatives aimed at studying the problems of gastronomy and thecivilization of the table.

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F O C U S

Soon, with our annual Ecumenical Dinner on October16, the Academy will celebrate the end of our “Year ofRice”. Cooking rice is the subject that the “Franco

Marenghi” Study Center has explored throughout the year.Unfortunately this event will not coincide with good news onour national production front. As has been noted before, Italianrice, primarily the japonica variety, is ideal for making Italianrisotto, soups, and desserts. And obviously it is primarily con-sumed in Italy. Long grain indica rice instead, is excellent forthe salads and side dishes that are so popular in Italy today.Local producers have adapted and are cultivating, even inItaly, these rices (such as Basmati), but it is clear that themajority of the production is in Asia and its importation, (afterforgiving the excise taxes) given its low cost from countrieslike Cambodia and Myanmar has increased by 700%. Whichhas in turn resulted in the demise of Italian producers.

The serious problem of not requiring the provenance ofthe rice to appear on the label is sensationally evident.What is more, the name of the variety of the rice is not re-quired either. And this is an even graver problem whenyou consider the large consumption of instant pre-packagedpre-cooked rice “Milanese” style, with mushrooms, as-paragus, etc. and a label that only states: “parboiled rice”.We now know that as a result of petitions filed by producers,almost anything can be contained in the package withoutrequiring specific labeling. So far, we have been lucky.Italy is Europe’s largest producer of rice, and we havealways produced an excellent quality product. There arecalls for educating the consumer to choose the correctrice for a given dish, but they have gone unheeded. Asusual, the labels protect the producer rather than the con-sumer.

Lacking a requirement specifying both the product’s quality and provenance, Italy is importinga large amount of low cost rice, of all types, that have nothing to do with Italian excellence.

The Academy’s Year of Rice closeswith serious production problems

BY PAOLO PETRONISecretary General of the Academy

PS: In the June issue we described how Italian health regulations are in the hands of too many agencies with too little co-ordination. The end result is a fruitless pursuit for the enforcement of too many contradictory rules. Recently, an editorialof the National Daily, signed by the well known economic writer Giuseppe Turani and entitled “The Jungle of Controls”, dealtwith this subject at a general level. Turani wrote: “One of the mainstays of corruption in Italy is the extraordinary abundanceof regulations, people and institutions in charge of controls… just by opening judicial proceedings, a great deal of trouble can becreated for persons and firms under scrutiny”. A solution will have to be found somehow and at the end, one can bet, the con-trol over health issues will be entrusted to an investigative joint committee that quite possibly may bring about another newAuthority.

Continuing our search for theAcademy’s roots after its foun-dation in 1953, why do we

call it an Academy?Dino Villani recounts a trip to Suzzarawhere for the first time Vergani de-scribed his idea. The name “club” wasquickly dismissed “because in Italy itdoes not enjoy the prestige that sur-rounds it in other countries while theterm Academy seems too compellingif not hyperbolic”. Some time later,however, during a new meeting atMilan’s Continental with theindustrialist Ernesto Donàdalle Rose, an agree-ment emerged overthat term. Undoubt-edly, it was a happychoice insofar asAcademy stands foran institution that pur-sues elevated studiesand the enlargement ofknowledge at a high levelunderlying scientific and artisticendeavors, leaving no doubt that cui-sine and gastronomy are science andart. The term “academy” comes fromGreece and denotes the philosophicschool of Plato that was founded in 387 AD and was situated just outsidethe city walls of Athens. The name islinked with the hero Academos whohad donated to the Athenians a plotof land that became a garden open tothe public. This is where Plato wrotehis Dialogues and Aristotle came tohear his master. Due to this origin of the name, theHumanists called academies the insti-

tutions for their new model of culture.From the mid-17th Century onward,many European states establishedacademies based on the Italian model,thus filling an important vacuum incultural organization. The academiesplayed a decisive role in promoting thebirth of experimental science, the studyof languages and artistic teaching.Cuisine and gastronomy are arts aswell and Anthèlme Brillat Savarin con-cocted a tenth muse for them, Gasterea,

in his book The Physiology of Tasteof 1825.

As far as the denominationof academy is con-cerned, it is interestingto point out that Acad-emos, the mythicalhero of Attica, revealsto Castor and Polluxthe place (Afidne)

where their sister Helenwas hidden, after being

abducted as a child by The-seus. Helen, the daughter of

Zeus, is the symbol of beauty. WhenAcademos makes her discovery possible,the academy that takes its name fromhim embodies the place devoted to thediscovery of beauty in all human ac-tivities, among them those involved incuisine and gastronomy. In sum, Academy is a lofty definitionthat must be safeguarded and protect-ed, imbued with the symbol of theGreek temple that recalls the one dedi-cated in Athens to the hero Academos,a temple that now personifies ourAcademy. It certainly is a symbol morebecoming than the one adopted at itsinception.

C U L T U R E A N D R E S E A R C H

Notes about the Academy from its origin (part 3)

Getting to know our roots

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A mong Christopher Columbus’smany objectives on his journeyof discovery to the Americas,

there was also the quest for preciousspices such as pepper. In those days,the merchandizing of spices constitutedan important business: spices slowedthe decomposition of food and enhan-ced its flavor. There were no refrige-rators in centuries past and sterilizationby heat was unknown. There was onlysalt, vinegar and oil, and the preser-vation of food created enormous pro-blems which required resorting to spi-ces that disguised taste and made itdifficult to tell fresh food from spoiledfood. Some historians maintain thatspices also constituted a kind of ga-stronomic status symbol for the upperclasses; they were used to prepare ex-pensive and exotic dishes. In fact, inaddition to tribute of gold and silver,Alaric, the king of the Goths also de-manded that the defeated Romansgive him pepper.History also provides us with anotherdisconcerting episode that took placeon May 18, 1498. After having passedthe Cape of Good Hope, the Portugueseexplorer Vasco Da Gama landed onthe Malabar coast in Calcutta in Indiawith four ships and the cry of “Christose espiciaras!” (for Christ and Spices).The sailors were well aware of the ri-ches they would amass if they con-trolled the spice trade, and yet thelocal inhabitants and merchants unex-pectedly put forth their own outrageousdemands: gold in exchange for spices,especially pepper!Vasco Da Gama was forced to makean about-face, but he returned to India

four years later with 21 armed shipsand 800 men bent on carrying off asmuch spice, especially pepper, as wouldfit in their holds by whatever meansnecessary. Thus began the Portuguesemonopoly of the spice trade that lastedseveral years.These episodes help explain the delu-sion of the Spanish monarchs wheninstead of finding black pepper in theNew World, Christopher Columbus“discovered” whole red pepper (ca-yenne) that initially was mistaken forblack pepper. Disaster was avoidedwhen the hot red peppers immediatelyfound a welcoming habitat in Europe(including Italy) and elsewhere thatenabled them to take root easily. Thusits fruit was instantly popular amongthat segment of the population thatcould not afford the costly spices. Andthe price of black pepper fell precipi-tously. Why have human beings always likedand sought the hot, spicy flavor ofpepper? There has always been muchdiscussion regarding the effect of spi-ciness on the human organism preciselybecause very little was known aboutits gustatory mechanism. Popular be-liefs about hot peppers (their aphro-disiac quality, for example) were fre-quently confused with contrary medicalindications that were not supportedby objective pharmacological expe-rience. Until fairly recently, we were onlyaware of the cellular structures (pa-pillae or taste buds) responsible forthe four primary tastes: sweet (foundtoward the front of the tongue), salty(sides of the tongue), acid (sides and

BY RENZO PELLATIAcademician, Turin Delegation“F. Marenghi” Study Center

Why has mankind always craved the spicy taste of pepper?

An aroma sought for centuries

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center of tongue) and bitter (base ofthe tongue). More recently, Japaneseneurobiologists discovered the “uma-mi” (meaning delicious) taste receptor.It responds to the characteristics ofglutamate, (MSG) an amino acid thatis used in relatively large quantities inAsian dishes to enhance their flavor.It is also found in our instant brothcubes.Today there has been another advancethat regards the perception of the spicyor hot tastes, a flavor enjoyed by mil-lions of people around the world. Wenow know that “spiciness” is a secon-dary gustative sensation that occursnot as a result of a specific interactionof a molecule with its own receptor(as happens with sweetness or bitter-ness). It is actually a non-specific phy-sical response of the thermic receptors(known as vanilloids) in the presence

of a particular kind of compoundsknown as capsaicinoids. Capsaicin alkaloids are characterizedin part by a molecule that is similar tovanilla (thus the name vanilloid) andin part by one classified as alkylamides.The major capsaicinoids are capsaicin(present in red peppers) piperine (pre-sent in black peppercorns) and ginge-role (present in ginger).These molecules come in contact withthe vanilloid receptors in the mouthand on the tongue known as VR1 andVRL-1. In turn they are able to reco-gnize thermal stimuli (that warn thecentral nervous system when food istoo hot) but can also be activated bycapsaicinoids, which provoke the plea-sant burning sensation.Unlike the molecules responsible forthe primary tastes (sweet, bitter, salty,acidic, umami) that can only be reco-

gnized by the specific receptors foundinside the mouth (lingual epitheliums,soft palate, pharynx) the sensation ofspiciness can also be recognized inother parts of the body, and that iswhy the capsaicinoids alkaloids arealso used as counter-irritants (in po-mades for muscle aches). What we generally refer to as taste isactually “flavor”, or aroma that is acomplex of many different chemicalsubstances, odors, consistencies andtemperature. It has been proven thateven our taste preferences depend onthe interaction of many factors: 80%of what we perceive as taste is actuallyodor. The human organism can distin-guish almost 20,000 different odors(thanks to the olfactory receptors lo-cated in the nasal cavity and the backof the oral cavity) with at least tenlevels of intensity for each one.

Contributions to the magazine by Academicians are notonly welcome, they are indispensible. HoweverAcademicians need to keep in mind some essentialguidelines, so that their effort and passion are rewardedby rapid and thorough publication.

� Articles: It is essential that articles be sentelectronically, in Word format (not pdf) to the followingemail address: redazione@accademia1953.it

� Article Length: To avoid cuts that are irritating forboth the writer and editor, articles should be between4,000 and 6,000 characters (including spaces). Yourcomputer provides character counts.

� “From the Delegations” Column: For ease ofreading, maximum length is limited to 2,500characters including spaces.

� Convivial Dinner forms: it is equally importantthat the “notes and comments” section of the ratingsheets respect the 800 character limit (Maximum1,000 characters) include spaces, in order to avoid cutsand errors. Rating sheets that arrive at Headquartersmore than 30 days after the event will be discarded.

� Please do not send reports on convivial dinnersheld outside the territory of your Delegation, or onthose held in the homes of Academicians or placesother than restaurants and public settings, as they willnot be published.

� By observing these simple guidelines Academicianscan be reasonably assured of rapid and accuratepublication, thereby avoiding painful cuts.

� Obviously, the Editors reserve the right to edit allarticles and publish them according to available space.

GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MAGAZINE

C U L T U R E A N D R E S E A R C H

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BY ADRIANA LIGUORI PROTODelegate of Crotone

The secret of the unmistakable taste of Crucoli’s sardella (baby sardines) is in theskilled dosage of its ingredients and its treatment and conservation in places that arenot damp and are sheltered from light.

Caviar from Crucoli

C rucoli, a small hamlet in theprovince of Crotone, numbersabout four thousand inhabi-

tants and goes back to the times ofthe Normans. It sits on a hill (its nameis possibly derived from curuculum,that is, “put on top”) but with the pas-sing of time the town spread downthe coast to the point that nowadaysit boasts a beautiful beach and a seato boot. This place has become famousnot just in Calabria for the preparationof its “sardella”, or baby sardines. Inthis place of panoramic beauty onefinds a dedication to healthy livingand a respect of traditions in a primitivearray of smells and flavors: a mix ofhumor and aromatic essences fromthe land and the sea. Crucoli’s cuisine,savory yet simple and healthy, is basedexclusively on the genuine productsthat come from its territory. The do-

minating and unfailing component ofits cooking is the “putaparò”, a trulyhot pepper that made the sardella acelebrated food, worthy of an historicaltreatise. The origin of this renowned fishingpreserve may be attributed to the cu-stoms of ancient peoples of the Medi-terranean who consumed a great dealof fish, particularly the blue variety,that was dried in the sun and preservedwith salt. In his treatise on naturalscience devoted to fish, Apuleius usesthe term quisquiliae to indicate thesmall whitebait that Romans used toprepare a kind of sauce. We owe tothe Greeks, however, the invention ofa sauce made with the entrails of va-rious fish, mixed into spicy and aro-matic substances, better known as ga-ron, later renamed garum by the Ro-mans. This specialty was kept in large

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ceramic amphorae that facilitated itstransport, and it was destined to be-come a quite popular product in im-perial Rome. It is likely that the garumtradition was handed down to us fromthe time when Greeks and Romans li-ved in this territory, leaving traces oftheir presence through culinary cu-stoms and practices. The fishing ofthe baby sardines that were quite abun-dant along the coastline on the IonianSea has certainly influenced the pre-paration of sardella that by virtue ofits taste cannot truly be compared togarum, which Pliny the Elder describedas a mush of rotten fish. The earliest descriptions of the pre-paration and preservation of sardellago back to the beginning of the 15th

Century, when a new kind of pepper,red and spicy, was imported from Ame-rica. It was dried and made into a finedust, thus becoming the principal in-gredient of the renowned preservemade with small whitebait. ProfessorGiuseppe Virardi, an historian of po-pular culture and an inexhaustiblesource of historical and literary infor-mation on the subject, defines Crucoli’sgarum, i.e. the sardella, as an harmo-nious marriage of smell and flavor,the fruit of gifts from the land and thesea. He goes as far as comparing it ajewel of great value by stating: “a nec-klace of rubies (the peppers), madeprecious by small drops of emerald(wild fennel) would not make a greatshow of itself on the beautiful chestof a woman if the single stones werenot mounted in the precious surroun-ding of gold (oil) and silver (sardella)that frame, support and bind the com-position in a synergy”. Apart from his metaphor, Virardi claimsthat Crucoli’s sardella is a specialtythat is unique in the world: The secretof its unmistakable taste is in the skilleddosage of the utilized ingredients, inits treatment and conservation in placesthat are not damp and that are shelte-

red from light. Its fragrance and itsintense and persistent perfume areenhanced by a ripening period of sixor seven months in clay containers(terzaluri) or wooden barrels (tined-dri). The preserve is also known as“mustica”, a term that may be derivedfrom Greek, signifying the containerused, or from the Arabic mustika, mea-ning piquant sauce. Another name gi-ven to the preserve is “rosamarina”, aterm that takes from the Latin locutionros marinus, meaning sea dew. On ac-count of its fine grain and rather crea-my content, besides the excellence ofits taste, the sardella has been com-pared to the celebrated caviar, so muchso as to deserve the definition of “thecaviar of Crucoli”.This “cream of passion”, as the phy-siologists of taste have praised it, isthought to spread fire through theveins to the point the in past centuriesit was used as a magic potion and lovefilter. Apart from such beliefs, it isscientifically proven that the preserveis a sort of a long life elixir, due to thecombination of blue fish with hot redpepper, two elements of proven healthbenefit which attribute to this productthe alchemic value of a drug.

2014 ECUMENICAL DINNERThe convivial ecumenical meeting, that brings together all Academicians in Italy and around

the world at the virtual table, will take place on October 16 at 8:30 pm,and this year’s theme will be The Cuisine of Rice. This theme, chosen by the“Franco Marenghi” Study Center and approved by the President’s Council,is aimed at rediscovering the cuisine of the many varieties of rice usingtraditional recipes that may have been long forgotten and that are

part of our regional culinary patrimony. We will also examinesome new culinary trends involving rice. Delegates are responsi-

ble for insuring that the ecumenical dinner be accompanied by anappropriate cultural presentation that illustrates the importance of the

proposed theme, and that a menu devoted to the chosen theme is followed.

C U L T U R E A N D R E S E A R C H

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There are so many sayings andproverbs associated with salt.One of the most famous comes

from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount tothe Apostles: “You are the salt of theEarth, but if that salt has lost its taste,how shall its saltiness be restored?”(Matthew 5:13). There are others,such as “The salt of patience seasonseverything”, “Give neither counsel norsalt until you are asked for it.” And soon. We can even speak of its symbolicvalue, as in “pact of salt” (exchange)in which salt symbolizes stability andfidelity in marriage, political accordsand economics.What is it that so profoundly andsolidly ties man, or better still, lifeitself, to salt? In chemistry, salt is anelectrically neutral compound madeup by the union of many ions (anions

and cations) generally deposited withina crystalline lattice and joined by afairly high ionic link that is able tocreate, or better still, facilitate andpreserve, life.Simply put, we can confirm that lifeoriginated from a hydro-saline solutioncontained in our primordial seas.It is likely that the Earth’s first inhabi-tants’ appreciation for salt predatestheir earliest permanent settlements,but when man abandoned huntingand gathering activities in favor ofagriculture, thus creating permanentsettlements and cultivating crops, saltbecame a fundamental element in hu-man history. The cultivation and con-sumption of cereal grains, which arelow in salt gave a new impulse to theuses of salt, including as a means ofpreserving foods, cheeses and salamis.

BY GIANANDREA PALADINIAcademician, Pisa Delegation

There is a strong and unbreakable link between salt and humanity.

Cum grano salis (With a grain of salt)

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C U L T U R E A N D R E S E A R C H

It was only later, with man’schanging taste, that salt be-came indispensible for sea-soning food.In its natural form, salt canbe collected from mines, andthis type is known as halite,or rock salt. It can also be ex-tracted from seawater (by farthe most common method)through a process of boilingor evaporation. Obviously boi-ling is a costly and seldomused process except for sometypes of cooking salt that areprized for their particular cha-racteristics of tastiness, colorand aroma. But the kind of salt thatwe use most, both in terms of produc-tion volume and its availability aroundthe Mediterranean basin, is salt achie-ved from open-air evaporation suchas the salt from Cervia and the upperAdriatic and Trapani in Sicily. The Romans were the first to use saltcommercially, exporting it from itsplaces of production all across the em-pire. The use of salt was primarilyconfined to the conservation of fish,and already in the first century Plinyaffirmed that a civilized life was im-possible without salt. Cassiodoro, a5th Century Roman historian and writerdeclared that “We can do without gold,but not without salt”.Salt was the “fifth element” for me-dieval alchemists, along with water,earth, air and fire. Considering the high value it carriedsalt soon became used in commercialtrade instead of gold. It became knownas white gold, and was also used invotive offerings. The Romans built roads to facilitatethe marketing of salt, starting withthe via Salaria that joined the pro-duction centers of the Adriatic (Portod’Ascoli) with the Eternal City, fromwhence it was distributed internallyalong the peninsula. During the reign of the Sun King inFrance, salt was an important elementin the coffers of the state: 60% of theroyal income came from salt.

One of the many wars fought oversalt took place in 1540 between thePapal States and the city of Perugiawhich refused to pay Rome three timesthe price for salt as that paid by Siena.That war led to Perugia’s total loss ofliberty for more than three centuries.The war between Ferrara and Venicefor the customs control over the watersof the Po was also a memorable epi-sode associated with the salt tax.The city of Salzburg was also the thea-ter of a war over this product. Thecity and its bishop-count enjoyed enor-mous riches coming from the saltmine that gave the city its name. Butthe jurisdictional battle with Bavariathat had remained dormant for manyyears, violently erupted with the Ba-varian conquest of the mines. The mi-nes were a source of contention be-cause while the mine itself lay in Ba-varian lands the entrance was in Sal-zburg territory. And finally, a morerecent example. Gandhi’s non-violentmarch of 1930 was provoked by theimposition of a salt tax by the British.The 24-day march culminated withthe protesters’ arrival at the salt panson the shores of the Indian Ocean tocollect a handful of salt to symbolicallyrepresent its possession in the nameof all the people of India.We have discussed the “salt roads”but it is perhaps more interesting toexamine the “paths” of salt that wereused for centuries by the smugglers

of this product. An infinitenetwork of paths that cris-scrossed innumerable Italianborders from the Papal Sta-tes to the Kingdom of Na-ples, from Venice to Austria,and even Switzerland, fromTuscany to the Marche andso on.And now for some scientificdata. Salinity is measuredin Baume degrees with aninstrument (aerometer) in-vented in 1700 by AntoineBaume. The salinity of theMediterranean measures onaverage 3.5/3.6 degrees

Baume, or about 34-36 grams of saltper liter. The Adriatic is slightly higherin salinity than the rest of the Medi-terranean. At the beginning of the20th century, the annual world pro-duction of salt was around 10 milliontons; in 1987 it had already reached187 million tons. Fifty percent of theproduct is absorbed chemically, so ha-lite or rock salt is preferred for thegreatest purity. But whether madefrom sea salt or rock salt, the “refinedsalt” used in cooking is the most wi-despread and economical. But thereis also raw salt, rich in minerals, aswell as iodized salt for thyroid condi-tions and a low sodium variety forpeople with hypertension. And of cour-se there is an infinite variety of smoked,spiced, volcanic and colored salts pro-duced through boiling. Producers ofDanish smoked salt or Hawaiian redvolcanic salt, like other similar nicheproducts, pay closer attention to theircomposition and presentation in dishesthan to their availability and organo-leptic properties. Salt enhances tasteand makes food more enjoyable. Tu-scan tradition calls for coarse salt tobe used on grilled fiorentina steaks tocreate a pleasant contrast on the pa-late. Easy to find, simple, economical anduniversally enjoyed, salt has playedan important role in the culture, eco-nomics and lifestyle of each and everyone of us.

C U L T U R E A N D R E S E A R C H

PAGINA 12

T he tagliatella, whose birth is lostin the depths of time, is theresult of an elementary mixture

of water and flour that is obtained bysquashing and pounding the seeds ofplants that man found in his territory.Such a mixture is one of the simplestfoods that man has exploited for hisnutrition; with time, women learnedthe process of spreading and flatteningthe mixture out, thus generating theprogenitor of the sheet of dough thatin turn produced various kinds of pastaand soup. The Romans were the first toenrich the mixture with eggs, a creationthat was abandoned because of the po-verty of the times, particularly in thedark ages at the end of the first millen-nium. In the 12th Century the first evi-dence emerges of the use of the dough,still a simple mixture of water withflours obtained by milling the seeds ofvarious plants. The mixture was then

cut into strips of differentwidth. Later, as the kno-wledge spread, recipes“to make tagliatelli” be-gan to appear. It wasonly as late as 1400when the egg was ad-ded: this is where thedevelopment of our ta-gliatella started, accom-panied and dressedwith different type ofsauces. The classic andtypical Bolognese ta-gliatella took off at thebeginning of the

1800s with the bourgeois cuisine as theresult of combining tradition and indu-strialization. The technological benefitsof the industrial revolution are relatedto the present process of making ta-gliatella by working it by hand, on awooden platform, mixing water, wheatand eggs, and then rolling it, still byhand, with a wooden pin in order togive shape to a thin layer of dough. Once the dough is wrapped around acotton cloth it rests for a short time. Itis then rolled again, cut up into stripsof a certain width thus producing thetagliatella in its “golden format” of1972; subsequently, since 1982, it isproperly dressed with the classic Bolo-gnese ragout. Beside the classic ragout,in time the tagliatella acquired a rich“wardrobe” and made its appearanceon the dinner table while dressed, fromtime to time, with onion sauce, withprosciutto only (for the tagliatella Ro-magna style), prosciutto and asparagus,garlic and walnuts, with a shade of le-mon, porcini mushrooms, coffee, giz-

zards and chanterelle, chicken liver andovarina, and duck. At times, the taglia-tella itself can change structure andcomposition; by introducing chestnutflour in the mixture, dressing it withpancetta sauce and romano cheese, orby mixing in nettles and spinach, boiledor crushed, thus producing a greendough for a green tagliatella with pro-sciutto sauce or zucchini flowers.Looking at the long history of Bolognesetagliatella and the many ways that itwas dressed by sauces at various times,we can state that it represents a culturalevent. In this case, culture signifies kno-wledge of tradition from its origin andits farthest roots. The tagliatella, in allits vestments, reinforces its reputationof a first course that brings honor toBologna and its cuisine.Recently, by initiative of a group of theFriends of Tagliatella, among them se-veral members of the Bologna Delega-tion, The Eno-Gastronomic “The WellDressed Tagliatella” Association cameto life in Bologna. The new associationtakes its place alongside the historical“Learned Confraternity of Tortellino”for the defense and enhancement ofthe typical essence of the classic Bolo-gnese cuisine.

BY TITO TROMBACCOAcademician, Bologna Bentivoglio Delegation

With the passing of time, beside the classic Bolognese ragout, it acquired a rich “wardrobe” to appear at the table as dressed by a wealth of diverse condiments.

The well dressed tagliatella