Febbraio 2013 - Accademia Italiana della Cucina

Newspapers and television shows held
competitions asking for ideas and advice,
and the Academy even issued an official
statement and participated in interviews.
And so we got on board. But to be totally
honest, it was only so much hot air.
Nonsense. For centuries, every so often, in
recurring cycles, books on leftovers have
been published, starting with Olindo
Guerrini’s historic book The Art of Cooking
with Leftovers, a well written book that
came out in 1918, to the many modern
recycling manuals, like Letizia Nucciotti’s
Forward People! The Art of Recycling
Everything that is Leftover in your Kitchen. I
also remember Master Chef Bruno Barbieri’s
Passionate about Meatballs and Cooking
without Waste by Andrea Segrè instructing
us on how to utilize potato peels, wilted
salad, spinach spines and fish heads. All
well and good, but let’s be honest: no one
sets a lavish holiday table for 10 Euros a
person. We can save money on other days -
every day - but not on Christmas and New
Year. And we can spend less money today
simply by not buying prewashed and
chopped salad, sliced salami in plastic
packages, take-out food from the
gastronomy aisle, or rice that cooks in 3
minutes. Seasonal vegetables really cost very
little, poultry is reasonably priced, as are
some farm-raised fish. In other words,
recycling is important, but not always
welcome by diners. What is fundamental is
the art of grocery shopping. Modern
supermarkets do everything in their power
to make consumers overspend; they tempt
us with superfluous, convenient and
expensive foods. In reality, what we really
need does not cost very much. We are the
garbage generation: today between 45 and
55 kilos (100 - 120 lbs.) of food per person
is thrown away every year, along with 80
(176 lbs.) kilos of paper, plastic and glass.
Our shopping carts are filled with
unnecessarily bulky packages that should
have been minimized by the producers.
Once upon a time there was hardly such a
thing as garbage: pea pods were used to
make a cream soup, cherry pits could be
made into a liquor, and coffee grounds
made an excellent fertilizer for plants. Even
bones were made into soap. Fortunately
some things are no longer necessary and
we make pea pod soup because it’s
delicious and makes us happy, not just to
avoid generating trash.
PAOLO PETRONI
INTERNATIONAL SUMMARY
EATING AS NATURE INTENDED
see page 5
From the sea to the table, Apuano
Academician Alfredo Pelle describes the
many ways Italians prepare and consume
raw fish - not to mention Japanese sushi that
is so in vogue today. While emphasizing the
health benefits and “fresh from the sea taste”
of raw foods, he also affirms that for
centuries Italian cuisine has offered fish
cooked using various techniques: a true
expression of the ability and imagination
of our cooks.
MACAROONS
see page 7
Padua Academician Giancarlo Burri sheds
light on the history and the authentic recipe
for these cookies. The most creditable
version states that macaroons were
originally Italian and they were spread
throughout France by Catherine de’ Medici,
thanks to the Italian pastry chefs she
brought with her to France.
The idea of filling, however, was a French
one, that today includes both the sweet and
the savory.
FROM FOOD TO POETRY
see page 8
On the occasion of the conference Food
and Art organized by the Caltagirone
Delegation, poet Maria Attanasio presented
an in-depth study on the theme of food and
poetry. The earliest protagonists were bread
and of course wine, the very cornerstones
of writing.
The rise of mock heroes saw the beginning
of a demystification and satirical genre of
food in poetry that led to the subject’s
complete legitimization between the end of
the 1800s and the early 1900s when the
futurists began to promote innovation and
experimentation.
A WELL ROUNDED ACADEMICIAN
see page 10
Upper Treviso Delegate Marca Nazzareno
Acquistucci paints a portrait of Academician
Anna Bellemo, who passed away in 1995.
Raised in Montebelluno, she dedicated her
life to the study of the history of the Veneto
region and the civilization of the table.
Her true passion, gastronomy, led her to
CIVILTÀ DELLA TAVOLA 2013 • N. 246 • PAGINA 71
become an Academician in the truest sense
of the word, whose ability and wisdom made
her a regional reference point.
THE TASTES
OF THE ANCIENT ROMANS
see page 11
In Roman times the essential nutritional
elements were grains, vegetables, pork,
olive oil, and a variety of spices and
seasonings. Atri Academician Candida
Sulpizi gives a detailed description of these
products, focusing on their classification,
use, conservation and diffusion among the
ancient Romans.
THE VALUE OF LENTILS
see page 13
Rome Academician Publio Viola provides an
historical excursus on the lentil, from its
origins to the present day, and describes
this legume’s nutritional and health
properties. Finally, he explains how to
prepare them and suggests some traditional
Italian recipes.
PASTA AT THE MOVIES
see page 15
Taking inspiration from several books on
the subject, Modena Academician Sandro
Bellei presents a gallery of images and
feelings about pasta as presented in Italian
and foreign cinema.
Starting with Sofia Loren in La Ciociara, he
moves on to Alberto Sordi’s famous role in
An American in Rome, Toto in Poverty and
Nobility, Jack Lemmon in The Apartment,
Visconti’s The Leopard and finally arrives at
Sergio Leone’s celebrated “spaghetti
westerns”.
INSTRUCTIONAL BOOKS
see page 16
Avoiding the “informational overload” of the
Internet, Cagliari-Castello Academician Also
Vanini suggests that our collection of
culinary manuals constitute the only
authoritative source of knowledge.
As examples he cites three “instructional
books” that over the decades have provided
not only recipes but also anecdotes,
reflections and advice that illustrate
the evolution of gastronomy and Italian
society.