Italy: the land of extraordinary food

M – Good morning everyone

M – The title of today’s episode is “The Land of Bengodi”. 

P – Of course, the “Bengodi”. But, Marcello, I don’t remember well either, what was this Bengodi? 

M – For foreigners, Italy is the country of the DOLCE VITA, but for us Italians it is “Il Bel Paese” or even “Il Paese del Bengodi” an expression that we could translate as “Enjoy it all Land”. Bengodi is an imaginary town described by a Tuscan writer of the 1300s, Giovanni Boccaccio, who in one of his works invented a fantastic town called “Bengodi”, a town where there are mountains of cheese, waterfalls of macaroni, rivers of wine, trees with sausages hanging from the branches. 

M – Of course, you’re right. Anyway, jokes aside, Patrizia, today we’re going to talk about something that’s sacred to Italians, we’re going to talk about food. 

M – Believe me, when I say sacred I’m not exaggerating. What I mean is that the Italian culinary tradition, actually I should say “The Italian culinary traditionS” because there are many, is strongly connected with religious rites. 

P – That is, would the dishes of our cuisine have anything to do with religious celebrations and rites? 

M – Of course! Already in the chronicles of ancient times, rituals linked to food and products of the land are documented. 

The food with the strongest symbolic value for Italians, and not only, is certainly bread. We Italians, myself for one, eat a lot of bread, we don’t sit at the table without bread being on the table; at the restaurant, if there is no bread, we immediately call the waiter: “Mi può portare del pane per favore” “Can you bring me bread please?”. The term BREAD in many idiomatic expressions becomes synonymous with FOOD itself (for example, we say “togliersi iol pane di bocca” “taking bread out of one’s mouth”, and many other expressions).

In Italy we have many types, made with different doughs and cooking. Bread is transformed into focaccia, cakes, and a thousand other products. And then, just think that every religious festival is marked by the presence of a particular baked product, which refers to bread. The Colomba at Easter and the Panettone at Christmas. On the other hand, according to the Christian religion, bread is the most sacred food, and wine the most sacred drink, we Christians remember Christ’s supper by eating bread and drinking wine.

M – Certainly from the raw materials, the ingredients. We are lucky enough to live in an area that has been very fertile since ancient times. And then the Mediterranean climate. Soil fertility and a favourable climate have allowed the flourishing of crops that are unique in the world, which still persist today. 

M – Well, there are many similarities, of course there have been countless evolutions, but some foods already existed in ancient times. Just think, recently in Pompeii, in the archaeological site, a 2000-year-old fresco depicting a “pizza” has emerged. 

M – So….. not really a pizza, like the one we eat today. The round shape and the colors of the topping at a glance may remind you of a pizza, but 2000 years ago in Pompeii there were neither tomatoes (which were imported by the Spaniards from America) nor mozzarella. So, not really a pizza, but its ancestor. Probably a flatbread topped with pomegranate and dates, cheese and spices. The fresco also depicts a chalice containing wine. In short, focaccia and wine, Patrizia, what could be simpler and better?

M – Well, as far as focaccia is concerned the champions are the Ligurians. The famous focaccia Genovese, or the focaccia di Recco, are specialties to be tasted at least once in a lifetime. 

And anyway, in every region there is a focaccia filled with an ingredient that makes it unique. My favorite is the Piadina romagnola: Prosciutto, squacquerone (a cheese similar to mozzarella) and Rucola (the english rocket). 

However, every Italian region has something very special to offer. There are products that have gone around the world and others that are less known but deserve to be known and tasted and the list is so long that it would take a whole day to talk about it. 

– Truffle of Alba in Piedmont, 

– Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, 

– raw ham of Parma and San Daniele, 

– lemons of Sorrento, 

– orecchiette from Puglia, 

– chocolate of Modica in Sicily

– cheeses of all kinds: mozzarella, ricotta, burrata, parmesan, taleggio, Asiago. 

Not to mention wines and oils, each region has its own types and all of them are of the highest level. Above all, Brunello in Val d’Orcia and Barolo in Langhe. But the varieties are truly endless. 

P – But why is there such a varied cuisine in Italy? 

M – There are many reasons 

Climate (Latitude): from Mont Blanc to Mount Etna 

Geographical conformation 

Soil diversity, some products adapt better than others to different soils 

History of Italy: the regions were states that did not communicate with each other, with borders and duties. 

Different peoples have arrived and settled in Italy, bringing their customs and even their food

M – Of course, we call it “Italian Sounding”. The desire for Italian products is such that consumers all over the world buy anything that looks Italian, that sounds Italian. And so, manufacturers around the world create labels with Italian names, reminiscent of the originals, but for products that have nothing to do with the Italian originals. The imagination of producers around the world is endless. 

There is the “Gorgonzillo” which imitates Gorgonzola, a creamy cheese originally from Piedmont; 

then, the “Prosek”, which imitates Prosecco; 

the “Mozarella”, with a zeta, which is passed off as buffalo mozzarella, 

the “Salsa Pomarola”, instead of the Pummarola from Naples, 

the “Spagheroni” instead of spaghetti. 

The prince of imitations is Parmigiano. The original is called “Parmigiano Reggiano”. The name derives from the place of origin, the Benedictine abbeys located between Parma and Reggio Emilia. Today its production extends throughout the Emilia-Romagna region. After almost a thousand years, this cheese is produced with the same processing method used by the Benedictine monks of the time, even the ingredients are the same: milk, rennet and salt and no additives added. Even the cows’ feed is regulated, only fodder produced locally. And even the air is an ingredient, because the humidity of the Po Valley makes the difference between Parmesan and any other cheese in the world. Parmigiano Reggiano is subject to strict rules regarding the production and aging process, which obviously those who produce imitations are not respecting, not for a second. It is a delicious cheese, extremely nutritious and healthy. Robert Louis Stevenson in his book “Treasure Island” mentions Parmesan: Doctor Livesey, talking to Jim, describes Parmesan cheese, “a piece of Parmesan cheese–a cheese made in Italy, very nutritious.”Nothing to do with the various Parmesans around the world, who by the way do not have to comply with any rules. 

And one more thing. We Italians are obsessed with food safety. There are severe penalties for those who “make-up” food, and in general we pay much attention to the quality and genuineness of the products we eat, even industrial ones. And then, we don’t need to add taste enhancers, because our producers use high quality and tasty raw materials, so the products are already tasty without adding chemical ingredients. And then there are the denominations of origin, IGP, DOC, DOP, but we’ll talk about this in another episode. 

M – Since we talked about the “pizza of Pompeii” I would recommend a visit to the Archaeological Park. Among the numerous DOMUS/houses you can also visit the one that contains the fresco we have talked about and which seems to be an ancient bakery. Since we’re talking about food, again in Pompeii, we can see the ancestors of “fast food”. Take-away food and street food was very popular among the ancient Romans.