Monthly Archives: August 2001

Parmigiano by Another Name

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Nomenclature matters: enough to take it up with the European court of justice in Luxembourg. Italian parmigiano cheese makers won the battle against industrially-produced imitators trying to cash in on the cheese’s clout by using the name “parmesan.” Considered a benchmark case in countries with numerous local specialties to defend, the decision, however only limits damage from cut-rate Italian versions. The words “parmesan” and “Made in Italy” cannot appear on products from Italy which do not meet the centuries-old production process. Companies who produce copy-cat products outside Italy can still use the name.Why the semantic fuss? The parmigiano business lobby is a strong one–profits from the cheese make it second only to Italy’s fashion industry. For the five provinces which produce the “official” parmigiano–Reggio, Modena, Bologna, Mantua Parma–the name is everything.

http://www.parmigiano-reggiano.it

Test your knowledge of parmigiano (from what cows are fed to aging process) with the Parma consortium guide. In English/Italian.

Pastasciutta to Go

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A source, naturally deep throat, confirms our hunch about a new kind of Italian fast food — one colossal of the local market is clamoring to get things going in Europe…

Pasta giant Barilla plans to open the first in a series of quickie restaurants before year’s end..starting with Greece.

Related resources:
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Here Comes the Panzerotto

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Long considered the poor cousin of the calzone, the panzerotto is poised to take on the international market thanks to one family-run operation. The crescent-shaped pocket filled with meat, cheese or vegetables fried and served hot is the specialty of the Luini family, which has fed three generations of Milanese in the shadow of the Duomo. The success of a London branch, where the panzerotti are going at the rate of 1,000 a day, has spurned them to try the Japanese market.

Related resources:
Have a look at the official site (in English & Italian) www.luini.it
For recipes (Italian only) look up “panzerotto” here: www.cooker.net

Ooh! The first portable espresso maker

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“The states? Great, but I couldn’t get a decent cup of coffee.”
No more whining: now a real espresso can be had most anywhere. Bialetti has invented an electric version of a two-cup moka, perfect for the picky coffee enthusiast. Just plug in (converts to 110 or 220 volts), wait 3 or 4 minutes and “Elettrika” does the rest.
Only for real enthusiasts (who, except for the espresso-fanatic, would lug coffee, sugar and cups around?) but at least the option is there. The Elettrika will set you back Lit. 43.200 (around $22 USD). http://hishop.bialetti.it/it/shop/prodotto.asp?codiceArticolo=0000208

Food Therapy: Curing the Heart at the Table

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It’s the high-tech version of what grandma always said–this new site about food therapy (called “psicocucina”) proves that comestibles can cure what ails you.Low self esteem? The Greek pepper salad is a perfect remedy-it’s an impressive dish sure to win the applause of dinner guests..Insomnia? Try the blackened onions in Oriental aroma–the smell is “hypnotic” and the cook is likely to nod off during the 8 hours cooking time. The most unusual?
A recipe for cuckolds: spaghetti with clams. The reasoning–if the “patient” has “corna” or horns, the only way get rid of them is to eat some and clams are easier to digest than snails.
www.psicocucina.com/

Italy by Numbers: Summer Food Festivals

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2 million Italians participating in August “sagre”
43% take place in southern Italy
18% take place in central Italy
29% dedicated to seasonal produce

Summer in Italy means “sagre” or fairs in celebration of local specialties. Most center around produce: the Eggplant Fair (Corigliano – Aug. 14) or the Blueberry & Raspberry Fair (Trasaghis – Udine- month of Aug.)
Though festivals centering around fish or cheese are half as common as those dedicated to meat, the mad-cow scare will probably influence crowds.
Time-honored traditions involving meat (like the donkey stew fair in Calliano (AT) – August 25) probably won’t boast a huge turnout.
Better to stick with pasta, like the Pappardelle Fair in Montespertoli (Florence Aug. 24 – Sept. 3)

Italy’s First Vegetarian Fast Food Eatery

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There’s something to be said for cosmic timing. When entrepreneur Giovanni Lo Coco got the idea for Italy’s first vegetarian fast food restaurant in 1996, there was no mad cow scare in sight.

But this particular brand of new-age eatery couldn’t have debuted at a better moment–Coco’s opened its doors in Milan June 2001–a month after the Fiorentina steak was banned, offering up soy burgers to Italians suddenly wary of Mc Donald’s.

Meat consumption, never particularly high in the Bel Paese, dropped 25% in April alone. Italians were on the lookout for alternatives — enter the Vegaburger.

"Love all, serve all," recites the bullet-shaped logo on a toothpick adorning the soy-and-cereal concoction, which can also be had with cheese. The star of the menu, which runs around $3, is passably meaty and filling — clearly the favorite for office-workers crowding the joint on a weekday. Less convincing are the insipid oven-baked fries and somewhat run-of-the-mill tortellini with ricotta and mint. A children’s menu, featuring animal-shaped soy patties, may mean less work for parent’s trying to get kids to desert Ronald.

Lo Coco, 45, former director of a tour company, got the idea on holiday in India– and the restaurant, reflects any number of ideas that may or may not help compete with the golden arches. The ergonomic chairs are comfy, the orange and blue hues soothing, but the jury is out on the aroma diffusers–appetite stimulating for day, conversation stimulating for evening–which cover the smell of food. Two thumbs up for the biodegradable cutlery and plates…

Smoking is thankfully banned throughout the restaurant, but wine & beer are on hand. Coco’s, unsurprisingly, has plans to expand– but while they’re doing Feng Shui analysis for the next locations, try our guide to Italian vegetarian dining.

The Rub:
Coco’s, Via San Prospero 4 (near Piazza Cordusio)
Hours 10 a.m. — 11 p.m.
Meal for two ran about $12 USD, roughly 25% more expensive than Mc Donald’s, but comparable to a quick sandwich/light meal in the average caf?.

 

Wine Speculator

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French-Italian financier Christian Roger had the right idea at the right time: a wine investment fund. A closed-end fund managed in London and Geneva, it allows wine aficionados to pool capital for investment in “great Italian wines.”
Timing couldn’t be better: the authoritative Wine Spectator put Antinori’s Toscana Solaia 1997 at the top of its annual "Best Wine" list. It’s the first time an Italian vino garners the title –given Solaia’s initial price ($90USD) and the quantity produced (7,000 cases) the price will surely skyrocket.
Two other Italian wines made it on the "Best Wine" list:
Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Bolgheri Ornellaia 1997
Castello dei Rampolla Toscana Sammarco 1997

Would-be investors make note: it’s probably no coincidence that all three wines are from Tuscany and 1997 vintage–due to weather conditions, that harvest was somewhat less than expected in terms of quantity – but exceptional in terms of quality, considered one of the greatest of the last half century. Buon rendimento!

 

Related resources:
For a taste of what’s to come, check out "Vino e Finanza" Roger’s new wine-tasting haven in Milan (via Morigi 13)
www.winespectator.com
www.antinori.it

Italy by Numbers: Still Smokin’

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$150 million (300 billion) state revenue increase from price hike
$50-150 proposed fine for smoking in public places
$1.50 (Lit. 3.000 ) current fine for smoking in public places
1 new anti-smoking law, back to the drawing board

When the Italian parliament dissolved March 9 2001, it left at least one piece of unfinished business: a stringent new anti-smoking measure. Smoking was banned in public places (hospitals, theaters, schools, nightclubs and on public transportation) in 1975, but public authorities rarely enforce the regulations. Hard to blame them, the measly fine is not exactly a deterrent. The new law, in addition to heftier fines, proposed “cigarette police,” a person appointed by the organization to fine people lighting up where they shouldn’t. Health minister Umberto Veronesi’s proposal was criticized as an “attack” on smokers, who felt they were going to be persecuted by the government. No worries: Italy’s state tobacco monopoly has no reason to persecute such a lucrative public. In fact, to fill government coffers, it announced a cigarette price hike yesterday-the $ .20 increase on each packet will add up to around $150 million in 2001.

Related resources:
www.ultimobanco.it
Italian non-smokers can pull a few punches at politicians with this new interactive game.

Italy by Numbers: Foreign Population Growth

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1,464,589 foreigners in Italy (Jan. 2001)
+15.3% increase from 1999
2.5% foreigners in current Italian population
2.2% foreigners in 1999 Italian population

The number of foreigners resident in the Bel Paese showed a sizable increase from 1999, noted national statistics institute ISAT. The increase had little effect overall–Italy still has one of the lowest percentages of foreigners in relation to the population in the EU.