From the Palette … to the Table

Posted on May 10, 2018 by babbityjean

Rice is an ingredient seen in cuisines throughout the world, but risotto is a preparation specifically Italian, although it too has spread throughout the world.  While Italians are quite proud of their extensive cuisine, one of their most famous dishes is Risotto alla Milanese — not only for its exquisite flavor, but also because of the legends that surround the dish and also because of the saffron that Italy is known for.

According to an early legend, the roots of Risotto alla Milanese date back to the traditions of Medieval Kosher cuisine.  In fact, it is possible to find in libraries the recipe for riso allo zafferano (saffron rice), the forefather of the Milanese risotto. It was probably exported from Sicily and reached northern Italy thanks to the help of Jewish merchants.

Sicily also is the homeland of Risotto allo Zafferano in another legend.  A Sicilian chef who moved to Milan decided to prepare the famous Sicilian Arancini (stuffed rice balls, which are breaded and fried). However, not finding all the ingredients necessary for the stuffing, she made do with a slightly different version. And thus was born the first saffron yellow risotto.

But the most well-known legend on the origins of Risotto alla Milanese is found in a document at the Trivulziana Library in Milan.  According to the manuscript, the Milanese dish was “born” in 1574 during the wedding festivities of the daughter of Mastro Valerio of Flanders, a Flemish painter who at the time was working on the glass windows of the Duomo of Milan.  According to sources, Mastro Valerio had an assistant called “Zafferano,” who was in the habit of mixing a little saffron spice into his colors in order to make them livelier.  During the wedding of Valerio’s daughter, the mania of Zafferano passed from the painter’s palette to the table.  Perhaps just for fun, the assistant negotiated with the cook to add a little saffron to the risotto, which, at that time, was served only with butter.  The reaction of the guests was surprising.  Besides adding an exquisite flavor to the dish, the saffron made the dish the color of gold, a symbol of wealth and prosperity.  From that day on, the yellow-colored risotto became one of the most fashionable dishes of the period, traveling from osterie to taverne throughout Milan and then throughout Italy far and wide.

Saffron is an ancient plant that originally came from the Middle East although it is also mentioned in Medieval Italian documents.  In those times it was so precious that it was used as a bargaining chip, like cattle and land.  Saffron is so expensive today, about 3.000 euros a kilo ($1,680 per pound– or about $130 per ounce), that it is often kept under lock and key at grocery stores.  It can only be picked by hand, and the right pistils have to be chosen by humans. Only the golden crimson ones can be used, and 200 of them are needed to produce a single gram.

Italy today is home to the best saffron in the world, produced in the valleys between Abruzzo and Tuscany.  Throughout Italy there are many products and recipes that contain saffron, including Tuscany’s saffron honey, Sicily’s pecorino called Piacentinu Ennese DOP, and, of course, the legendary Risotto alla Milanese.

 

Posted in Abitudini, Architecture, Arte, Comunità ebrea, Cucina italiana, English, Foto, Italia, Milano, Sicilia, Storia, Toscana | 2 Comments

Immigrazione?

Posted on May 3, 2018 by babbityjean

Ho letto per la prima volta il seguente testo durante una lezione di italiano.  L’insegnante ha coperto gli ultimi due paragrafi e la citazione alla fine e poi ha chiesto agli studenti di indovinare di chi stava parlando l’autore.  Pensavo che il brano fosse una metafora e che trattasse di animali selvatici o non domestici.  Ecco il testo:

“Generalmente sono di piccola statura e di pelle scura.  Non amano l’acqua, molti di loro puzzano perché tengono lo stesso vestito per molte settimane.  Si costruiscono baracche di legno ed alluminio nelle periferie delle città dove vivono, vicini gli uni agli altri.

Quando riescono ad avvicinarsi al centro affittano a caro prezzo appartamenti fatiscenti.  Si presentano di solito in due e cercano una stanza con uso di cucina.  Dopo pochi giorni diventano quattro, sei, dieci. Tra loro parlano lingue a noi incomprensibili, probabilmente antichi dialetti.  Molti bambini vengono utilizzati per chiedere l’elemosina ma sovente davanti alle chiese.  Donne vestite di scuro e uomini quasi sempre anziani invocano pietà, con toni lamentosi e petulanti.

Fanno molti figli che faticano a mantenere e sono assai uniti tra di loro.  Dicono che siano dediti al furto e, se ostacolati, violenti.  Le nostre donne li evitano non solo perché poco attraenti e selvatici ma perché si è diffusa la voce di alcuni stupri consumati dopo agguati in strade periferiche quando le donne tornano dal lavoro.

I nostri governanti hanno aperto troppo gli ingressi alle frontiere ma, soprattutto, non hanno saputo selezionare tra coloro che entrano nel nostro paese per lavorare e quelli che pensano di vivere di espedienti o, addirittura, attività criminali”.

Riuscite a indovinare di chi sta parlando l’autore? Il rapporto continua…

“Propongo che si privilegino i veneti e i lombardi, tardi di comprendonio e ignoranti ma disposti più di altri a lavorare.  Si adattano ad abitazioni che gli americani rifiutano pur che le famiglie rimangano unite e non contestano il salario.  Gli altri, quelli ai quali è riferita gran parte di questa prima relazione, provengono dal sud dell’Italia.  Vi invito a controllare i documenti di provenienza e a rimpatriare i più. La nostra sicurezza deve essere la prima preoccupazione”.

–Il testo è tratto da una relazione dell’Ispettorato per l’Immigrazione del Congresso americano sugli immigrati italiani negli Stati Uniti, Ottobre 1912–

Dagli anni 1880 fino circa al 1920, oltre 4 milioni di italiani emigrarono in America.  Ci sono molte ragioni, molte delle quali sono legate alle circostanze in Italia dopo l’unificazione nel 1861.  (Tratterò questo in un futuro post.)  Tuttavia, il pregiudizio era dilagante negli Stati Uniti; vedete, ad esempio, il mio post su Sacco e Vanzetti, il 19 ottobre 2017.

 Ho fatto una piccola ricerca su questo passaggio. Apparentemente, ci sono oltre 3.500 pagine web in Italia che citano questo testo.  Tuttavia, la fonte originale (in inglese, ovviamente) non è stata individuata.  Un individuo curioso ha persino scritto ai bibliotecari della Library of Congress che non erano in grado di trovare il documento originale.  Anche se non voglio perpetuare una storia inventata, a patto che lo sia, chiedo ai lettori di considerare questo passaggio come un altro esempio di pregiudizio, xenofobia e razzismo—che certamente non mancano in tutto il mondo allora ed ora.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Abitudini, Immigrazione, Italia, Italiano, Italoamericani, La Gente, Storia | 1 Comment

Immigration

Posted on May 3, 2018 by babbityjean

I first read the following text in our Italian class.  The teacher covered up the last two paragraphs and the citation at the end and asked us to guess who the author was speaking about.  I thought the passage was a metaphor and that it was about some wild or undomesticated animals.  Here is the text interspersed with an occasional explanatory paragraph.

“They are generally of small stature and dark skin.  They don’t love water, and many of them smell because they wear the same clothes for weeks. They build shacks of wood and aluminum in the suburbs, quite close together.

When they manage to get closer to the city center, they rent expensive but decrepit apartments. Usually two appear looking for a room with the use of a kitchen.  After a few days they become four, six, ten.  They speak languages incomprehensible to us, probably antique dialects.  Many children are used to begging, often in front of a church.  Women in dark clothing and older men plead for mercy in petulant and plaintive tones.  They have many children who they struggle to maintain and they are very united among themselves.  It is said that they are committed to theft and, if stopped, can become violent.  Our women avoid them not only because they are unattractive and wild, but also because of widespread rumors there are rapes committed after ambushes in the streets when the women are returning from work.

Our government has opened our borders and, above all, has not understood how to select from those who come into our country to work and those who think they can live on gimmicks or even criminal activities.”

Can you guess who the author is talking about?  The report continues…

“I propose that preference be given to those from the Veneto and Lombardy, slow of thought and ignorant, but more willing to work than others.  They are suited to homes that Americans refuse so that their families can remain united, and they do not dispute salaries.  The others, those who are referred to in this first report, come from southern Italy.  I invite you to check the documents of origin and repatriate them.  Our security must be the first concern.”

–Report from the Inspectorate for Immigration in the U.S. Congress on Italian immigration into the United States, October 1912—

From the 1880s until about 1920, more than 4 million Italians came to America.  There are many reasons, many of which are tied to circumstances in Italy following unification in 1861.  (I will address this in a future post.)  Nonetheless, prejudice was rampant in the United States; see, for example, my post on Sacco and Vanzetti, October 19, 2017.

 I subsequently did a little research on this passage. Apparently, there are more than 3,500 web pages from Italy that cite this text.  Yet, the original source has not been located.  One inquisitive individual even wrote to the librarians at the Library of Congress who were not able to locate the original document. While I do not want to perpetuate a fabricated story (if this is one), I ask that readers view this passage as yet another example of prejudice, xenophobia, and racism—and we have no shortage of that around the world then and now.  

Posted in Abitudini, English, Immigrazione, Italia, Italoamericani, La Gente | 2 Comments