Calabria
Calabaria is a region located at the "foot" of the boot, as if it was kicking Sicily. This region was part of the Magna Grecia, meaning the Greeks settled on this land and while they were there, it thrived. The Greeks came from Greece not to get away, but to expand and create something more. They brought with them intelligence, artists, food, culture, etc. Down the center of Calabria, there are high mountains and along the coast, it is pretty steep. This is a perfect place for terrace farming because of the steepness of the land. There are very few flat lands in this region, but they depend on their production of wine, liquirizia, peperoncino, cipolla di Tropea, potatoes, and citrus. Let's dive deeper into each of these products because the land of Calabria is poor and their economy relies heavily on these products.
Liquirizia (or Liquorice)
Liquorice is used in three different forms: stick form, cube form, and candy form. The stick form has a lot of antioxidants that are extremely good for you. We were able to try it today and to eat it, you suck on it to get all of the "juice" out. It had a very interesting taste, sort of minty, yet spicy, and a little tart. This would be good to sweeten a broth for a soup or something that you do not want to add a strong sugar flavor to. The cubes are used in making things like ice cream because of the concentrated flavor. It can also be blended down into a powder, also used for ice cream. I would try it with a fish because I think it would compliment a fattier fish.
Liquorice comes from the plant gycyrrhiza glabra, as the roots of this plant. It is not native to Calabria, as it was used in India over 6,000 years ago.
Peperoncino
Calabria is known everywhere for their spicy pepper, which is said to be the spice of the poor because it gives a lot of flavor and was readily available, therefore it was inexpensive. Peperoncino started to be used in the 1800s, but did not become popular until around the 1930s when a high profile chef created a full meal with peperoncino. This plant is also not native to Europe, as it is from South America. It was used 9,000 years ago and cultivated by the Mayans and the Incas. When it came to Italy, it found the perfect soil and environment in Calabria to grow.
Did you know?
Peperoncino is the 2nd most used product in the world, only second to salt.
Cipolla di Tropea
This is an onion that is produced in the Tropea area of Calabria, located on the west coast of the region. This onion is unique because of the extremely sweet flavor it has, due to the microclimate of the area. They grow close to the sea, therefore the soil is sandy. The sweet taste of these onions make them different from the strong flavored onions we are used to. These onions leave no after taste, which means they can be eaten raw without leaving a strong taste after eating. This would be an interesting foccacia topping because onions are common, but the sweetness would add something different.
Patata della Sila (potatoes)
If you know me, you know potatoes are one of my least favorite foods, but this potato is interesting. It is an excellent potato for frying because they have a very high starch content and low water content. It is grown in the mountains and has a very thin skin. I wanted to look further into these potatoes and here is what I found:
The first cultivation of the Sila potato dates back to 1811, in the Statistical of the Kingdom of Naples. This cultivation on the Sila plateau has always been a tradition and is very important to the economy of the area. There are actually several varieties of this potato being grown today: Agria, Desiree, Company, Majestic, Marabel, Nicola. The Agria and Desiree varietals are Dutch and have a purple skin.
Agrumi (citrus)
Calabria is the second largest producer of citrus, first being Sicily. They produce Clementine di Calabria, which is a younger plant that found the perfect environment to grow in Calabria. They also produce bergamotto, a citrus that they produce 80% of the entire world's production. The final citrus they are producing is Cedro della Calabria, sort of like a lemon but only the rind is eaten. We actually used the cedro on our plated dessert for our lunch, Cibo da Favola al Castello.
(Read about it further on that blog post in the Northern Italy section!)
Slow Food is also important in Calabria, producing a few cheeses, meats, grapes, and cows. Here are their Slow Food Procedure Products:
- Caciocavallo di Cimina: This is a cheese that was aged on a horses back, hanging from the sides of the horse.
- Gammune di Belmonte: A cured meat that is produced in Belmonte, a village located on a rocky hill. I looked further into this cured meat and here is what I found from the Slow Food website:
This cured meat is a salted pork sausage, made by first deboning the thigh of a pig. The meat is then salted and flavored with peperoncino and then stuffed into the pig's bladder to age.
- Moscato al Governo di Saracena: A grape grown traditionally in Saracena, Calabria.
Logan made Nepitelle, which is a traditional cookie of the region. I was able to help make them which was nice! The dough is made with flour, sugar, pork fat, and eggs. It is very wet and similar to a cinnamon roll dough. The filling is composed of: dried figs, almonds, walnuts, raisins, orange jam, cloves, and cinnamon. The filling was very flavorful from the sweetness of the figs to the crunch of the nuts. I was not a fan of the dough as it was sort of flavorless and dense. I would try and add yeast to the dough, as to make it lighter and airy. Then I would add some spices and instead of lard, add butter. Traditionally, lard is used because butter was not available, but hey recipes are meant to be changed! The filling I would keep the same as it has an excellent flavor.
Today, I made Popette di Melanzane, which is basically an eggplant fritter. It is made with boiled eggplant (yes, boiled), breadcrumbs, pecorino cheese, grana padano cheese, an egg, and caciocavallo cheese. The "dough" is made with the breadcrumbs, grated cheese, and an egg and then is filled with pieces of the caciocavallo cheese. They are then rolled in flour and fried. The flour and texture was unique to say the least. I think I would try to make this into flat fritters and served them pretty thin. Then I would top them with some type of sauce or fresh veggies to help intensify the very simple flavor of the fritter.
Here are my final tasting notes on the flavorful region of Calabria:
- They use a lot of peperoncino!
- Veggies are used a lot, especially: eggplant, onions, mushrooms, and green pepper
- Bread is used from crostini to thickening a soup.
- They use a lot of beans, chickpeas, and lentils; creating a very hearty and full cuisine.
- Seasonings of the region: bay leave & garlic
- They have a tradition of pasta, from fresh to dry.
- Meat is served with cheese, something I have never seen before, but creates a depth of flavor.
- They use a lot of citrus.
- Almonds & walnuts are used throughout their pastries.
- Pork is the very important meat of the region
With love,
Baylee
Liquirizia (or Liquorice)
Liquorice is used in three different forms: stick form, cube form, and candy form. The stick form has a lot of antioxidants that are extremely good for you. We were able to try it today and to eat it, you suck on it to get all of the "juice" out. It had a very interesting taste, sort of minty, yet spicy, and a little tart. This would be good to sweeten a broth for a soup or something that you do not want to add a strong sugar flavor to. The cubes are used in making things like ice cream because of the concentrated flavor. It can also be blended down into a powder, also used for ice cream. I would try it with a fish because I think it would compliment a fattier fish.
Liquorice comes from the plant gycyrrhiza glabra, as the roots of this plant. It is not native to Calabria, as it was used in India over 6,000 years ago.
Peperoncino
Calabria is known everywhere for their spicy pepper, which is said to be the spice of the poor because it gives a lot of flavor and was readily available, therefore it was inexpensive. Peperoncino started to be used in the 1800s, but did not become popular until around the 1930s when a high profile chef created a full meal with peperoncino. This plant is also not native to Europe, as it is from South America. It was used 9,000 years ago and cultivated by the Mayans and the Incas. When it came to Italy, it found the perfect soil and environment in Calabria to grow.
Did you know?
Peperoncino is the 2nd most used product in the world, only second to salt.
Cipolla di Tropea
This is an onion that is produced in the Tropea area of Calabria, located on the west coast of the region. This onion is unique because of the extremely sweet flavor it has, due to the microclimate of the area. They grow close to the sea, therefore the soil is sandy. The sweet taste of these onions make them different from the strong flavored onions we are used to. These onions leave no after taste, which means they can be eaten raw without leaving a strong taste after eating. This would be an interesting foccacia topping because onions are common, but the sweetness would add something different.
Patata della Sila (potatoes)
If you know me, you know potatoes are one of my least favorite foods, but this potato is interesting. It is an excellent potato for frying because they have a very high starch content and low water content. It is grown in the mountains and has a very thin skin. I wanted to look further into these potatoes and here is what I found:
The first cultivation of the Sila potato dates back to 1811, in the Statistical of the Kingdom of Naples. This cultivation on the Sila plateau has always been a tradition and is very important to the economy of the area. There are actually several varieties of this potato being grown today: Agria, Desiree, Company, Majestic, Marabel, Nicola. The Agria and Desiree varietals are Dutch and have a purple skin.
Agrumi (citrus)
Calabria is the second largest producer of citrus, first being Sicily. They produce Clementine di Calabria, which is a younger plant that found the perfect environment to grow in Calabria. They also produce bergamotto, a citrus that they produce 80% of the entire world's production. The final citrus they are producing is Cedro della Calabria, sort of like a lemon but only the rind is eaten. We actually used the cedro on our plated dessert for our lunch, Cibo da Favola al Castello.
(Read about it further on that blog post in the Northern Italy section!)
Slow Food is also important in Calabria, producing a few cheeses, meats, grapes, and cows. Here are their Slow Food Procedure Products:
- Caciocavallo di Cimina: This is a cheese that was aged on a horses back, hanging from the sides of the horse.
- Gammune di Belmonte: A cured meat that is produced in Belmonte, a village located on a rocky hill. I looked further into this cured meat and here is what I found from the Slow Food website:
This cured meat is a salted pork sausage, made by first deboning the thigh of a pig. The meat is then salted and flavored with peperoncino and then stuffed into the pig's bladder to age.
- Moscato al Governo di Saracena: A grape grown traditionally in Saracena, Calabria.
Logan made Nepitelle, which is a traditional cookie of the region. I was able to help make them which was nice! The dough is made with flour, sugar, pork fat, and eggs. It is very wet and similar to a cinnamon roll dough. The filling is composed of: dried figs, almonds, walnuts, raisins, orange jam, cloves, and cinnamon. The filling was very flavorful from the sweetness of the figs to the crunch of the nuts. I was not a fan of the dough as it was sort of flavorless and dense. I would try and add yeast to the dough, as to make it lighter and airy. Then I would add some spices and instead of lard, add butter. Traditionally, lard is used because butter was not available, but hey recipes are meant to be changed! The filling I would keep the same as it has an excellent flavor.
Today, I made Popette di Melanzane, which is basically an eggplant fritter. It is made with boiled eggplant (yes, boiled), breadcrumbs, pecorino cheese, grana padano cheese, an egg, and caciocavallo cheese. The "dough" is made with the breadcrumbs, grated cheese, and an egg and then is filled with pieces of the caciocavallo cheese. They are then rolled in flour and fried. The flour and texture was unique to say the least. I think I would try to make this into flat fritters and served them pretty thin. Then I would top them with some type of sauce or fresh veggies to help intensify the very simple flavor of the fritter.
Here are my final tasting notes on the flavorful region of Calabria:
- They use a lot of peperoncino!
- Veggies are used a lot, especially: eggplant, onions, mushrooms, and green pepper
- Bread is used from crostini to thickening a soup.
- They use a lot of beans, chickpeas, and lentils; creating a very hearty and full cuisine.
- Seasonings of the region: bay leave & garlic
- They have a tradition of pasta, from fresh to dry.
- Meat is served with cheese, something I have never seen before, but creates a depth of flavor.
- They use a lot of citrus.
- Almonds & walnuts are used throughout their pastries.
- Pork is the very important meat of the region
With love,
Baylee
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