By Zara McDowell
As we approach our final days in Italy, the MU Food Writers reflect on our food experiences from the past month. We have all tried new foods throughout our journey and suggest that everyone who travels tries something new as well.
Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGphmot7cx0
Thank you Nadav for capturing our farewell in such a perfect fashion. I miss Italy so much!
Nadav Soroker, MU food writer and photographer in Florence, May 2016.
By Nadav Soroker
SIENA, Italy – We fill the entire patio outside of Il Vinaio, well outside of the tourist center of Siena, down a long road leading away from the Piazza del Campo. Squeezing into the benches we talk about our final day to shop in the city before we all disperse, where we shopped and what we saw.
We get prosecco and water and wait for the first course as the water tells us that we are going to be served the Tuscan philosophy of food in a meal. Just like every meal we have had on our trip, we start with some Crostini, in paté and egg and spicy sausage varieties, bringing us back to the Bruschetta and the Crostini Neri of Florence that were our staples as we learned to call Florence home.
We move…
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By Zara McDowell
MU food writers arrive at the cooking class at Tenuta di Spannocchia, hosted by Loredana Betti. Everyone was handed an apron and a recipe book that included all of the dishes that we were going to make. First, the group started by making the dessert, tiramisu, so it had time to chill in the fridge. Laredona Betti a has been making this dessert for 30 years, yet she showed us step-by-step on how to make it, and then made sure we all sampled our creation half way through the process.
Video 2:
After Loredana Betti’s step-by-step instruction, she let the MU food writers make our own personal tiramisu dish. Needless to say, they were not as pretty as hers, but they still tasted delicious. After making tiramisu, chicken stuffed omelet and asparagus, potatoes with sesame seeds and homemade tagliatelle pasta, Loredana carried out each dish…
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By: Zara McDowell
Sara Silvestri’s honey collection. So many flavors, so little time.Photo by Zara McDowell
CHIUSDINO, Italy-The bees buzz in the ears of travelers at Tenuta di Spannocchia, just outside of Siena, while soaring their way to making the next batch of honey. Millefiore miele, or thousand-flower honey, is produced using various types of flowers found on the farm in Spannocchia.
Gabriele Paludi, beekeeper, lives off-farm and makes an appearance at Spannocchia at least once a month to attend to his honey-do list. In colder winters, he checks on the bees more often to ensure they are getting enough food. At the end of the summer, Paludi collects the honey with the help of farm interns. The end product of the bees at work, millefiore miele, is consumed at the farm’s family-style meals and is offered for sale in the gift shop.
At the farm, honey—not smooth or…
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Risotto alla Milanese from Di Gennaro in Milan, along with spaghetti alla carbonara. The bread is salted in Milan unlike the unsalted bread in the Tuscan region.Photo by Zara McDowell
By Zara McDowell
MILAN, Italy- If you could taste Milan in one bite, it would include saffron.
Saffron has become a Milan staple despite struggle in the beginning. The spice was well known and highly desired in Europe but the cultivation plummeted as soon as the Roman Empire was overshadowed in the 1400s. However, saffron was re-introduced to Italy after a nearly 300-year hiatus during the spread of the Islamic civilization. It’s now become a core part of Milanese food culture.
Saffron, a difficult crop to harvest, is expensive. The bright red “threads” are the stigma of the crocus flower and must be harvested on a sunny day when the flowers are opened and still fresh. I can only…
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By Zara McDowell
Roast beef at the Caffe Fiaschetteria Il Pucino in Siena.Photo by Zara McDowell
SIENA, Italy- Caffe Fiaschetteria Il Pucino, nestled along the Via Dei Termini, was filled with businessmen in powder blue button downs and dark blue ties, other local Sienese Italians and one confused group of tourists – us – who had unintentionally stumbled off the beaten path.
As we landed tiredly into our purposefully distressed white wooden chairs and matching table, the waitress placed different colored glasses and mustard yellow place mats, olive oil, salt, pepper and silverware onto the table. The tiny café, adorned with handwritten color-coded menus—blue for antipasti, green for salads and red for meat dishes— had an inviting atmosphere. Plus, prior to studying abroad, our group was told that if restaurant staff did not speak English, we were likely in the right place.
Being what I call a meatetarian, I…
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By Zara McDowell
Ham curing at La Perla Salumficio in Parma, Italy. Photo by Zara McDowell
PARMA, Italy- The sound of loud air conditioning units and smell of raw meat fills the air of the Parma ham factory, La Perla Salumficio, owned by brothers, Carlo and Fabrizio Lanfranchi.
Prosciutto di Parma can only be produced in the Parma region of Italy using pigs born and bred in central-northern Italy, by law. After 2,000 years of this style of production, 160 families now carry on the tradition. Each year, ten million pieces are produced in Parma and the Lanranchi’s create 50,000 of them.
Visitors this day are greeted by Carlo, sharply dressed in a purple button down that pokes out of his white lab coat; he is sporting a warm smile as he rolls out a cart full of hairnets and white robes to cover our clothes.
Next, he opens a…
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By Zara McDowell
FLORENCE, Italy- Neatly stacked pink and brown cups line the back shelves of the Gelateria Santa Trinita, awaiting customers to pick their flavors. The gelateria, open for eight years, typically has eager crowds choosing from the classic choices-cioccolato, crema and vaniglia (chocolate, cream and vanilla) among many others. I ordered un piccolo cono con Santa Trinita e cioccolato with a trill of excitement, not knowing quite what the Santa Trinita flavor was (cream and Nutella).
Even the momentary delicacy of gelato has its base in a solid routine. Crema and sorbet are the two foundations for a gelataria’s final masterpieces. The gelato chef here arrives at the the Piazza Dei Frescobaldi at 7 a.m. to prepare the crema gelato that is ready by the time the store opens.
The sorbet gelato chef arrives at the Gelateria Santa Trinita at 9 a.m., and begins preparation for…
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FLORENCE, Italy – So it begins. Day One: University of Missouri students Nadav Soroker, Jenna Severson, Abby Kintz, Vivian Farmer, Hannah Dustman, Raina Brooks and Zara McDowell sit around their professor Nina Furstenau in Ganzo for their first group dinner in Florence during the MU Journalism Abroad Will Write for Food 2016 course. Photo set up by Nadav Soroker, taken by friendly Florence University of the Arts waitress.
May 24, 2016: Florence, Italy
An Italian woman dressed in a white apron greeted me as I entered my first Italian BAR. Nervously, I asked for a cappuccino. My coffee arrived in a fashion that I was not used to. This is an ITALIAN cafe, I thought to myself, NOT a Starbucks, and I was grateful for that. The antiquely decorated bar could only hold a few patrons at a time.
The cappuccino arrived in a tiny Italian coffee cup and saucer with painted flowers on the side. I took a sip of my first Italian cappuccino and I tasted the Italian culture on my tongue. The warm and bitter espresso went down surprisingly smooth. The cappuccino only lasted a few sips, but the memories of my first Italian cappuccino will last a lifetime.
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