Something that I have noticed over and over again while I have been ordering food and eating in Italy it that Italian food does not have a lot of spices. Other than the penne al’ arrabbiata, one of my favorite Italian dishes, every other Italian dish that I have ordered has been pretty mild. This was pretty disappointing for me being that some of my favorite types of food are Indian and Thai food because I love heat. Upon doing some research I found out that Calabria is known for its Calabrian peppers which are very spicy. So while certain parts of Italy like their spices, Italian cuisine as a whole is generally mild.

This week’s reading was about Italian food in America. It was really interesting to learn that Italian food was not immediately as popular in the United States as it is today. When we think of American food, spaghetti and meatballs and pizza are up at the top of the list. It was also interesting to learn how the Italian attitude towards food and using minimal meat was commended during the war. Italians were able to make any food such as cabbage go a long way and taste good. It was almost humorous to read that Americans thought that they needed to teach Italians how to cook in the more frugal American way because Italians did not know how to shop correctly and cook nutritiously but in the end, it turned out it was the Italians who were cooking in the way that was needed to survive the wartime.

I especially enjoyed this reading because I am from an Italian American family and while I grew up in California, every time I go back to Illinois, I am surrounded by over 30 Sicilians cooking enough Americanized Italian food to feed an army. The reading said that Italians tend to only shop in Italian grocery stores and that is 100% true for my older relatives. I have a million memories of going with my Grandpa to the Italian market on a Sunday and helping him shop for Sunday night dinner. And when we get to the market everyone is speaking only in Italian.

 

This week I had the pear pasta again for a friend’s birthday because everyone here at the John Felice Rome Center loves it. It was really good and I am not going to lie, the combination between savory and sweety is super satisfactory. However, after having a talk with my food and wine professor earlier in the semester I cannot help but looking at the dish in a whole new light. The dish is not exactly “Italian”. The way my professor described it was almost like a Russian Pierogi. Or Pierogi inspired. It was not a ravioli or a tortellini and I have never experienced that combination of flavors in Italian cooking. In my experience, Italian menus do not normally veer off of the traditional recipes or at least they stay somewhat similar to the original recipes. I have noticed that Italians do not like change. For instance, when Rome tried to introduce a Starbucks and it was basically run out because coffee is a sacred drink here. It thrives everywhere else but here.

This weeks reading was about Pelligrino Artusi and his famous book Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well. Artusi’s background was extremely interesting because he left Folimpopoli because his family was attacked by the Ferryman, a burglar that almost seemed like a myth but caused serious psychological harm to his family. He and his family moved to Florence where he pursued many arts but then decided to write a book on recipes and cooking. The book helped to unified a divided Italy after it was only recently made into a country. He brought together recipes from all over Italy and used the Florentine Italian language which helped teach Italians from all over the official language of their country through the common language of food.

It was really interesting to read about the background of why food is so important to the Italian people and their history. It is not just that they make really good food and cook a lot, but food actually helped unify the Italian people and create an Italian identity. Food is literally one of the main elements of Italian culture before the common people or language. My grandparents actually have a copy of Artusi’s book and remember them once (probably many more times) pulling out the book and flipping through to decide what to make for a family picnic we were having.

I was not able to attend the cooking class with the rest of the Food and Wine class.  However, earlier in the week I had minestrone soup for the first time and polenta.  I tried minestrone because I had heard my friends talking about a really good minestrone they had eaten a couple of weeks ago and I was curious to try especially because I am always eager to eat veggies in Rome. I also wanted to try polenta when I saw it on the menu because we have talked about it in class multiple times. Cornmeal polenta was brought over to Europe from the Americas by Columbus in the 1500s and it was generally served to the poor people in Italy. The polenta I had was not made from cornmeal and was made with mushrooms. It was extremely flavorful and overall really good!

This weeks reading discussed the fish used in traditional Roman dishes. The reading included recipes such as Alci Alate (salted anchovies), Spaghetti con le Alci (Spaghetti with anchovies, without tomato, and Baccala’ al Forno Alla Monticiana (salt-cod baked with tomatoes). I was interested to read about so many recipes that included fish because I normally do not see these on menus in Rome. I know that anchovies are extremely popular and common but I usually do not see people eating meals with cod or eel.

I grew up with my Italian grandfather who loved anchovies on his pizza and would always order a half anchovy pizza and half cheese for me. However, the smell would spread through the box and my cheese half would taste like anchovies and I was disgusted. So ever since, I have not even been able to look at an anchovy.

 

This week I had a vegetarian lasagna at a restaurant in Testaccio. It was so good. The middle layer was so creamy. It was made with a type of ricotta cheese and spinach and it had tomatoes, carrots, artichoke and cheese on top. I am usually not a lasagna fan because I prefer regular pasta and it is pretty hard to find vegetarian lasagna. Also to switch things up, I tried Italian Mexican food. I am from Southern California so I take my Mexican food very seriously. I went to Picos in Trastevere and it was actually not terrible. The nachos were really good. The queso tasted like it does at home and they put sour cream, jalapenos, guacamole, beans, and tomatoes on top. It was not fully authentic but it did quench my craving.

This week in class we watched a movie called ” Cooked: Earth” by Micheal Pollan. I actually really enjoyed this movie. It talked all about fermentation and how different foods such as cheese, chocolate, and beer are made. I was especially interested to learn about how chocolate was made. Chocolate is made by taking cacao beans and cutting them open and taking out the beans and the gel inside and then putting it inside a wooden container and covering it and letting it ferment.  Putting the beans into the box turns up the temperature which is necessary to ferment. More bacteria is formed with acetic acid and on the 7th day, it gets the chocolate color. The beans are then are dried out and chopped up and turned into what we know as chocolate.

When I was little my dad used to make beer in my garage. I remember him explaining that he had to heat up the beer to a certain temperature and he was checking the temperature every couple of hours. I did not know that the beer was fermenting or basically anything about fermentation but it is really cool to know that my dad was able to do that in our tiny garage.

This week I tried an Aperol Spritz for the first time. It was bitter with an orange flavor. I did not like it that much. I know it is the staple of Italian aperitivo but I honestly prefer a simple glass of white wine or sometimes a red wine. I think that it is the type of drink that you either hate it or you love it. I also had one of my favorite Italian dishes ever, Penne all’ Arrabbiata at a restaurant in Trastevere. I love this dish because it is like regular penne with tomato sauce with a spicy twist.

This week in class we harvested olive oil. It was extremely hard, manual labor. Since I am short, I had difficulty reaching the olives on the top branches of the trees which was extremely irritating because there were a lot of good olives up there. I learned that green olives are better for making olive oil than the darker olives. This was interesting because apparently, the ancient Romans used to use the darker olives oil for lamps and to give to slaves for consumption. We also met an olive oil sommelier who taught us how to taste olive oil. He also informed us that the olives we harvested were not good olives but he said that the olive oil harvested from last years olives was not that bad.

Personally, I eat a lot of olive oil because it is really good for your heart and I cook a lot of my vegetables in it. I grew up with my Italian family and I was taught that you never mix parmesan cheese with olive oil in restaurants. When I go out with friends and they mix the two it makes me cringe. It was really interesting to learn about the olive oil industry and how some people are trying to forge some oils. It is kind of scary to think about how you do not know what is in the oil that you are consuming, especially if you have serious allergies.

This week I tried mushroom risotto for the first time. I usually hate mushrooms but for some reason, that day I was craving risotto and the thought of mushrooms in risotto sounded appetizing. It was amazing. It was so filling and creamy. Honestly, it might be one of my new favorite dishes. It was nice because I felt full, which I usually don’t, and I got a combination of carbs, dairy, and fungi (vegetables?). Overall, I was extremely satisfied and it was really nice for someone who is a picky eater like me to try something I usually do not like and be pleasantly surprised.

In the reading this week, we learned about Platina, the Vatican’s librarian, who translated/ “wrote” the first widely circulated cookbook during the Renaissance. Platina is extremely interested in the Galenic theory that we learned in class. For a quick recap, Galen basically said that in order for the stomach to properly digest food, the stomach needs to be warmed up. This can be done in a variety of ways such as consuming alcohol or exercising. Platina believed that foods like melons needed to be eaten in moderation because they were cold and wet and could upset the stomach. Platina also brings up the issue of pleasure versus self-restraint. The wealthy were eating peacocks to show their wealth but wasting the majority of the bird. Platina believes that there is a delicate balance between pleasure and morality. This week we also learned about the Chain of Being, which talks about which foods and animals that are closest to God and which ones are further away. Wealthy people preferred not to eat food grown underground because it was further from God and therefore it meant that it was one of the least noble foods. Animals that fly and fruits and vegetables are grown above ground were all closer to God.

I would say nowadays, this logic does not apply. Vegetables are not seen as the food of the poor. If anything, healthy food is more expensive. Meat is expensive and harder to obtain, but I would not say that there is a stigma on vegetables as being a poor food. In current times, people do not really eat to display power. When we have dinner parties, we eat what is good, even if there is something more expensive, why waste money on something no one wants? Like in the Renaissance with the peacock. It is a waste of time and money. The only comparison I could make from current times to the power display of the Renaissance could be when people post pictures on Instagram or Snapchat of their food from more expensive restaurants. When I see the pictures I usually assume its to show how picturesque their food is but honestly, it might also be to show that they can afford to purchase expensive and pretty food.

Trastevere: An Ancient Neighborhood with a Hipster Vibe

 

One of my absolute favorite things to do in Rome is to get aperitivo. It is a cheap and fun way to experience the city’s nightlife while having a nice glass of wine and tasting a few different types of foods. My friends and I love going to aperitivo in Trastevere because of the insane amount of restaurants that offer it in really cool settings. We also love to sit outside on the cobblestone, under the lights and try to meet passing John Cabot University students. Trastevere is a neighborhood with a very ancient Roman vibe but it has a very contemporary, hipster feel.

 

One of my favorite restaurants that I went to was called Caramella. It was extremely trendy and all candy and sugar-themed. The restaurant was full of John Cabot students and the waiters were all young Italians eager to meet other young people from far away. One of the dishes that locals favor is called “fritto romano (a variety of fried delicacies)” (Rome Loft). I personally have never tried this dish but I have seen it on a menu and have wanted to try it. As a vegetarian it is hard to find a lot of things to eat so when I see vegetables, I am extremely interested. At this restaurant, I tried a Moscow Mule for the first time. I wanted a break from wine and we were at a restaurant that had such a fun drink menu. They put cucumbers and a lime in it and overall I enjoyed it. My friends were also impressed because the aperitivo had meat which is pretty hard to find. Another interesting piece of information that I actually found in my research and not in my actual visits to Trastevere is that “Amatriciana or Carbonara are both good choices [to order in Trastevere]. Both dishes are based around pasta, bacon, and cheese, but the difference in taste is something quite unexpected. Originality and authenticity are the two key ingredients to an amazing Italian dinner, and both are provided here in ample supply” (Rome Loft). I did not realize that Carbonara has an origin from the Trastevere neighborhood. I tried to get more information about this but it turns out that this is a very disputed subject. Carbonara is one of those dishes that everyone claims that they invented, however many blogs have declared that they ate the best Carbonara of their lives in Trastevere.

 

Trastevere has an extremely vibrant and long history in Rome. During the 1970s, Rome and most of Italy was a hotbed for unrest and Trastevere served as a place for artists, writers, activists, and communists to gather. Basically, it was full of Italian hippies. A place that used to be authentic is now full of touristy restaurants and bars full of drunk Americans (Henderson). Connecting this history of more independent Romans who like to think off the beaten path, Trastevere is known for having craft beers which are hard to find in Rome.“ bustling Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fà (named after a football chant) on Via Benedetta has craft beers from Italy and beyond” (Hanzlik). This adds to the theme of Trastevere being full of young and hipster restaurants and bars within an ancient setting.

 

John Henderson, the Journalist who wrote about the extreme change in Trastevere between the 1970s and current times described it as a “Tourist Trap”. He talked about how you can hear English being spoken almost as much as you can hear Italian while walking around. However, all of the times I have gotten food in Trastevere, I have met a lot of interesting Italian people and felt immersed in the culture.

 

In ancient times, Rome had a very scattered wine distribution network. Wine storage areas were sometimes permanent and sometimes semi-permanent. Trastevere was one of the areas used to store wine during these times. The Cella Nigriniana was stored away from the Tiber so that when the water rose it would not flood. The Cellae vinariae Nova et Arruntiana, however, flooded because it was too close to the river (Conison).

 

The slow food movement was created to promote locally sourced foods and vendors. Many restaurants that I researched while trying to find places to eat in Trastevere support this movement. Again, I believe that this might be connected to the forward-thinking past of the people who originate from this neighborhood. This neighborhood would be one to pick up on a progressive movement such as this. In my research, I found a restaurant called Spirito DiVino. The restaurant’s website explains that the chef was once a virology expert but is now loves to experiment with food. The restaurant has pledged to only use food from locally sourced producers and to support small agriculture (Spirito DiVino).

 

The restaurant’s website also discusses the more general history of Rome stating that “After the Roman era, the oldest inhabited area of Trastevere was grouped around the piazza in Piscinula, using the river as a primary source of economic and commercial activity. At this time there was a significant Jewish presence and, before the community moved to the left bank of the river Tiber, several synagogues were founded” (Spirito DiVino). This explains why some of the foods that are extremely popular in the Jewish Ghetto are also popular in Trastevere such as fried artichoke. As someone who does not eat meat, I have very little options other than carbs for dinner and I have actually had a fried artichoke in Trastevere that was amazing. Suppli, which is related to the Sicilian arancini, also has an origin with the Roman Jews which could explain why it is so common to find in little takeout pizza shops on every corner in Trastevere (Mussio). Trastevere being located near the Tiber, which allowed for economic and commercial activity, could be a reason why the streets are full of many street vendors, performers, and people of all different cultures. Nowadays, everything is relatively easy to get to but back in ancient times, places near rivers were easier to make common places of activity and business.

 

At first glance, Trastevere is an extremely old looking neighborhood. It is crumbling but in an appealing, beautiful way that only Rome can achieve. However, the ancient vibe stops with the buildings. The restaurants are catered to their young and adventurous customers who come day but mostly night to experience this amazing Roman neighborhood. It has a history of attracting residents and visitors who have cutting edge and innovative ways of looking at the world even while the rest of the world is falling apart. This allows Trastevere to provide things that most of Rome does not have such as craft beer. A good number of the restaurants here promote progressive eating styles that conform to the slow food movement. However, while this neighborhood does have a new age hipster feel, a lot of this originates from the past. It also served as a popular place to store wine as well as a hotbed of activity because it was near the Tiber. Jews lived here before they were forced into the Ghetto and they left a lot of influences on the tastes of the local foods.  Trastevere is an enigma of old and new and it is a place that I plan to spend a lot of the next year while I am here in Rome.

 

Works Cited

 

Conison, Alaxander. “The Organization of Rome’s Wine Trade.” University of Michigan, 2012,

deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/91455/conison_1.pdf;sequence=1.

 

Hanzlik, Louise. “A Perfect Day in Trastevere, Rome’s Favourite Neighbourhood.” Lonely

Planet, Lonely Planet, 10 Sept. 2015,

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/rome/trastevere-and-gianicolo/travel-tips-and-articles/a-perf

ect-day-in-trastevere-romes-favourite-neighbourhood/40625c8c-8a11-5710-a052-1479d2

77b005.

 

Henderson, John. “Trastevere: From a Fiery Past to Rome’s Souvenir Stand.” The Local, The

Local, 2 Aug. 2016,

http://www.thelocal.it/20160802/trastevere-from-a-fiery-past-to-romes-giant-souvenir-stand-his

tory-italy

 

Mussio, Gina. “Believe It or Not, a Lot of Tradition Roman Dishes Were Created by Jews.”

Walks of Italy Blog, 10 May 2016,

http://www.walksofitaly.com/blog/food-and-wine/why-jewish-food-needs-to-be-on-your-list-of

-what-to-eat-in-rome.

 

“Place and Taste in Trastevere and Beyond.” Anita’s Feast, 1 Sept. 2017,

http://www.anitasfeast.com/blog/2017/04/place-taste-trastevere-beyond/.

 

“Rome Tour Guide – Trastevere.” Rome Apartments Rental,

http://www.romeloft.com/rome-best-areas/trastevere-rome-guide/.

 

“Your Slow Food Restaurant in Rome.” Spirito DiVino – Restaurant in Trastevere, Rome, Italy,

Wine Cellar, SlowFood, http://www.ristorantespiritodivino.com/.

This week I went to a Chinese restaurant near the campus in order to try something other than Italian food. The food was pretty good. I think my food was much better than my friend’s because I ordered only Vegetarian items. I was surprised that their “Chinese” food was not really Chinese but a combination of all types of Asian foods. I ordered vegetable samosas, vegetables, edamame, avocado sushi, and vegetable spring rolls. The menu had many Indian, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Taiwanese influences. My friends who ordered Orange Chicken were surprised that instead of getting fried chicken in a sweet sauce like in the United States, they got chicken strips with literal orange slices on top. Overall the restaurant was good and it was nice to have a change of pace from our regular meals.

This week we read about the food of the middle ages. The Romans originally ate the Mediterranean Triad, olives, grapes, and wheat, however, when the Barbarians took over, these meal staples were replaced with meat, dairy, and butter. Christianity continued to try and push the importance of the Mediterranean diet by making religious days where you could not eat animal products. We learned in class that this could occur almost every three days, so people were forced to incorporate the olive oils, grapes, and wheat into their diet. However, with the Barbarians came a much higher demand for meat. Pigs were a popular choice and sometimes cows if they had an old one die. We learned in class that the population began to decline so people began moving to cities. As people began moving to cities, the Saltus began to grow making it easier to hunt for meat. Fish was sourced in fresh water and it was not nearly as popular as meat. It was used mostly to make up for the protein lost when the church said you could not eat meat.

This is an extremely interesting lesson for me because I try to live by the Mediterranean diet most of the time. I do not eat meat so I try to eat a lot of olive oils and I eat a lot of grains. I do, however, have to incorporate a lot of high-fat dairies and occasionally I will eat very light fish. It is interesting that my diet is a combination of the Roman diet before they were taken over by the Barbarians and the Barbarian diet, minus the meat.

I spent last weekend on the Amalfi Coast. I stayed at a hostel in Sorrento and traveled to Positano, Pompeii, and Capri. At the hostel, I ate more group cooked meals which meant more pasta. It was good but nothing spectacular. In Capri, I had an amazing orange and lemon granita. The man making it poured at least four shots of vodka in it while I watched him make it, however, the sweetness of the drink counteracted the bitterness of the alcohol. I decided this was a dangerous mixture and only had one. In Pompeii, I had a really good pizza with a thicker crust. I am assuming it was so good because we were so close to Naples. In Positano, I opted to eat picnic style and ate an avocado, a yogurt, and some chocolate on the black sand beach.

This week’s reading talked about Nebbiolo, a native grape to Italy. Nebbiolo is the base of many of Italy’s best wine’s. The name comes from the Latin word for fog which could refer to when the grapes are most in season or what the grapes look like when they are in bloom. The Nebbiolo grape grows in a very specific area of Italy making it more difficult to grow. The Nebbiolo can mutate its phenotype to fit its environment to create many different types of biotypes. It was really interesting that both the Barolo and Barbaresco wines are created with 100% Nebbiolo grapes but they are still considered very different wines. We learned in class that they are created differently. We also learned that Barolo is considered the “King” because it was created first and Barbaresco is considered the “Queen” because while just as good, it was created in spite of Barolo.

I do not have much personal knowledge about red wine. I usually prefer white wine and the only thing that I know about red wine is that it has the grape’s skin. Something with this grape skin also correlates to tannins in the wine. I also know that for me, personally, that cheap red wine can sometimes give me migraines.

Last weekend we were in Umbria and while it was stunning and the wine was amazing, the food that we were provided was not great. I am assuming that this is because I was traveling with 200+ other college students and we were eating plain meals on a budget but the repetitive pasta, potatoes, and zucchini got old quick. I am a vegetarian and since Umbria is a very meat-based region, they did not really know what to do with me. They gave me tomatoes and a lot of carbs to make up for the lack of food but it did not make up for the lack of protein. The wine at Le Climate was incredible. I usually prefer white wine but now somehow I have developed a taste for red. We learned about the multi-grape blends and something about knowing where the wine came from and eating the actual grapes really made it taste better.

This week’s reading was about bread. I was very interested to see how much technique goes into the actual baking of the bread. They roll it out and put yeast in it and let it sit all for very specific reasons. The way the reading described baking bread was almost as if it was an art and how you almost have to be an expert to make even somewhat decent bread. I also thought it was interesting how much bread itself affects the human culture. A lot of human conflicts has been centered around bread and there are many religions that have important aspects surrounding bread. In the Bible, there are many references to breaking bread showing how it can bring people together and bring people closer to God. For a long time bread has been an essential part of the human diet and is a huge part of human life. I also thought it was interesting that the bread in Umbria had little to no salt in it. We discussed in class that this was because salt used to be expensive but the taste of the people who lived in the area remained even when the price went down and now they prefer bland bread. I personally prefer my bread to have more flavor but it was interesting that even though they can afford to add salt to their bread, they prefer not to.

My family is Italian so I grew up eating bread as a snack almost every day with olive oil and balsamic. My dad makes his own dough to make pizzas in our pizza oven and my mom usually buys our dinner rolls from a bakery down the street. Bread is just a part of my daily diet but also a huge part of my life in general considering how often I ate it and how much of a difference it would make if I did not have it.