Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well (115 page)

113
Shades, ghosts of the departed.

114
Pompeius Festus, a Roman grammarian of the fourth century A.D.

115
Saba
, filtered, unfermented wine must, boiled down to a third of its original volume; see note to recipe 458.

116
A sweet relish somewhat similar to chutney. “Mostarda” should not be confused (as Italians themselves sometimes do) with mustard (“senapc” in Italian).

117
First made in the convent of Santa Brigida in Pistoia; hence their name.

118
See recipes 560 and 645.

119
Levico is a resort town in the Alto Adige, a northern region that includes the South Tyrol and where many Austrian traditions persist.

120
A timbale is a small drum-shaped metal mold, which is filled with pasta along with cheese, chicken, fish, meat, etc., and then is either steamed or boiled for a considerable time. See recipe 279.

121
See recipe 618 and note.

122
Neither Artusi nor his informant seem to be aware of this holiday’s real significance. In fact what they are describing is the famous Twelfth Night Fires, kindled 12 days after Christmas to herald the sun’s return following the Winter Solstice. And very typically, the fires are accompanied by the sort of festivities and prayers mentioned here. In reality this so-called Feast of the Epiphany was stolen or rather “appropriated” by the Christians, as was so much of their myth and ritual, from the Old Religion, here specifically from the Celtic worship of
Sol Invictus
(The Invincible Sun); this holiday has been discussed at length in James Frazer’s
Golden Bough
. The Veneto region in Northeastern Italy (where the town of Conegliano is located) was part of ancient Cisalpine Gaul, and it would seem, in light of Artusi’s report, that Celtic rituals still survived in the region which is also, and without contradiction, one of the most fervently Catholic parts of the country. We might add that eggs, as seeds of future life, are fare appropriately eaten during a festival intended to honor the agricultural cycle.

123
See Artusi’s recipe for this dish (366).

124A
The Italian “bucchero” derives from Spanish
bucaro
(Portuguese
pucaro
). Imported from the Indies and Portugal, it consisted of scented bole clay, came in various hues, and was used for making fine chinaware. The rage for bucchero spread to Italy in the late 16’s.

124B
Artusi is referring to the famous siege of Florence by the imperial army of Charles V in the Spring of 1530, when Malatesta Baglione was commander of the Florence forces.

125
In Artusi’s day, “speziali” could fulfill the role of grocer and pharmacist as well.

126
It seems that bucchero ultimately derives from Greek
boukaros
, which means dark-red clay and/or the pottery made from it.

127
Orpiment is a lemon-yellow crystalline powder (containing arsenic) used as a pigment and a dyestuff.

128
At the time Artusi was writing, Italy was governed by kings from the House of Savoy, in whose honor “savoiardi” (ladyfingers) were created. There is therefore an element of wry political satire in Artusi’s description of this dish.

129
In English in the original.

130
Dante,
Inferno
II, 3-6.

131
A pure, transparent form of gelatin obtained from the air bladders of certain fish. See recipe 479.

132
See note to recipe 618.

133
A euphemism for a pig’s slaughter.

134
See note to recipe 458.

135
See note to recipe 458.

136
A variety of cabbage rose, with a mossy calyx.

137
Orlando Furioso
, vol. 1, stanzas 42-43, by Ludovico Ariosto, translation by William Stewart Rose, in
Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso
, Vol. I (London: John Murray Albemarle-Street, 1823).

138
Mocha is a seaport in what is now Yemen; it was a major center for the export of coffee.

139
Artusi is debating with Paolo Mantegazza (1831-1910), a noted physician and anthropologist. See Lorenza de’ Medici’s Introduction, page xxxix.

140
From
Il Giorno (The Day), “
Morning,” by Giuseppe Parini (1729-1799).

141
Francesco Redi (1626-1698), a physician, naturalist, and man of letters. The poem Artusi quotes is
Bacco in Toscana [Bacchus in Tuscany
).

142
Act IV, scene iv.

143
A city in what is now modern Syria; a major center of transportation and commerce, including that of coffee.

144
See note to recipe 776.

144
A white grape, first grown by a man named Alamanno Salviati.

145
A gummy substance obtained from the Acacia tree, used as an emulsifier.

146
See notes to recipes 458 and 624.

147
See note to recipe 598.

148
See note to recipe 481,

149
Dante,
The Divine Comedy
, Paradiso X, 25. Bickersmith translation.

150
The fruit of the service tree, resembling small pears.

151
The holiday Artusi mentions here is Berlingaccio, the last Thursday before Lent.

152
On May 5, 1861, i.e., soon after the unification of Italy under the rule of the House of Savoy, the first Sunday in June of each year was declared to be a national holiday to commemorate the unification of the country and the establishment of the kingdom.

153
August 15 is the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

154
This holiday celebrates the birth of the Virgin Mary.