Preserving Italy - Canning, Curing, Infusing, and Bottling Italian Flavors and Traditions

452 Pages·2016·10.2 MB·English

by  Domenica Marchetti

Copyright © 20 16 by Domenica M archetti
Photography © 20 16 by Lauren Volo
All rig hts reserved.
Food styling by M olly Shuster
Prop styling by Richard Vassilatos
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this
book, write to [email protected] or to Permissions,
H oug hton M ifflin H arcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue,
19 th Floor, N ew York, N ew York 10 016.
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Library of Cong ress Catalog ing-in-Publication Data
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N ames: M archetti, Domenica, author. | Volo, Lauren, photographer.
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Title: Preserv ing Italy : canning , curing , infusing, and bottling Italian
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flavors and traditions / Domenica M archetti ; photography by Lauren
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Volo.
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Description: Boston : H oughton M ifflin H arcourt, [2 016] | Includes
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bibliographical references and index.
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Identifiers: LCCN 201 5037 8 82| ISBN 9 78054 4611 627 (trade paper) |
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ISBN 978 05446 1235 8 (ebook)
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Subjects: LCSH : Cooking, Italian. | Canning and preserving— Italy. |
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LCGFT: Cookbooks.
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Classification: LCC TX723 .M 326 55 201 6 | DDC 64 1.5945—dc23
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LC record av ailable at http://lccn.loc.g ov/2015 0378 82
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v1 .0 616

C O N T E N T S

INTRODUCTION

SAFETY

WATER-BATH CANNING

PRESSURE CANNING

Foods Preserved in Oil

Foods Preserved in Vinegar

Sweet Preserves: Conserves, Jams, Jellies, Marmalades

Tomatoes and Sauce

Infused Oils, Vinegars, and Condiments

Fresh Cheeses and Simple Cured Meats

Syrups, Liqueurs, and Fruits Preserved in Alcohol

Confections

SOURCES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INDEX

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

INTRODUCTION

When my grandmother passed away in 1971, she left behind four
grieving daughters and a large jar of her liquor-soaked cherries. The
amber glass v essel was filled with tiny sour Amarena cherries that had
been dried in the sun and then submerg ed in a sweet and potent syrup
of sugar, alcohol, and spices. The jar was kept in a dark, cool pantry in
the family apartment in Rome and the cherries doled out very
parsimoniously by my mom and aunts. Ev en though we were pretty
young, my sister and I loved those tiny flav or bombs and their boozy
syrup. I can’t tell you how many times we feigned mal di pa ncia
(stomach cramps) to get a spoonful. We savored each one until the last
was finally consumed four or five years later (yes, they lasted that long).
But when they were g one, they were gone; my g randmother nev er
wrote down the recipe. For years I dreamed of the intense, winey flavor
of those tiny cherries and their heavy, spiked syrup. Finally, with help
from my mom—who recalled her mother making them but had never
done it herself—I beg an working on re-creating the recipe. That quest
was the beginning of this book.
I have always enjoyed home preserving . M y mother, born and raised
in the central-south region of Abruzzo, made a variety of Italian pickles
and preserves when I was g rowing up, from classic giardiniera (mixed
vegetable pickle) to sweet, sticky quince jam from fruit that grew on the
tree in our N ew Jersey backyard. I myself was hooked on canning as a
hobby from my first attempt at making blueberry jam in my tiny
apartment in M ichigan, where I worked as a newspaper reporter.
Technically the jam was a failure—it never set—but the jars “ pinged,”
signaling a successful seal, and I ended up with several half-pints of
delicious blueberry syrup. For years my specialty was bread-and-butter
pickles, which I still put up ev ery August (my brothers-in-law would
never forgive me if they didn’t g et their annual allotment). But over
time, my interest naturally gravitated toward the sorts of preserves I had
enjoyed growing up—my mother’s colorful giardiniera, marinated
eggplant packed in oil, vinegary peppers.
The art and craft of preserving is an ancient one, born of necessity
and essential to all the world’s cuisines. As with so many culinary
endeav ors, Italians are masters at it. This is not surprising , given the
variety of fruits and v eg etables that thrive in the country’s
M editerranean climate and within its many microclimates, and also
given the Italian tendency—or compulsion—toward resourcefulness.
Italian cooks put up everything from artichokes to zucchini, in
vinegar and in oil; they turn summer’s berries into jams, and fall’s apples
and quince into russet-hued pastes; they make marmalade from citrus
and liqueur out of roots and nuts. In August and September, out come
the heav y-duty tomato-milling machines as families get together to can
tomatoes ev ery which way. In O ctober, during the vendemmia (grape
harvest), the Abruz zesi turn their beloved M ontepulciano d’Abruzz o
grapes not only into wine, but also into mosto co tto, cooked grape
must, a caramelly syrup used in cakes and cookies. Then there are the
more specialized forms of preservation—the curing of meat; the
transformation of milk into cheese; and the metamorphosis of olives
from bitter, inedible fruit to tasty antipasto, not to mention that
indispensible ingredient, oil.
These days, we tend to think of preserv es as extras—a dollop of fig
jam on toast, a mound of silky roasted peppers in oil to accompany
roast chicken. But in fact, these foods kept families nourished all year
long in the days before refrigeration and supermarkets. W hat’s more,
they have played an essential part in defining the regional character of
Italian cuisine. In Umbria, cured sausages and salami might be flavored
with local truffles; in Calabria they are tinged red from hot chile pepper.
O nly in Emilia-Romagna and parts of neighboring Lombardy and the
Veneto will you find that alluring, ultra-spicy condiment known as
mostarda, made from whole pieces of fruit suspended in a nose-tingling
hot mustard syrup. In Abruz zo there is scrucchjata , a thick, coarse
grape jam made from M ontepulciano grapes that is used as a filling for
traditional Christmas cookies.
Preserving Ita ly is a tribute to the many wonderful ways Italians put
up food. What began with a search for my g randmother’s recipe quickly
turned into a full-blown obsession. The more I researched, the more I
wanted to know. I wondered about other recipes that were in dang er of
being lost. After all, life in Italy has changed in the decades since I was a
child. Fast-food joints abound and supermarkets are filled with
prepared and convenience foods. Fewer people hav e the time or the
inclination to occupy themselv es with lengthy, laborious, and
sometimes outdated techniques when commercially prepared jars of
giardiniera or ca rciofi sott’o lio are right at their fingertips on store
shelv es. But that, I’m happy to report, is only part of the story.
Traveling throughout Italy I’ve found that, far from disappearing ,
the art of preserving is thriving, in homes, in restaurants, and in the
ag riturismi that have opened in the countryside in recent decades. There
are also a growing number of artisan producers throughout Italy whose
high-quality goods are helping to fuel the movement. In many cases,
young people are leading the way. It reminds me of the canning revival