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Recipes | Cheese |
Salami | Travel | Italian Food
Campania Food:
Pizza Margherita - Photo (c)
panduh
The fertile volcanic soil of
Campania combines with a perfect climate to produce the best fruit and
vegetables in Italy. The Romans were quick to appreciate the richness of the
Soil, the beauty of the landscape, the dry soft climate and the warmth of
the inhabitants. Campania became their vast vegetable garden and their
orchard, as well as the playground of the wealthy.
On the whole the local
cooking is quick and brief. This is exemplified in the fritto misto
a dish aptly described in Neapolitan dialect by the expression frienno
magnanno, meaning frying and eating. The food must be eaten straight
after it comes out of the frying pan.
The cheese which immediately
comes to mind when speaking of Naples is mozzarella, which, in union with
the tomato, has found its apotheosis in the pizza. But many other cheeses
are produced in Campania, both from cow's and sheep's milk: scamorza,
provolone, caciocavallo and pecorino, all of which can
be fresh or aged and are equally excellent. They are an everyday component
of a Neapolitan meal, as is the sublime local fruit. It is only on special
occasions that sweets arrive at the table, usually rich and elaborate,
reminiscent of Arab cooking, and related to religious feasts.
From: Gastronomy of Italy Anna Del Conte Prentice Hall Press
Specialty Foods of Campania
Mozzarella di bufala Campana, or buffalo
mozzarella, is the most celebrated and prized of mozzarella cheeses, made
exclusively from whole buffalo milk. A cheese of very ancient origin,
mozzarella takes its name from a very special part of the production cycle,
when the curd, after being stretched, is mozzata (an Italian term
meaning “lopped off”) to obtain pieces of a suitable size. Italian buffalo
have always been concentrated in the Southern region of Campania; most of
the herds are in the province of Caserta. The mozzarella production chain is
so inextricably tied to this area that buffalo mozzarella of the Campania
region obtained the DOP (Denominazione dOrigine Protetta -Protected
Designation of Origin) mark in 1996, guaranteeing maximum quality for the
consumer.
 Born in Naples more than 300 years ago, pizza
is often thought of as “genuine Italian food” by non-Italians, but this
beloved food was little known in Italy (outside of Naples) until the 1970s.
Pizza came to the United States early in the 20th century during the great
migration of Italians from Southern Italy.
Today, pizza is enormously
popular the world over, even if it sometimes hardly resembles the authentic
Neapolitan dish. In 2004, Italy drew up a series of rules that must be
followed to make a true Neapolitan pizza: the dough must rise for at least
six hours and must be kneaded and shaped by hand; the pizza must be round
and no more than 13.7 inches in diameter; and it must be cooked in a
wood-fired oven. And only three versions are permitted: Marinara with garlic
and oregano; Margherita with basil, tomatoes and cheese from the southern
Apennine mountains; and the “Extra Margherita” which must include buffalo
mozzarella from the Campania region.
When is a lemon more than just a lemon? When it’s a
Sorrento Ovale, also known as the
Massa Lubrense lemon, which is produced and sold under the
protection of the European Union. This high quality, highly perfumed
medium-to-large fruit is identified by its sweet, juicy flesh and few seeds.
Even its cultivation is special: the precious fruit is hand-picked to
prevent it falling to the ground, and is typically is ripened under
pagliarelle, straw mats attached to wooden poles (preferably made of
chestnut), which help protect it from the elements. This method also allows
for longer ripening times, making the lemons available for a longer season.
The most famous product made from Sorrento lemons is
limoncello (or limunciel, as the Campanians call it),
a delicious liqueur that is the result of an infusion of lemon peel in the
purest alcohol. This traditional recipe has been handed down through
generations. The herbal liqueur strega, which is
enjoyed throughout Italy, is produced in the capital town of Benevento from
a secret recipe that has been closely guarded by the Alberti family for
almost 140 years.
(c) 1997-2008 E. Massetti
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