What a comprehensive, detailed, well-thought-out and delightful read this article has been! Almost like listening to a good song... you want to go back to the start and do it all over again! Thank you so much for the great ten minutes of reading in a slow, savoring manner! I gave up animal-based meals twenty years ago, but I've never made it "political" (or polemical) as I would not be happy if someone told ME how to eat. I already knew about most of the reasons why Italy (and Greece as well) had so many and diverse non-meat dishes, but I've never had the chance to interchange with someone about it that has grown up in those places and can speak from experience, nor did I know any details pertaining to terminology, historical timelines and more. Your wonderfully researched and presented write-up has been a fun ride into history and food.
PS: I also love how you raise up other interesting topics in many of your posts using "but that is a story for another day." I will be pleased to wait for whenever one of those days occurs.
Carry on, carry on, what a pleasure to observe a person talented and well-rounded and authentic in our crazy, high-jacked world. You (and your partner, ha ha) are the proverbial "breath of fresh air." I want you to know that there are many of us out here who truly appreciate your time and hard work communicating with all of us.
This is not only molto interessante in its own right, but hits home today as we just returned from two splendid weeks in Italy (Florence, central Umbria, Rome) eating both magro and grasso style (though without access to those terms during our trip!), and marveling at the care invested in cooking at every level, locality, and occasion. We also cooked a bit on our own and thrilled to the quality of ingredients available in the local stores and supermarkets. I am so enjoying your food commentaries (and your music of course!).
Isn’t that interesting? We Italians like to pride ourselves that our recipes are hundreds of years old and then when we go and look at recipes from a few hundreds of years ago we are horrified 😅…cause nothing we eat is really that old and taste has changed sooo much. When you read through all those renaissance cookbooks the food truly sounds horrific
Yes, there's a YouTuber called How To Cook That who often recreates old recipes and the ingredients are horrifying! Also Tasting History with Max Miller does a great job looking at ancient recipes with lots of research
When we were kids, on fasting days like Good Friday we were told were only permitted one main meal (which was always fish) and two collations, a word I never heard in any other context. When I started learning Italian and came across the word "colazione" It immediately made me think of "collation".
What a comprehensive, detailed, well-thought-out and delightful read this article has been! Almost like listening to a good song... you want to go back to the start and do it all over again! Thank you so much for the great ten minutes of reading in a slow, savoring manner! I gave up animal-based meals twenty years ago, but I've never made it "political" (or polemical) as I would not be happy if someone told ME how to eat. I already knew about most of the reasons why Italy (and Greece as well) had so many and diverse non-meat dishes, but I've never had the chance to interchange with someone about it that has grown up in those places and can speak from experience, nor did I know any details pertaining to terminology, historical timelines and more. Your wonderfully researched and presented write-up has been a fun ride into history and food.
PS: I also love how you raise up other interesting topics in many of your posts using "but that is a story for another day." I will be pleased to wait for whenever one of those days occurs.
Carry on, carry on, what a pleasure to observe a person talented and well-rounded and authentic in our crazy, high-jacked world. You (and your partner, ha ha) are the proverbial "breath of fresh air." I want you to know that there are many of us out here who truly appreciate your time and hard work communicating with all of us.
Thank you so much 🙏🏼
This is not only molto interessante in its own right, but hits home today as we just returned from two splendid weeks in Italy (Florence, central Umbria, Rome) eating both magro and grasso style (though without access to those terms during our trip!), and marveling at the care invested in cooking at every level, locality, and occasion. We also cooked a bit on our own and thrilled to the quality of ingredients available in the local stores and supermarkets. I am so enjoying your food commentaries (and your music of course!).
Yes, I miss Italian markets and stores 😢
"... Adds fish stock and sugar..." The way my jaw dropped!! 🤣 Give me a risotto agli asparagi any day instead!
Isn’t that interesting? We Italians like to pride ourselves that our recipes are hundreds of years old and then when we go and look at recipes from a few hundreds of years ago we are horrified 😅…cause nothing we eat is really that old and taste has changed sooo much. When you read through all those renaissance cookbooks the food truly sounds horrific
Yes, there's a YouTuber called How To Cook That who often recreates old recipes and the ingredients are horrifying! Also Tasting History with Max Miller does a great job looking at ancient recipes with lots of research
Very interesting! Enjoying your food articles.
Looking forward to the recipes.
Love your music too!
Really enjoyed! Looking forward to more.
When we were kids, on fasting days like Good Friday we were told were only permitted one main meal (which was always fish) and two collations, a word I never heard in any other context. When I started learning Italian and came across the word "colazione" It immediately made me think of "collation".
Looking forward to the recipe for pasta with chick peas.
It’s out now!