Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The French & Austrian Influence
Between the 1600s and 1800s foreign influences brought new flavours to bear and spices
went out of fashion. The French introduced butter and cream (
crema di asparagi
, a
creamed asparagus soup, is typical) while the Austrians introduced a penchant for sausages
and schnitzel (
scaloppina
and
cotoletto alla Milanese
are variations on the Austrian
breaded cutlet, Wiener Schnitzel) and a tradition of
viennoisserie
that is still evident in Mil-
an's glut of elegant
pasticcerie
(pastry shops).
A new centralised bureaucracy and a reformed tax system increased agricultural output,
while new farming methods and crops (potatoes, tomatoes and maize from the New World)
revolutionised the diet of the masses. From across the Alps came Grand Tourists, French
recipe books and the fashion of eating
a la russe
(Russian style), in separate courses com-
prising individual plates. Piedmontese chefs trained in France were most in demand.
With new political ideas came new places to meet and eat. Cafes, serving a new drink -
coffee - and Austrian doughnuts (
ciambella
and
castagnole
) and strudels, were hothouses
of political debate and the rise of the restaurant democratised access to good food. New ad-
vances in medicine raised the profile of vegetables and fruit. Sweet peppers from the New
World found their way into Voghera's version of risotto, the potato craze began (
gnocchi di
patate
is now a Verona speciality) and herbs, lemon juice and olive oil became acceptable,
even desirable, flavourings for delicate fish dishes.
LIVING WELL IN DIFFICULT TIMES: JEWISH SPECIALITIES
One surprising cookery writer working in Fascist Milan was Fernanda Momigliano, a middle-aged Jewish intellec-
tual who lived with her ailing mother.
Her first book,
Vivere bene in tempi difficili: come le donne affrontano le crisi economiche
(Living Well in Diffi-
cult Times: How Women Face Up to the Economic Crisis), attempted to address the issues faced by housewives in
the wake of the 1929 Wall Street crash. Advocating 'economy, not deprivation or waste', Momigliano's manual
showed Italian women how they might eat well on their diminishing budget. As Italy lurched from deprivation to
hunger in the wake UN sanctions in 1935, these reassuring tips on making ends meet, using cheaper cuts of meat
and making home preserves put home-cooking firmly on the modern Lombard table.
But it was her follow-up book,
Eating Italian
, published in 1936, which is even more interesting not least be-
cause it includes 16 Jewish recipes, many of them typical of northern Italy. They range from carp with porcini
mushrooms cooked in white wine to a saffron risotto prepared on the eve of the Sabbath, and goose ham and
salami, a specialist product from Mortara that now holds the prestigious Slow Food badge of approval.
