It's been a while, we should catch up.
Needless to say, things here have gotten away from me a bit since things in my program have picked up (i.e.: papers, papers, papers). Since I've been doing a lot of writing for school, coming here to write creatively has felt like less of an outlet.
But, I thankfully had a few weeks off for summer break, which means time to rest and write for pure enjoyment. And, of course, I hope to catch up on here to relay the things I've been up to in the past few months. However, I want to start with some things that are the most fresh in my mind.
In July, I attended a study trip arranged by my school to Liguria - an incredible region by the Ligurian Sea (picture below for geographical reference).
We actually had the option to attend this trip in person or to do an online version with monetary compensation. I remember when we were given this decision I felt very unsure - we were not given an itinerary to inform our decision, and there were some differences in the regulations due to the COVID situation. In the end, I decided to go - study trips were one of the main components I was looking forward to in my program, and I already had one online study trip earlier in the year when we didn't have the option to be in person. I thought it would be worth a try.
What a wonderful trip it was. We got to travel, learn, and eat amazing food for almost two weeks. I won't go into too much detail, otherwise I'd be writing a novel, but I will include the highlights.
The first part of our trip was in Savona, and the second in Genoa (both on the map above).
Most of our days were spent visiting producers in the morning and afternoon, and eating either with those producers or at pre-selected restaurants for lunch and dinner.
What perhaps stuck out most to me was how kind and welcoming many of these producers were. They took us into their operations, taught us about their artisanry - wine, herbs, olive oil, beer, jams and marmalades, Slow Food Presidia - and were open to all the specific gastronomic questions we had. Engaging with such passionate minds for food and wine was a treasure. Highlights below.
Savona
We kicked off our trip with a visit to Origine - a producer of spirits flavored with local, organic herbs.
Needless to say, this was quite the start - I'm not sure what the rule for liquor before dinner is, but it sure makes for an interesting dynamic. We had a tasting after a very grand first lunch (four courses that left us stuffed and satisfied, pictured below), and the flavors were incredible.
We tasted mint, fennel, juniper and ginger liquors and I was amazed by how pronounced the herbs were. Nothing at all like the syrupy peppermint schnapps I've tried in the past. We were also able to see the production area where distillation happens and speak to the producers. I smelled dried juniper berries and held them in my hand during the tour, and later tried the liquor that was flavored with them. It was an incredibly transparent way to experience the product.
Also noteworthy: eating my first whole fish (and enjoying it!). I was a little intimidated because I wasn't even sure how to eat it. Plus, I had to look my fish in the eyes while I did it. It felt like chance to connect more with what I was eating, and, after a few bites, it was quite a rewarding meal.
Visiting the olive grove: I think I have found my new favorite plants - olive trees. Rows and rows of elegant trees stood around us as we walked through the terraced grove and learned about olive harvesting. What impresses me so much with the producers at Olio Roi is their respect for the taggiasca olives they cultivate - they have an entirely organic production and realize that even the timing of olive harvesting is variable: "nature decides, we have to follow the nature". Their taggiasca olives, one of 1,200 global varieties, are precious because they embody the terroir where they are grown. Planted elsewhere, the same species would taste differently. This is a good thing. By engaging with the environment the olive trees are in, they allow nature to show itself in their olives and olive oil. The environment around was also stunning. And, like many of the other producers we visited, there was not only one plant present. The grounds around the grove were home to lemons, flowers, kiwi and more.
Vineyards - We got well acquainted with Pigato, a white wine whose home is in Liguria. Since this was the regional specialty, we were served this variety almost all 12 of the days we were on our trip. What's amazing is that even though we tasted wine from the same grape again and again, there were differences each time. This has to do a lot with terroir. Put simply, terroir is defined as "the special character that a wine is thought to get from the particular place where the grapes were grown to make it". So, this depends entirely on the environment that grapes are grown in, and provides the opportunity for variability within the same species if it is grown in different places. Sometimes, a difference can be detected even with just a few miles apart. And, as demonstrated above, this concept can be extended beyond wine, such as with the growing of olives. This came to life a bit for all of us who tasted the same kind of wine night after night - there were some Pigato wines we liked more than others because of that possibility for variance. While production, of course, matters, it was impressed upon all of use that the final wine is impacted greatly by what occurs in the vineyard.
The best meal of Savona (according to me):
We visited BioVio, a producer of organic aromatic herbs. Stepping into their greenhouse led to the most heavenly smells of basil, rosemary and sage. Not only did we get a tour of the herb production and packaging, but we were hosted for lunch. The family that runs BioVio welcomed us so generously, and were willing to tell us also about their wine production (guess what... Pigato!). I was so impressed that this family was not only running an entire herb and wine production, but also manage an agritourism business (imagine a bed and breakfast meets wine tasting but also with food from the place you are staying, or a classy version of Dwight Schrute's beet farm). So, we dined in one of the most beautiful places I've ever had lunch, and were brought plates of panissa (fried chickpea flour), fritto misto (mixed fried veggies), out of this world zucchini risotto topped with pesto (super fresh basil alert), potatoes and anchovies, and a delicious creamy dessert topped with apricot sorbetto. What stuck with me most, though, was the kindness the Vio family showed to our group. They made us feel welcome, responded to our questions with enthusiasm, and served us lunch with such humility. They have much to be proud about, yet they took us into their place of business and treated us like friends.
Chinotto di Savona - an icon almost lost
My first introduction to chinotto was a few months ago, through my Italian friend, Giulia. Looking for a drink one night to go with dinner, we stopped in our University's local food store, called Local (really) and looked at the sodas they had. She suggested chinotto and I asked what it was. She tried to explain that it was a drink made with a citrus fruit, and it took both of us a few minutes to realize there was no translation for this fruit that I had no knowledge of. So, we drank it, enjoyed it, and moved on.
Grown in a landscape fit for a king, Chinotto di Savona continues to thrive as a Slow Food Presidium. However, this plant was almost on the outskirts of history. The chinotto plant yields a small, green citrus fruit that is incredibly bitter on its own. However, once processed, artisanal chinotto products are widely enjoyed as jams, extracts, liquors, and candied fruits. We learned in our visit to a chinotto producer that since these fruits have to be processed to be consumed, they were at one time a fruit for the wealthy. From what was translated into English by our classmates (i.e., take my memory of this information with a grain of salt), it seems that at one point farmers worked parts of the land which was owned by a wealthier family, and the farmers would get a portion of the produce they harvested. Since they received a lower percentage of chinotto than other fruits that were grown, this led to them not wanting to grow chinotto anymore, because it was of less benefit to them to do so. It has also been noted that climate and economic policies threatened this plant's survival.
In the end, chinotto is still produced, but not on a large scale. Also interesting is that chinotto soda is naturally clear, but during the fascist period in Italy, coloring was added to make it darker so it would be a rival to Coca-cola which was becoming popular in Italy. Chinotto was marketed as the national drink, and is still sold and well known today. I was so interested that this tiny little fruit has such a history. This was one of the highlights of Savona for sure. Getting to know the story behind a product I had tried months before, seeing where it was grown, and trying the jams and candied chinotto that the local producer made, I was able to experience chinotto full circle.
The Ligurian Sea: Our hotel in Savona was across the street from the sea, so we visited a few times in the quick spare moments we had. We visited one morning with an ominous, stormy sky and scattered rain drops landing on our heads. Being near water always feels like home, where I grew up next to the Atlantic Ocean. I dipped my toes in the sea and that was enough - although I came prepared to swim, I decided to enjoy the water from afar. As rain fell from the sky, I suppose the water made its way to me anyways.
For length's sake, I'll be including highlights from Genoa in a separate post. Because this is a catalogue of memories just as much as a connection back home, I am aiming for balance between detail and brevity. If this seems like a lot of pictures, you should see my camera roll! Part 2 will be on its way soon, I hope.