angelo

Strawberries in February and fennel in June? Nowadays, we can find almost any type of fruit and vegetables in supermarkets all year round. But even fruit and vegetables have their own calendar, that is, the natural period in which they grow, ripen and are picked and harvested.

Eating seasonal vegetables means eating healthily and being environmentally friendly: following seasonality is a sustainable gesture because the goods have not travelled thousands of kilometres, reducing CO2 emissions.

Seasonal vegetables provide the right amount of vitamins and mineral salts useful for the body, as the principles of the Mediterranean Diet remind us. In terms of seasonal vegetables, each period of the year means a different gastronomic journey for all 12 months of the year.

Courgettes and tomatoes in the summer, asparagus and peas in the spring, pumpkin and broccoli in the fall, turnip tops and cabbage in the winter. Nature responds abundantly to our nutritional needs: in the summer with juicy vegetables such as cucumbers, perfect for replenishing mineral salts; fennel in winter, which purifies the body and is rich in vitamins and water. Each season is different and is full of local specialties, therefore sustainable foods for the environment and also in economic terms. Local vegetables cost less, are tastier, healthier and, especially in Italy, are very easy to find.

In winter, green predominates, which is synonymous with vitamin C, essential for dealing with seasonal ailments. Very rich in vitamin E, beta-carotene, folic acid, iron, potassium, magnesium and calcium, seasonal winter vegetables are rich in all the nutrients that are essential for the health of our body and also of the mind.

In spring, the colors on the market stalls change. Alongside the late winter vegetables, many other delicious ones arrive, which are a mix of beneficial properties served on the plate. As if it knew, nature in this case responds with many purifying vegetables, which serve to eliminate all the toxins accumulated in the body during the winter, when we tend to eat more to fight the cold.

In summer, it is necessary to replenish the mineral salts eliminated through sweating through our diet. And what does nature do? It responds with vegetables rich in water like in no other season of the year. A true riot of colors, ranging from the red and yellow of tomatoes, through the green of courgettes and the purple of aubergines to end with the orange of carrots and the white of garlic and leeks. A mix of mineral salts and vitamins useful for dealing with the torrid summer days, with simple recipes such as the fragrant bread and tomato.

You say autumn vegetables and you immediately think of pumpkin, the symbol of the season. But there are many other good autumn vegetables. Going to the farmer who still grows as they once did can be a great way to delve into the topic. Furthermore, until the end of September, the pepper and aubergine plants that bear fruit remind us that summer is not too far away.

Join our tours to taste local and seasonal food of Puglia.

Caciocavallo di grotta is a stretched curd cheese among the oldest and most typical of Southern Italy, known since the times of Magna Graecia. It’s a stretched curd cheese matured for a long period in caves, as tradition dictates, where it remains naturally covered with noble molds throughout its maturation, giving it an intense, balanced and structured aromatic profile.

It has a spheroidal appearance, yellow in color, with a hard and thin crust. Inside the paste is straw-colored, semi-hard and homogeneous to the touch, with fine and sparse “eyes”. The most common size is about 2 kg but a form can weigh up to 10 kg. In the mouth it is savory and slightly spicy at the same time, with hints of cooked butter and with good persistence.

To produce the caciocavallo aged in the cave, they start with whole cow’s milk which, at a temperature of 36-38°, is inoculated with whey starter and then with rennet.
They then proceed to spinning, the most delicate moment of production. Spinning is done by stretching the dough in a manual artisanal process that is characteristic and includes the formation of the head of the caciocavallo, which is generally also a way in which each cheesemaker signs his creation. Finally, salting is carried out in a brine solution in which the forms float for a few days depending on their size.

After an initial drying of about 20 days, which can take place in traditional cool rooms, the forms are hung in pairs astride beams in the traditional tuff caves. Here they are aged for at least 45-60 days. Humidity varies between 80 and 90% while the almost constant temperature between the winter and summer periods, varies between 10 and 15 °C. If not aged for long, the caciocavallo aged in a cave has a delicate milky scent; as the maturation continues, the smell of grass and hay becomes more pronounced. When tasted, especially as the maturation continues, all the organoleptic characteristics come out: hints of cut grass, bitter flowers, vanilla and spices and sometimes slightly spicy.

Try it first of all on its own or with bread and vegetables, to best enjoy all the nuances of its aroma. It is also excellent for seasoning pasta, for flavouring the filling of savory pies but also to melt together with the hamburger in tasty sandwiches.

Take our week tour to visit a local cheese producer and taste the famous Caciocavallo.

Most everyone would say the best part of their trip to Italy was the food! Well, why not take a cooking class then and see whether that’s true? A cooking class in Italy is an amazing way to experience a huge part of Italian culture.

Food is such an important part of the local culture and so if you haven’t tried Italian cuisine, then you really haven’t experienced the country in all its glory. In other words travel around the area and learn a lot of the culture that is connected to the specific dishes that are being taught during the class. So make it a wonderful vacationing adventure, learning together and eating your way through Italy.

Traveling on over to this beautiful corner of Southern Italy, you’ll see a land flowing with delicious food and fresh wine. A perfect location then to learn the delicious art of making fresh pasta from scratch. Besides while you’re here, you might check out some boutique wineries producing Primitivo or Negroamaro.

After classes, don’t forget to spend time exploring the areas and finding different restaurants. Opening your pallet and trying new foods can only help make you a better cook. So try to taste each of the different flavors and bring something extra to your cooking experiences!

In a 4 day tour or week tour of Puglia, we offer a lovely cooking class. It’s set in a local farmhouse and the produce we use, comes from the vegetable garden at the “masseria“. Thanks to the fantastic local ingredients, you can rest assured the meals you’ll be making will not only be fresh but healthy, too.

After the preparation of the food, the group sit together on a terrace surrounded by the beautiful countryside, and just like a big Italian family, we take time to enjoy the meal. Anyway, it’s the passion of our cook that makes this class so unforgettable. When you get home, you’ll no doubt be keen to invite friends and family over for dinner, just to impress them with something from your new recepies.

Let’s plan therefore the perfect vacation in Italy cooking and wine tasting and truly treasure the memories that you’ll take home and keep forever.

The Apulian vineyard area is 87,000 hectares in total and guarantees a production of 4,900,000 hectoliters per year. Apulian red and rosé wines cover the majority of production (65%), while white wines only account for 35%.

One of the strong points of Puglia wines is the climate. In this region the sun shines and is present not only in the summer period but throughout the year. This means that the soil, as well as the fruit trees, can benefit from it, giving rise to juicy and very tasty products. The white and red grapes of Puglia, in fact, are known for being intense in color and very persistent in the mouth. Hence until the early 1990s, they primarily use them as a base for other less full-bodied national wines that needed greater intensity.

The native varieties still present in Puglia today such as Nero di Troia ( or Troy the mythological city ) and Negroamaro, trace the presence of the vine in Puglia already during the Greek colonization, in the 8th century BC. It was the Greeks themselves who also imported the cultivation method defined as “alberello” ( bush vine ), which is still widespread today throughout the regional territory. The real value of Apulian wine was highlighted around 1990, when the producers of Apulian wines realized the potential of their wines.

Among the most appreciated Apulian wines there is certainly Primitivo. With an orange-purple color, it is persistent on the palate and very consistent. Negroamaro, a more typical grape of Southern Puglia, is intense color, with violet reflections. It recalls aromas of ripe fruit such as plum, black cherry and cherry. Not to forget the characteristic Aleatico, a DOC red wine, more velvety than the previous two wines but much appreciated.

Join our tour and you’ll have a taste of delicious local wines and you’ll visit family-run wineries and more.

Tiramisù is one of the most popular desserts in the world, it is the fifth word of Italian cuisine best known abroad, the first for desserts. Etymology of the word Tiramisu: lift me up, strengthen my body.

Tiramisu is a traditional dessert widespread throughout Italy, whose origins are debated and attributed above all to Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is a spoon dessert based on ladyfingers (or other biscuits with a crumbly consistency) soaked in coffee and covered with a cream, composed of mascarpone, eggs and sugar. The tiramisu recipe is not present in cookbooks prior to the 1960s. This allows us to assume that tiramisu, as we know it now, is a recent invention.

The grandmothers tell us that they prepared this dessert with art and passion for family and friends, well before the 1950s. So, before the spread of electricity and the first refrigerators, they had this dessert, only in the province of Treviso and surrounding areas. In fact, due to the fresh ingredients, tiramisù did not have a long shelf life.

The history of this dessert teaches us to ennoble poor foods such as mascarpone (probably from the Lombard “mascherpa” which means ricotta, but it is not ricotta). Mascarpone is an acidified milk cream obtained from cream or milk cream. According to some historians, the origin of this cheese dates back to the medieval period. Its name derives from an expression used by a Spanish nobleman of the 1200s who said “Mas che bueno” (more than good).

World Tiramisu Day is on March 21st. The first day of spring and the day of dessert that recharges you for the new season like a tonic.

In Puglia an ancient traditional recipe, replaces the ladyfingers biscuits ( intended to rich families ) with bread since the roots of our cuisine, are in the farmers’ traditions made of simple foods. Contact us for a guided tour of the sites and the food of Puglia.