Ode to ODC Labeling

When we returned to the train station at the village closest to our rural home, we went to the supermarket to forage.  I forgot it was Friday afternoon until I saw the incredible check-out lines and tried to source a large cart unsuccessfully.  I didn’t mind it too much as there is so much there to look at and enjoy.  The cheese department alone is a great field trip for me.  The gorgonzolas, the buffalo mozzarellas, the pecorinos, the grana pandanos, and of course, the parm.  At the produce department there were lovely local/regional figs, peaches, donut peaches, nectarines, grapes, tomatoes, melons, all marked with a label that verified their geographic origin.  Italy has been down with this regional sourcing and labeling way before it was a thing anywhere else.  They have an excellent culinary “pride of place” that helps you travel around the country with your mouth, and know where you’ve been.  The food here is absolutely justifiably famous.  Being “kissed by the Tuscan Sun” really does give produce an other-worldly flavor.  I just walked by the reddest tomatoes I’ve ever seen here at a local small grocer.

All the menus in the restaurants focus on what is in season, and on only the best ingredients that ooze integrity.  For me, that’s always been the secret to good cooking, and here it’s a bit of a religion.  For example, there is a particular coffee drink here that is part coffee gelato and part ice that I don’t know the name of but I call it paradise.  A.S. of Iowa City would swoon, before she ordered a litre or two.  It’s found at some wine bars, and yesterday afternoon while waiting for the train Daughter #1 spied it and tried to order me a cup.  “It’s not good, really. Too late.” Assured the waitress and waited for an alternate order.  Fair enough, I thought.  Why drink second-rate stuff that they don’t even want to sell?

Italians have even made rules and regulations about what can be marked as “Chianti” wine, or “parmeggiano reggiano”, etc.  They have a system labeled D.O.C.  D.O.C is the acronym for Denominazione di origine controllata ("Controlled designation of origin") is a quality assurance label for Italian food products, especially wines and various cheeses (Denominazione di Origine Protetta). There are different levels of the labels but I don’t worry about that; the DOC tells me what I need to know.

Also, the restaurants take pride in having a menu that reflects their regional specialities, like the wild boar is here in Chianti, along with all the different Chianti wines.  You don’t see any cannoli here in Chianti/Tuscany on the menus, nor tortellini, which belongs to Emilia, (along with the fantastic Modena balsamics, the Parma Ham, and pasta and of course the parmiagno reggiano.)  In this way you are guaranteed to have the freshest and best of ingredients which are prepared as they have been prepared for centuries to great effect.  All in all, it’s a great food philosophy which all eaters benefit from. 

BTW, while writing this blog I was perusing a guide book and discovered the Emilia region is directly north of Tuscany, where we are camped, so I dreamed up a day trip to Ravenna to take in the Byzantine mosaics they are famous for, as well as a dinner stop in Bologna for some of the balsamics, parms, Parma Ham, and filled tortellini they are famous for.  I shall report back after our sojourn tomorrow.  This country is indeed a food lover’s paradise. See below for the ultimate grilled cheese made yours truly, featuring olive bread from Firenze's EATALY (yes, Mario has made his mark here, too!), along with mozzarella di Buffalo, using the rich butter from the Romagna region of Italy.  Bueno Appetito!