Gelato Festival in Florence, Rome

Author: Gayane Simonyan

On 1 May, 2014 Florence Gelato Festival opened its doors to ice-cream lovers at Palazzo dei Congressi gardens, opposite the Santa Maria Novella station. Gelato Festival was born 4 years ago in Florence and habitually the festival starts from Florence. It usually takes four days and at the end of the fourth day, the Best Italian gelato Parlour 2014 is elected.

“The festival is quite famous. After Florence we go to around ten cities in Italy like Turin, Rome, Naples, etc. and then we move to five cities in Europe: Paris, Cannes, Barcelona, Munich, and Amsterdam,” said Luca, the project leader.

The idea of the festival was to celebrate the Florentine origins of gelato and introduce it to the world. The creation of Gelato is attributed to Bernardo Buontalenti, after whom the biggest home -made gelato mobile lab ever built in the world is called.

“You can start your tour with buying a Gelato Card with 10, 12 euros, which you can use for tasting the BUONTALENTI, a bunch of different ice-creams and then a cocktail, water and then you can follow the activities held there. These activities include watching the cooking shows and workshops: how to make an ice-cream or what kind of ingredients to use with ice-cream. In other words everything about ice-creams,” he said.

 

Luca mentioned that some cities are not quite certain yet because every city has its own rule, for example in Munich they don’t allow to stay more than three days, so fare like this can’t be held in just three days; they need one week- 2 days to build up, 4 days to present and then 1 day to pack up.

“There is also a voting option at the festival- a possibility to vote for the ice-cream you liked most of all, and the winner flavour would get an award. So it’s a good opportunity for the ice-cream makers to become famous because we have also Social Media accounts, pages or just Media partners we share information with. That’s why many ice-creamers come here from different cities to prepare their best one or create a special flavour for the fare, to become known,” Luca added.

The project leader showed the glassy booth at the fare where the ice-creams are made and it’s open to public to watch the preparation system, the conditions, the machines, techniques and the like.

“We have a special high school for cooking called “Alberghiero” where you can learn everything about cooking- no matter you want to be a cooker or a waiter - just anyone in that field. So we offer the school to cooperate because the students don’t have an opportunity to have the practical part of their studies. So this is a great opportunity for them as well but we choose only the best students, the ones who are faster, cleaner, more professional,” summed up Luca.

He also told that in other cities they choose students and ice-cream makers from “local players”. The revenue stream mostly comes from the people who buy the card and also from the sponsors like Fabbri, Algida, Nutella Ferrero.

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Christmas recipes: Polenta with creamed mushrooms and cookies with jam

Jam cookies

by Louisa Loring

What makes Italian cooking so wonderful is its simplicity.  Italian food prizes itself on freshness and simplicity, which makes cooking a snap for anyone after learning a few tricks.  During Christmas, it is hard to stay away from the luring smells of freshly baked cookies that waft from bakery windows and cafes so here is a recipe that is sure to satisfy.  Whether it is your first time in the kitchen or you have been baking your whole life, these cookies will have you experimenting by changing the jam or substituting Nutella.  Try adding cocoa powder or flavoring like almond or lemon for a twist. The sky is the limit!

Recipe

Ingredients:

180 grams of flour

A pinch of salt

140 grams of butter, softened

2 egg yolks

1 small bag of vanilla

70 grams of sugar

Jam

Powdered sugar

In a bowl, mix the flour and salt until well combined.  In another bowl, beat the butter, egg yolks, vanilla and sugar until smooth and pale yellow, either by hand or with a mixer.  Add the flour mixture in three batches, stirring well in between each addition.  Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for at least one hour. 

When you are reading to bake, preheat oven to 200° and remove the dough.  Roll into a log about 3 cm wide and cut into pieces 1 1/2-2 cm thick, working quickly as to not warm the dough too much.  Place on a baking sheet leaving 3-4 cm between each cookie.  With your thumb, lightly press in the center of each cookie to create a small indent, being careful not to break through the dough to the baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown and the edges are crisp.  Transfer to a cooling wrack and let cool.  Once cool, fill with jam of your choice and lightly dust with powdered sugar.

Adapted from http://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Biscottini-al-burro-con-marmellata.html

Polenta with creamed mushrooms

For something to soak up all the sweets and keep you warm, try this simple recipe of polenta with creamed mushrooms.  Polenta traditionally comes from Northern Italy but is eaten all over the country today.  Like most Italian recipes, this can be adapted to your likings.  If you prefer a ragu, top with that or even a hearty tomato sauce. 

Recipe

Ingredients:

Peanut oil or any oil without flavor

200 grams of frozen mushroom (or dehydrated, reconstituted)

Pinch of salt

Polenta flour

500 grams of prepared polenta

100 ml of whole milk

Juice of half a lemon

1 egg white

Chives

In a skillet over medium heat, sauté the mushrooms in olive oil with salt until golden.  Meanwhile, cut the polenta into slices about 1 cm thick and coat in the polenta flour.  When the mushrooms are cooked, remove from heat and chop finely.  Cover the bottom of another skillet with peanut oil and over medium heat pan-fry the polenta slices until crisp, being careful not to burn them.  When cooked, transfer to a paper-lined plate to rest.

While the polenta is browning, mix milk with the lemon juice to form a thick cream.  Add salt and pepper to taste, the chives and the chopped mushrooms.  Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.  Fold the egg whites into the cream being careful not to deflate them too much.  Top each slice of polenta with a bit of the cream or transfer to a bowl and serve alongside the polenta crisps. 

Adapted from http://www.imenudibenedetta.it/chips-di-polenta-e-funghi/

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The Florence Newspaper: European Union to Discuss Nutella Ban

Food is a symbolic representation of culture within a nation. In Italy Nutella is more than a symbol but rather an iconic figure. The chocolate hazelnut spread can be seen in window displays, famous movie scenes, and in song lyrics. Now, the legendary Nutella must come face to face with the European Union to fight for its traditional existence.

The threat to ban Nutella is only in the beginning stages, based off of stricter European Union food labeling regulations. The new rules recently approved by European Union Parliament require all processed foods to have fat, sugar, and salt contents visibly printed on the front of their packaging. The goal is to bold startling nutrition facts about common foods to consumers, a compromise from previous proposals on making these foods bear a red warning label, to help stimulate healthier eating habits.

Comparatively, other European countries have taken stricter measures on healthy nutrition campaigns within their own countries. Denmark and Austria have made trans-fats illegal. Britain, Norway, and Sweden passed a bill banning junk food commercials at certain hours of the day. Romania is in the later stages of increasing taxes on an array of fatty foods. Beating poor nutrition and obesity has become a worldwide obsession. All of these countries, including Italy, have universal health care. Therefore the government has a greater interest in the welfare of its citizens as it is directly correlated with the countries money.

Legislation has only been approved at the early draft stages. Still, food produces have displayed unkind feelings toward the possibility of changing labels in fear of affects on their sales of products. Though this is a broad proposal across Europe, Italians have taken a fancy on arguing the bill based solely on their love for Nutella.

The future of Nutella, and its traditional packaging will be pressed forward in the European Union needing both a victory vote in the European Council, and then an overall approval by the European Union’s executive board. Until then the European Union will face opposition from a newly created “Hands off Nutella” committee, headed by Francesco Paolo Fluci, vice president at Ferrero Spa and former diplomat, and supported by a local governor, and the Italian people.

A Short History of Nutella

The founder of Nutella, Pietro Ferrero, has been selling Nutella since 1964. It was originally devised for a recipe for cake for the lower class. At the time cocoa beans were being heavily taxed due to short supplies after rationing during World War II. Ferrero, a pastry shop owner in Piedmont, Italy (an area known for its production of hazelnut) mixed hazelnut paste with chocolate to create an alternative to expensive desserts. Originally called Pasta Gianduja, this early form was sold in solid blocks but later replaced with a creamy version called Supercrema. Once Ferrero’s son Michele made plans to promote Supercrema across Europe he renamed it Nutella. Since its early stages Nutella has become a trademark icon to Italian culture and a rave across Europe.

Written by Emily Marullo
Politics Intern at The Florence Newspaper

Original Article
www.florencenewspaper.it/vediarticolo.asp?news=b0.06.24.17.22