The ABC's of Campania Food & Wine: W
W is for White Cauliflower and Wine Lake
W is for white cauliflower:
White cavolfiore (cauliflower) is widely and internationally known, such a common vegetable that the average dinner-partier does not think twice about the origins of that hard, bumpy, white vegetable among the others on the veggie and dip platter. The white cauliflower is actually relatively new in terms of cultivated plants that humans have been munching on since before recorded history.
Along with at least a dozen varieties, the white cauliflower was cultivated from two native plants from Asia and the Mediterranean. This plant, its growth stunted so that the flowers never bloom and its mass covered with its leaves so it stays as white as snow, came from broccoli. Broccoli arose in Italy, some varieties evolved into cauliflower, and the vegetable was known throughout Europe by the 1500s. Italy still produces cauliflower today. Campania is the single most productive region with 40% of Italy’s white cauliflower grown here; Le Marche and Tuscany are two other key areas. The season lasts from October to May, and thus white cauliflower and its colorful cousins, such as the green and angular romanesco, are great cold-weather vegetables. Even though the stark whiteness of cauliflower may lead one to wrongly assume it is poor in vitamins, the opposite is true. It is rich in potassium and folic acid, and one of the highest vitamin contents is Vitamin C: a half a cup of cauliflower gives an entire day’s worth. White cauliflower and its variations can be pureed to a creamy, smooth consistency, baked, steamed, boiled, roasted and eaten raw, to name a few preparation methods. Its tendency to lose structure and turn to mush can be avoided with a 20-30 minute precook at a low temperature (130-140 F / 55-60 C) before undergoing a final long cooking (this can be applied to other foods, such as apples, carrots and potatoes). In Naples, especially around Christmas and New Year’s Day, the insalata di rinforzo is served. This “Reinforcement salad†is a hearty dish featuring cauliflower, peppers and olives.
touring information:
These restaurants offer the traditional insalata di rinforzo during the holiday times. Ristorante Rossellini Hotel Palazzo Sasso Via San Giovanni del Toro 28 84010 Ravello - Amalfi Coast tel + 39-089-818-181 Email: info@palazzosasso.com Agriturismo Il Cocchiere Via Piano del Principe, 229 80040 Poggiomarino - Naples Tel. +39-081-528-3758 Cell +39-334-365-2922 Email: info@ilcocchiere.it L’Olivo Ristoranti Via Capodimonte, 2/b 80071 Anacapri (Napoli) Tel. +39-081-978-0111 Email: olivo@capripalace.com
W is for wine lake:
The phenomenon of the wine glut, referred to as a “wine lake,†is certainly not confined to the region of Campania. But, when visiting this region rich in cultural and gastronomical history, there are ways to personally counteract the negative consequences that the wine lake causes.
The wine glut refers to too much wine for too few consumers. The extra wine goes to waste or is used as alternative fuel – a terrible waste of energy overall, given that wine and all of its production processes are being used as fuel in the end. The wine lake exists because of low quality and low cost wines produced in huge quantities. Government support has helped to fuel mass production of wine, but this is not the only thing to blame. Huge wine companies themselves are actually pushing for more demand instead of responding to the present demand, making not only batches and batches of poor quality wine, but also various other drinks such as wine coolers, in an effort to tap into the soft drink mindset of consumers. The wine lake is not simply an overflow of terrible wine, but even of palatable, albeit not “good†quality wine. All countries are guilty of purposefully overshooting the demand in the race towards catering to a consumer culture, including newcomers Chile, Australia and the United States as well as old-timers Spain, France and Italy. This overproduction of lower quality wine is by no means a new phenomenon, however. Throughout history, wine has been an everyday drink as a source of calories, clean water, and the relaxing, pleasant effect of alcohol. As the demographics of these countries have changed and the average worker does not need the caloric value of wine, less wine of a higher quality is consumed by more people. The out-pour of too much low quality wine has not slowed down. Allora, as Italians say – well? How to counteract this is simple. Buying from small producers to support their vineyards in Campania is easy to do. Your wine drinking experience will certainly be more fulfilling and gratifying as your taste buds appreciate the flavor of high quality.
Sources:
Baldwin, Eleonora. Christmas in Italy. The Reluctant Gourmet. December 2009. Carter, Marina. Adventure guide: Naples, Sorrento & the Amalfi Coast. Hunter Publishing, Inc.: 2006. Google Books. Europe burns its wine lake. Nature News. June 2007. McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. Scribner 2004. Phillips, Kyle. Cavolfiore: That's Cauliflower, A Winter Gift. About.com 2011. Resnik, Hank. Youth & Drugs: Society’s Mixed Messages. DIANE Publishing 1990. Google ebooks. Veseth, Mike. Money, Music, War and Wine. The Wine Economist. May 2010.