Ever heard of Papaccelle and Cipollotto? What are they? No doubt, Gustiamo is the only crazy importer of this rare stuff.
They are vegetables, both protected by Slow Food presidia; typical products of the Cilento area, meaning they do not and cannot grow anywhere else in the world.
Francesco Vastola, whose farm is located smack in the middle of beautiful Cilento area, near Paestum, grows both Papaccelle and Cipollotto. After steaming them with a drop of very good white wine vinegar, he puts them in jars with his own extra virgin olive oil. Papaccelle (picture, left) (plural; papacella [singular] does not exist) belong to the peppers family and look like them, but they are smaller and flattened. Their taste is sweeter, more delicate and more digestable than ordinary peppers.
Cipollotto Nocerino (picture left) (singular) is even rarer and received the DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) status by the Italian government. It belongs to the onion family, and it looks like an onion, but it is smaller, white and long. Sweeter and more digestable than ordinary onions. They are so rare and unique, we asked Francesco Vastola, the farmer, to introduce them in the video below. This is what he says (click on the arrow, below):
Any confusion about what capers are? You're probably more confused when you're offered caper berries or (in Italian) cucunci? Here is ever more charming Gabriele Lasagni, from Pantelleria Island, to shed some light on the issue.
After having told us why his Pantelleria capers are the best (watch the previous video, if, God Forbid, you missed it), Gabriele explains that capers are the buds, the little things which appear before the flowers while the caper berries (Cucunci) are the fruits of the caper plant. So, if you don't pick the capers, they will become flowers, which in turn, will become caper berries. Cucunci have an oblong shape and are bigger that the capers.
You eat them in salads, as an accompaniement to cold cuts and cheeses, or with your favorite pre dinner drink [they are perfect with your Martini]. Watch the video below (click the arrow) and learn about this fantastic product!
Believe me, Pantelleria Capers are as good as Gabriele Lasagni is charming. Watch the video below and he'll make you order his capers by the truck load. Gabriele is also a perfectionist. We were in Milano, at the Tutto Food Show, ready to take one of our videos (can we call them videos? they are beyond amateurish... and need improvement!) but he said he was ashamed of his English and wanted to postpone to the following morning because he needed to rehearse in front of his mirror, at home. This is an indication of how much Gabriele cares about what he does! His English is wonderful and you'll understand perfectly the four main reasons why La Nicchia salted capers are so good: the island's lava soil give the capers their peculiar taste; the temperature range between hot days and cool nights give the capers their strong fragrance; the tradition of growing and picking capers on the island and last, but not least, the particular caper plant that grows only on Pantelleria, the cultivar spinosa nocellara. Bravissimo Gabriele, perfetto!!!
"Every summer, I reach for Colatura di Alici, an ingredient that's been used in Italy for centuries. It's the juice that drains out of anchovies salted in a barrel. It has the effect of umami and it brings out flavor in everything you do.
I love it on tomatoes instead of salt with olive oil. I also use it in sauces, just to accent. When I do a roast lamb or chicken, at the end I just drizzle a little Colatura on it and brush it on."
We are so happy America is discovering our very own Italian umami! At Gustiamo, Colatura from Cetara by Nettuno has always been our ace up the sleeve when we want to add a flavor shot to ANYTHING. Don’t miss the buzz, colatura will become your pantry’s new little black dress.
Thanks to all our customers! Our company identifies beautiful hand made products for you but our mission is to help these small artisanal producers stay in business by selling more of what they make at fair prices. That's what they need to survive. "Glory only" does not feed their families and employees. So, you can imagine the satisfaction we get when the producers tell us they are happy with Gustiamo's work!!! One of them is Sergio (left), of Pasta Faella.
In the video below, Sergio tells us that his exports rose by 25% in 2010!!! He wants to celebrate and come to America in the Fall. More about Sergio's visit, later.
In the same video, Sergio also introduces his Pasta's new packaging. Not new, actually. It is the sturdier and thicker paper with a bronze-closure ring that all pasta companies in Gragnano used a century ago. More expensive, but how beautiful!! (click here or on the arrow, below, to watch the video.)
Please welcome Casa Barone's new baby, Arance di Sorrento's jam. This is not just your ordinary orange jam: These oranges are the famous "Bionda di Sorrento", a cultivar grown since 1300 on the Amalfi Coast and on the Mount Vesuvio slopes, where Casa Barone organic farm is located. The scant rainwater and the lava soil, rich in minerals, produce medium sized fruit of a bright orange color, intense aroma, juicy flesh and incomparable bitter-sweet flavor.
Casa Barone's "Bionda di Sorrento" oranges are washed and peeled by hand. The pulp is extracted manually and mixed with small pieces of rind, lending the marmalade a pleasant texture and a flavor never too sweet. Only the minimum amount of sugar is added during the slow cooking process.
Yoy must try this wonderful jam! Open the jar, smell the aroma, have a spoonful, listen to Andrea Bocelli sing "Torna a Surriento" (come back to Sorrento) a world famous and much celebrated song of the early 1900s. (Click here for the song). It starts "Vedi 'o mare quant'e bello? ...Siente, siè ‘sti sciure ‘e arance: nu prufumo accussì fino… dint’‘o core se ne va..." It means: smell the fragrance of the oranges, such a strong fragrance goes straight to your heart. This song is beautiful and makes you dream to be in Sorrento. Ready to book your flight? While doing so, have another spoonful of bionda oranges, close your eyes and you are already in Sorrento!
