GUSTI Blog

Welcome Gustiamo's New Entries from Maida Farm: Papaccelle and Cipollotto!

Papaccelle and Cipollotto Nocerino are two new products Gustiamo started to import from the Maida Vastola farm. Left, Beatrice between Francesco Vastola and Fabrizio, his son.

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):

Italy Hotline, Your Secret Door to Italy

It was such a pleasure to be with Sienna Reid, this past weekend, at her booth at the NYTimes Travel Show in NYC. Her company, Italy Hotline, is based in Roma and offers customized tours to Italy, many of which are focused on food and wine. Hard to believe, Italy Hotline was one of the very few "Italian" booths at this important show! Sienna's booth was a huge success: it looked like everybody (the organizers say 15,000 attended each day) is about to go to Italy.

Gustiamo served Italian artisanal foods from the regions Italy Hotline to goes more often:  Pandoro from Padova (near Venezia); cookies from Lazio (near Roma); fruit preserves from Campania (near Pompei). Everybody stopped by and after they tasted the food, they went to talk to Sienna, Gina, Marcello (Sienna's son) and Matilde because they want to meet the food artisans who make those wonderful products in Italy!

As if this were not enough, Sienna invited food writer Pamela Sheldon Johns who flew in from Toscana. Left is Beatrice, Pamela and Sienna. Pamela talked about Italian cooking and best ingredients. She also served food: artisanal pasta on saturday and crostini with beans puree on sunday. This was the cherry on the cake; the booth went wild and you could not contain the crowd. Watch the video, below (click on the arrow); it is the beginning of Pamela's presentation where she talks about Italy Hotline and her books "Great Pasta Sauces" and "Great Appetizers". Pamela also talks about Gustiamo's fabulous line of Italian artisanal products. Grazie mille, Pamela!!! Ladies, this was a great job, glad we were a part of it, congratulations to all and much success to Italy Hotline!

The Gomorrah Basket a.k.a. Long Life to Roberto Saviano.

Laura Caparrotti, formerly "only" a facebook friend, sent a message asking me to donate a basket for a fund raising.

We receive so many similar requests, we usually kindly decline. But Laura fund raising had a title that caught my attention. It was "Gomorrah". I immediately replied, Roberto Saviano's Gomorrah? Yes, she wrote. Anything you want, I replied.

So the "virtual" relationship changed to friendship, we donated the basket and went to the event. Held in a most beautiful loft in Soho, it was a reading of some passages from Roberto Saviano's book. Laura's Kit-Kairos theater is raising funds to bring Gomorrah to NY and US stages.

Our basket was "The Gomorrah Basket a.k.a. Long Life to Roberto Saviano",  dedicated to all the honest food artisans of Campania, who, with big sacrifice and hard work, resist temptation of easy profits; those who care about their land and their people. These producers are our heroes. 

Here is the list of what wasi ncluded in the basket and why:

- Pasta Faella from Gragnano. Mario Faella at 94 goes to work everyday in the pastificio in Piazza Roma, Gragnano, to make sure the new generations don't mess it up.

- Piennolo tomatoes from Mount Vesuvio. In Neapolitan, Piennolo, means "appeso" in Italian, "hanging" in English, because in the winter, in Naples, the tomatoes are stored in the home attics hanging from the ceiling, kind of like a prosciutto. The members of the camorra should hang, too.

- Il Miracolo di San Gennaro: tomatoes beyond DOP, 100% San Marzano genes DNA tested. We don't believe in miracles. But we would love one to get rid of the Camorra.

- Colatura, the anchovy sauce. Made in Cetara, on the Amalfi coast. It is a wonderful ingredient to enhance every dish. It is so strong, you use it by the drop. Torture for the camorra would be the whole bottle in one gulp.

- Walnut jam and concord grapes jam from Maida farm in Cilento, a few kilometers from Pollica (also in Cilento), where last September, the mayor, Angelo Vassallo, 57, was gunned dow by the camorra because he was a good man.

What else can we do??? Long life to Roberto Saviano. You and our farmers are our heros.

Gustiamo Tatstings @ Il Cantuccio NYC - Tuesday Number 2

Here we are @ Il Cantuccio, the wonderful bakery in the Village, with the three bakers/partners on site and on the wall: Camilla, Lorenzo and Simone. Giovanni Stasi (left) of CHC PR is helping with the organization of Gustiamo's Tuesday Tastings, making sure everything is in order. Until the end of the year (2010), every Tuesday, we meet at Il Cantuccio from 5 to 7pm and we taste freshly baked focaccia with... every Tuesday a different product from Gustiamo. Last week it was Gianduja Spread by La Molina. (read about it, here.) Today we tasted friarielli and zucca sott'olio by Maida Farm in Cilento. It was so much fun to see all our "old" and new friends who wanted to taste and learn about Italy's Best Foods!

Lilly, below, tells you what Gustiamo is doing, there. She confessed she practised the whole week end to say properly all these difficult words: friarielli, focaccia, schiacciata, cantuccio!!! do not worry Lilly, even Italians have problems with these words. You did a great job!!! It was a wonderful presentation! Thank you! Everybody, pls, watch Lilly in the video below (click the arrow) and listen to her! Then, come and see us @ Il Cantuccio. Next, is Nov 30 when we will taste Honey by Licu Manias, the number one authority in the field, in the words of  his peers. So much fun!!!

Rachel Ray Discovers Gustiamo! MUST-TRY

Chef Marco Canora, asked by Rachel Ray to mention his best foods says: Gustiamo! the article continues: They find the craziest stuff! chef Marco Canora enthuses. His faves? Colatura, the bottled juice that drains from salted anchovies ["what a flavor shot in every sauce"] and that jam, from Campania, which is "off the chain".

For those of you who are not able to identify THAT JAM, it is the DOP white cilento figs jam made by Francesco Vastola of Maida farm.

I am personally addicted to both, colatura and figs jam. Not together, though.

and here is the promotion: 20% off colatura and figs jam until sept 30th or supplies last. magic word is "canora".

From Camille - A Culinary Adventure with Gustiamo - Maida Farm in Cilento

People always talk about Tuscany as one of the most beautiful places in Italy (if not the world), and while I haven't been there yet I don't doubt it. But I'd like to add to the list of beautiful places in Italy: Paestum, in Cilento, Campagnia.

After eight days in crazy, over-the-top Napoli, the Cilento countryside felt like a break from reality. Even though it was cloudy and rainy (as it has been everyday), the overwhelming majesty (while cliché, that's not an exaggeration, I promise) of the mountains and valley stretching to the coast seemed magical. Pictures really don't do it justice. Nestled in these rolling hills is Maida Farm.

 Although Francesco speaks only a tiny bit of English and I speak even less Italian, he welcomed Zac and me into his family's home and showed us generosity that, in his words, is only typical for southern Italians, but to us felt extraordinary. Through hand gestures and lots of pointing, Francesco led me on a tour of his factory and surrounding fields. He pointed out the pressure cooker where they blanch the freshly-picked vegetables, the grill where they grill artichokes (carciofi - I'll never get tired of that word!) and onions before jarring, and the machine that fills each jar with the highest-quality extra virgin olive oil. I watched his employees trim and cut artichokes in preparation for jarring.

 I saw his storage room, with all of his amazing preserves: pumpkin, sundried tomatoes, olives, beans, peppers, apple, pear and fig jam, and more. Such simple ingredients yet complexity of taste all in one jar!

It's all about capturing what's in season and preserving it so that it's enjoyable all year round. The fruits and vegetables are picked at their prime, and all are specific to the Cilento region. That day, it happened to be artichokes and onions (Camille and onions crates, left). Next season, Francesco said he will move on to tomatoes, eggplants, and other summer crops. And the freshness is obvious. I can say that with confidence, because Francesco's generosity didn't stop with a tour of his production - he also invited Zac and me into his home for lunch, dinner and breakfast. 

I know it's good when the producer himself eats his own products at every one of his family's meals! And so would I, if I had a storage room full of Maida's amazing products. I guess there's always the option of stocking up...

Camille Frazier

ps from Gustiamo - we want you to try all products by Masseria Maida. If you buy at least 3 items by Masseria Maida, we'll add a jar of yellow tomato puree, on us. Magic word (to be added in the special instruction box of your shopping cart) is "Camille". Why? Cammille loved all Francesco's products and thought the yellow tomatoes were very interesting, tasteful and perfect for a light tomato sauce. We want you to try them, too. This "promozione" is valid until April 30. Grazie.

Not your ordinary accountant! Giacomo is your business partner. He also likes Gustiamo's foods!

Giacomo Di Mattia is not your ordinary accountant. Since I was an accountant, also, in my prior life here and in Italy, I know what I am talking about. First of all, he is good looking. More important, he is fun. Much more important, he is quick and very knowledgable. Giacomo came to visit us the other day (left, already hard at work at my computer) and in two hours, we discussed most of our accounting and tax issues. It was great to receive suggestions from somebody who looks at things with a fresh eye, has a positive approach and business acumen. When he left, I sent my friend Giuseppe Brusa, senior partner at GC Consultants and Giacomo's boss, a thank you note for having sent Giacomo our way.

Ah... and did I mention Giacomo's exquisite taste in food? He loves our food and on the telephone, after finishing discussing our accounting of foreign currency transactions, he gave me some wonderful feed back about the two products he had tried so far: the carnaroli rice and the sottolio squash by Maida Farm: he said he made his best risotto and he opened the jar of squash and devoured it. A good beginning for a long and successful business relationship.

Bon Appetit Magazine Likes Carciofini Piccoli (small small small artichokes) by Maida

  Maida's carciofini (small artichokes) were featured in Bon Appetit magazine, November issue now on the stands. At left the magazine and the actual jar, in an artistic setting outside the warehouse. It's always a good thing when an editor likes your product. Our luck that she writes for a magazine that is still alive. The article mentions the Small Artichokes as perfect nibbles/instant appetizers that can save your day on Thanksgiving. OMG, we are already at Thanksgiving!

Francesco Vastola, the maker, calls them "carciofini piccoli". The word "carciofino" already translates into "small artichoke". So how should we translate "carciofini piccoli"? Small small artichoke? Double small artichoke?

Maida Farm in Cilento, Campania Region

Click on the arrow below and watch the video. It is Francesco Vastola, a very passionate farmer in Cilento, near Paestum. I took the video last year, at the Salone del Gusto in Torino. Although Francesco speaks in Italian, you don't need to be fluent to appreciate his honesty and kindness. In the video, Francesco introduces himself and proudly shows us some of his products: small artichokes, antipasto, yellow tomatoes puree (his favorite, he says; he makes pasta sauce, with it), concord grapes, pear and walnuts, DOP white figs (my favorite, I say) fruit preserves. The fruits and vegetables are all grown in his farm and the sottolii are conserved with his own EV Olive Oil.