AUNTIE PASTA: Italians Do It Whey Better

SARONNO, Italy - Any cook worth his or her salt will tell you that in the culinary world you don’t throw anything away. Take ricotta for example. Ricotta is made from what is left over after making other cheeses. In truth, ricotta isn’t a cheese at all but a latticino, a dairy by-product. Cow and buffalo milk mozzarellas are also considered latticini.

Creamy Ricotta

Ricotta is made from whey, the same stuff Little Miss Muffet was eating as she sat on her tuffet. Simply speaking whey is the watery liquid that is left after cow, sheep or goat cheese is made. Italians love ricotta and while you may look at it and say, 'what's the big deal?' there's a lot of story behind ricotta. It's   been part of the Italian cucina for centuries.

During the days of the Roman empire ricotta production was regulated by Cato the Elder (234 to 149 BC). He introduced laws regarding sheep farming and agriculture. In those days, sheep’s milk was used for many things: as part of sacrificial rites, as a beverage, for the production of pecorino cheese – and ricotta. Even back then they used the whey instead of throwing it out.

Variations on a Ricotta Theme

It is fairly easy to make ricotta. The name ricotta means “recooked” in Italian and recooking is the basic idea behind this product. What happens is whey is allowed to ferment for one or two days in tepid temperatures until it becomes more acidic. After the fermentation is complete the whey is cooked to almost boiling; then the left over proteins solidify into curds which are then filtered through a cloth. The result is a product that is a lot like cottage cheese but with a sweeter taste.

There are many forms of ricotta but the most common types are: ricotta di mucca (cow milk ricotta), ricotta di pecora (sheep milk ricotta) and ricotta di bufala, (buffalo milk ricotta). The best ricotta is that which comes straight from the farm, but even here in Italy, at least in the towns around Milan, it can be hard to find.

I’ve heard that in some areas of Italy you can also find ricotta di mucca e pecora, a mix of cow and sheep milk and ricotta di capra, goat milk ricotta. And more recently they have started selling buffalo milk ricotta in the southern regions of Campania and Puglia where buffalo mozzarella is produced.

For ravioli, tortelloni, agnolotti, stuffed crepes and cakes and pastries, the most common ricotta to use is cow milk ricotta. But in areas where sheep herding is more widespread, like Tuscany, Lazio, Abruzzi, Campania, Puglia and Sardinia, sheep milk ricotta is the most popular, particularly for regional specialties. Each region produces a slightly different tasting milk and cheese, but generally speaking sheep milk ricotta is a little richer than cow milk ricotta.

Zucchini and Ricotta Quiche

Ricotta di pecora is most often used in sauces and pasta recipes, particularly those that include eggplant, peppers, zucchini and spinach. It is also very good for pasta al forno, baked pasta, especially the type prepared in the central southern regions of Italy, and deserts like Sicilian cannoli and cassata.

Ricotta Romana DOP is one of the better known ricottas in Italy. The DOP designation says that it is produced in the region of Lazio and classic production methods have been followed. One of the most renowned ricotta in Italy is the sheep milk Ricotta Romana (D.O.P.), which has a protected designation of origin. This certifies that it is produced only in the region of Lazio and that strict requirements regarding its method of production are followed.

Sicilian Cannoli

Ricotta producers in Campania recently applied for a DOP designation for their ricotta di buffalo and there is every indication that they will get it. There are a few other special types of ricotta too, like ricotta salata, a hard, seasoned cheese that is often used in place of pecorino and grated over pasta. Ricotta al forno or infornato, is a baked ricotta that can be eaten as in or added to pasta dishes. Ricotta affumicata, or smoked ricotta has a delicious taste of charred oak and chestnut. But the most unique ricotta is ricotta scanta which you will only find in Puglia. It is a pungent, aromatic, beige-colored and creamy ricotta that the Pugliese spread on bread or on vegetables. 

And for a change of pace, and a lighter calorie count, you might want to try using ricotta the next time you make a vegetable (maybe zucchini) quiche.
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LIFE: Ties that Bind

SARONNO, Italy - After last week’s post on ex-pats returning home, I thought you might be interested in some of the social organizations that bring us together. When I lived in Genova I belonged to the Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas (Fawco) and I’m still friends with some of the women I met during that period. Here in Milan, my entry to the English speaking community was through the Professional Women’s Association. The clubs are an essential part of any ex-pat’s life abroad; they are the ties that bind. The organizations listed below are in Milan but you will find ex-pat groups for both men and women in most Italian cities.

• American Business Luncheon. This was conceived by and for members of the (north) American community living and working in Milano. Whereas the core of the group is made up of executives from the American business community, and attendance is still by invitation only, today the American Business Luncheon is open to all those having interests or business dealings with North America and North American companies. Luncheons are held once a month, towards the end of the month. Info: http://www.americanbusinessgroup.org/

Hash House Harriers Toga Run in Rome

•AperoNet is a social group that meets without a fixed schedule in the evening at various places in Milan. We're an international mix of Expats & Italians in their 30's-50's. no fees, no memberships, just show up when you like: http://aperonet.too.it "

• Benvenuto Club of Milan. We are a club of English speaking women of many nationalities from forty different countries. We meet on the second Tuesday of each month from 10 am –12 pm at Circolo Alessandro Volta, Via Giusti 16•MM2 Moscova. We exist to support women who moved into the Milan area. We also have an extensive program of special activities, visits and volunteer work. We meet socially in each neighbourhood of Milan. Free baby-sitting service available. Contact the Newcomers Director at 338.969.1563, e-mail newcomersbenvenuto@yahoo.com

• International Benvenuto Club of Varese is a club for English-speaking women from all over the world. The club has a number of regular and special activities. Meets every month for coffee (free for members) at Esselunga of Masnago or elsewhere. For information contact: www.benvenutovarese.org or membership@benvenutovarese.org

• The British Chamber of Commerce for Italy is the focal point of the British business community in Milan and other major Italian cities. Activities in Milan include a monthly lunch – an ideal networking opportunity – on the last Thursday of the month, seminars, tax and legal round tables, as well as an interesting social calendar (wine trips, golf outings, etc). Further details on www.britchamitaly.com or tel. 02.8056094.

• Eurocircle was founded in 2000 in NY. Its goal is to enable expatriated professionals to meet, to express themselves, network, socialize, and find information about the city to which they have moved. Milan’s EuroCircle organizes a monthly happy hour and dinner in the center of town for expats from all over the world. Contact Maria Chiara Russo, milan@eurocircle.com and state “membership to EuroCircle” in subject line.

• The Hash House Harriers (defined as “The drinking club with a running problem”), or rather the Royal Milan & Bordighera Hash House Harriers, is a branch of the original club formed in Malaysia by British colonists who, given the lack of hares or foxes in that distant land, invented a chase based on a human hare leaving trails (true and false) of flour. Today in their attempts to cater for “the fit, the unfit and the social misfit”, they hold a group 40 to 60min run in Milan on alternate Mondays at 7.30 pm, a run in the countryside every other Saturday or Sunday, and various other events. Info on their website at www.milanhhh.com or contact S+M at suboyle@enjoy.it

• The Milan Cricket Club, founded in 1972 by a brave group of UK expatriates. Fixtures are usually held on weekends in the countryside with lunch and dinner on Sunday. Contact:- tionale_europe@rediffmail.com"

• Partyamo is an idea created by Steven Walthew for international people. Partyamo organizes social events which bring together everyone staying in Milan: picnics in the park, ceilidhs, aperitvi, Sunday brunch, day trips and more. See the website for details and enrolment form. http://www.partyamo.com/

• The Professional Women’s Association was established in 1987, based on the recognized need of working women for a resource and network with which to exchange information about living and working in Milan. €100 January to December. Visit our website www.pwa-milan.org, e-mail pwa@pwa-milan.org.

Ex-patriate nightlife

• At Old Fashion Café, Viale Alemagna 6 (entrance from Viale Camoens), a popular event for international students and tourists is organised every Wednesday: music, buffet, cocktails, film in original language, disco, run by Eventsplace, http://www.eventsplace.it/.

• Leopardi 13 has launched “International Happy Hours”, every Tuesday, run by a language school in cooperation with an event organizer. It is aimed at international people in Milan for brief periods, for those who are studying a language and want to practice conversation in a relaxing atmosphere. The Leopardi 13 café-restaurant is in... guess, Via Leopardi 13 (MM1/2 Cadorna), open from 7am to 02.00 am. Happy hour every evening 18.30-22.00, €6, or €12 for the Jumbo Cocktail in a 1½ litre glass. Info Andrea 393.749.6785.

• Soir Café , on Via Edmondo De Amicis 4, near the Colonne di San Lorenzo, runs “Flytonight” every Saturday, offering international atmospheres with evenings dedicated to the world's capitals, in music, art and culture. “Check-in” at 20.00, aperitifs, a quiet area with shiatsu massage, disco music from 22.00 to 4 am. Prices are reduced for non-Italians: €5 20.00-22.00, €8 after 22.00.

Your comments and observations are always welcomed (thisitalianlife@yahoo.com).

LIFE: Aldo and Carla

SARONNO, Italy - Aldo and Carla live in the apartment above the Cleans. (See 'The Cleans.' June 27 post) I know their names because Aldo used to be an active cyclist, and every Sunday his cycling buddies would gather under his apartment building and call up to him to come down.

“Hey, Aldo,” they would yell. “Vieni giu.”

Saronno, Italy

Aldo, who looks to be about 70 years old, would come out on his balcony, wave and yell back, “arrivo.” Then Carla would come out and as the guys shouted up “Ciao Carla,” she would wave back at them, ask about their wives and kids, and basically kill time until Aldo got his stuff together and made an appearance in the small piazza downstairs.

It's Not Aldo But You Get the Idea

Aldo would come out of the building dressed in his cycling gear: protective helmet, Lycra shirt and knee length cycling shorts and sporty gloves, his spiked cycling shoes clicking on the pavement as he wheeled his bike out on to the street. Then they would all get on their bikes, say their final farewells to Carla and head off to who know where for a morning of Tour di Saronno, which is similar to the Tour de France, but just slightly.

Then the unimaginable happened. Aldo had a stroke. The vital, vibrant old man was gone. In his place was a feeble old person who barely resembled the healthy, active Aldo of the past.

He didn't leave the house anymore. Sometimes Carla would help him out to the balcony, but he didn’t stay there very long. His bathrobe replaced his Lycra cycling gear, his feet now in slippers instead of the noisy spiked biking shoes. His buddies didn’t come by any more, his world shrunk and his spirit along with it.

Aldo and the Boys? Unfortunately no.

A year passed, and Aldo reappeared. A little shaky, his one good hand gripping the handle of a cane. Not in great shape, but at least he was no longer house bound. He and Carla started going out for an apperitivo in the late afternoons. She would hold on to his weak arm, keeping him steady. He would clump alongside her, setting his cane down with force as if to say, I’m may be down, but I’m not out.

Neighbors would greet them on the street, smiling and happy to see him. Wives would discreetly inquire about his health while the husbands would pat him on the back as if to say, “bravo, Aldo, you made it.”

He even started driving again. He was never gone for very long, but even a quick ride around the block must have given him a tremendous sense of freedom recovered. Even I, his silent, invisible fan, was rooting for him.

It took about a week before I realized that I hadn’t seen Aldo for a while. I knew he wasn’t dead because here in Saronno, as in all of Italy, when someone dies funeral parlors hang gray banners on the apartment building doors with the name of the deceased on them. So if he wasn’t dead, where was he?

A Street in Saronno

Then I noticed that there was another person in the apartment, a woman. She was there early in the morning, drinking coffee on the balcony, and late at night, having a smoke before going to bed. She was either a relative or someone Carla had brought in to help with Aldo.

Then one afternoon I saw her wheeling Aldo down the street in a wheelchair. He was yelling something at her and she was yelling back, which meant she wasn’t hired help and not any kind of a distant relative, but more likely his daughter. She would take him out in the wheelchair every couple of days, and every time she did they would argue.

Another street in Saronno

It wasn’t until I saw her helping him into the apartment building that I noticed that there was a large soft cast on his bad leg. It seems the reason he hadn’t been out was because he had somehow further disabled his already disabled leg. That also meant he could not drive. Now she was doing all the driving. Bad news.

But now that woman, whoever she was, isn't there anymore. Aldo came out by himself this morning, the cast is still on his leg but he managed to open the door to his car and get in. He started the motor and slowly backed out of his parking place. Then Carla came out on the balcony to watch him, her hand over her mouth.

He slowly pulled away from the building and turned the corner. About 10 minutes later he was back. He parked the car, got out and hobbled into the building. I was so happy I almost cried. All I could think of was bravo Aldo, don’t give up. And you know, I don’t think he will.