Month: July 2019

Rice Flavored With Bergamot

8.7.2019

RICE WITH BERGAMOT OF LOCRI

Near one of the main city of Calabria (Reggio Calabria), in Locri’s restaurants and hotels tourists love Rice Flavored With Bergamot.

This fantastic dish makes tourists go crazy just like the linguine pasta with Genoese pesto (which is universally a must of the Ligurian and then Italian cuisine).

In 2015 this bergamot rice was the Italian dish preferred by foreign tourists, who visited the “Bel Paese”. This is what emerges from a study carried out by a famous Italian hotel chain. The dish, obtained with the juice of the citrus fruit, called Bergamot, gained the winner position, in comparison with dishes much more known and noble, conquering the top of the top ten, also in the challenge with the internationally known Bologna’s lasagna and with Tuscan crostini with livers.

The green gold

The salient feature of such dish is that the rice spreads the ineffable perfume, smell and taste of Bergamot coming from Reggio Calabria, the city whose geographic area is the only to cultivate the best Bergamot of the World.

This fruit intensively cultivated herein and in the lower Jonio is an authentic richness of the Region (the so called “green gold”).

Particularly, the fruit is currently cultivated on an area of around 1,500 hectares, with an average production of 100,000 kilos of essence.

Experts say that such crops, according to the 2016 trend, have satisfied all producers goal, letting foreign tourists discover the Italian culinary specialties always respecting balance and taste, focusing on the pleasantness and on authentic rediscovery of the flavors of Calabrian land.

A SUCCESS FOR CALABRIA AND MEDITERRANEAN DIET

The ten dishes that competed for the preferences of over 1,000 tourists, who came to Italy in the last year, ranged from the first to the side dishes, to the most appetizing and delicious appetizers and they saw the Calabrian and Ligurian specialties in their head with 18% of preferences on an equal footing.

Magnificent green color

Pesto and rice with bergamot, a sort of Calabria-Liguria tandem, have received a plenty of votes by French, German and Spanish tourists.

However, according to the study, also the “farfalle (a type of pasta) with bergamot scent” have literally conquered tourists in Italy on vacation or for business; they were very popular, according to the study.

Conclusively, this is a very clear success for the characteristic citrus of Reggio Calabria and its province – whose use ranges from gastronomy (from pastry to the production of drinks and liqueurs) to perfumes, thanks to its essence, which is fundamental for the water of Cologne.

How to store Olive Oil

4.7.2019

ALL THE TIPS TO CONSERVE OLIVE OIL

From the supermarket to the table, but also to the restaurant, here’s what to pay attention to.

1 – Darkness is the best friend of the oil

Excess lighting affects the quality of extra virgin olive oil. Prevent the oil bottle from being exposed directly to the sun or any type of artificial light.

Safety

2 – Keep it cool

Temperature is essential to maintain the properties and taste of the oil. The ideal is to preserve the precious “green gold” at a temperature neither too hot nor too cold.

3 – Watch out for air currents

It is always a good idea to close, carefully, the cap after use, in order to avoid the danger of oxidation.

Genuine

4 – Watch the deadline

On each bottle the date on which it is preferable to consume oil (12-18 months) is always indicated. Usually consumption date cannot exceed 24 months.

5 – Far from impregnating odors

Like all fats, the oil works a bit like a sponge. It is therefore good to keep it away from cans of paint, very fragrant detergents, local with mold or saturated with smoke.

6 – If put outside the home, pay attention to the container

Old olive oil cruets are prohibited by law, in favor of bottles with anti-refill caps. A bottle pack of dark glass is the preferred one.

7 – Pay attention to an abnormal color 

The oil can be of various shades ranging from golden yellow to bright green, but it cannot be red-orange.

Cold pressed Olive Oil

TECHNICAL INSTRUCTIONS

For a proper conservation, you need to follow some precautions, which should be taken to avoid damaging EVO, especially if organic.

In order not to alter its nutraceutical potential, it should be remembered that both EVOO (organic EVO) and EVO is very demanding and prefer:

• To       be stored at a temperature between 14 and 18 degrees; while, it does not tolerate high temperatures or near or below zero;

• To be kept in small (maximum 500 milliliters) well-closed containers, always clean, of glass (opaque or dark), porcelain or stainless steel, in cool places and away from aromatic contamination.

Good

Although tin is a good compromise for short periods, food grade plastic should never be used.

Please, do not put EVO in contact with oxygen and for this reason do not let it remain for a long time in empty containers, even if hermetically sealed.