Food- Panforte

Italy is known for its biscotti, a hard biscuit eaten with a hot beverage, but this week in Siena our class experienced a true treat.  We stopped in a semi-industrial neighborhood to visit what appeared to be an average snack food manufacturer.  However, it turned out to be a unique and tasty experience.  A bit of history before I begin:

Quite a time ago, before protein bars were produced, an ancient high-calorie food was created to perform similarly.  This food source was called panforte.  Panforte literally means strong bread, and was composed of fruit, honey, flour, and water.  This simple food provided fatty nutrition, but had a tendency to spoil quickly, making it an inconvenient snack. 

During the Crusades, Italian traders would follow traveling soldiers to sell goods.  This is how exotic goods- especially spices- would eventually make their way back to Siena.  These spices were used for food, drugs, and perfumes, and really became an alternate form of currency.  Soon, Siena began adding these spices to panforte, created a much more flavorful, and longer lasting treat.

Now panforte is mass-produced, but there are those who craft it who are proud to stick to the most natural and most traditional forms of production.  Of course, they do use large, modern day machines, but the recipe remains the same.  The reverence they show to this historic food is apparent by the absolute cleanliness of the factory.  We all had to cover our hair and shoes just to enter, even though the production lines were closed that day.  Another point to note is that not everyone can work with panforte.  In fact, those who do are call “masters” of panforte and are carefully selected through lists of applications.  To make sure that you are getting a truly Siena style panforte, this company actually has a legal stamp on every package of original flavor panforte guaranteeing its authenticity.

Food- The Many Flavors of Italia

One thing I’ve learned from experience and from class sessions is that Florence has the best food and wine.  But Siena also has the best foods and wines, and Venice too.  It all depends on whom you ask.  Each of these regions and cities claim their traditional foods are the best in Italia, and will argue the fact.  Each also has their specialties, and I’ve attempted to try one in each place I visit.

A big point to mention- though I will elaborate in my “contemporary Italy”- is that Italian regions are very competitive and very proud of their local communities.  North, South, East, West, each area is known for different dishes and styles of cooking.  In the northern areas of Italy, rice and butter is more cooking; in the south, risotto and olive oil are used.  This is a reason why Florence is known for its bread.  When I sit down to dinner here, I am handed a basket of deliciously simple bread.  The texture is good and the taste is bearable, but I feel like it’s missing something: salt.  In Florence, bread served at dinner is served bland and unsalted.  This is because of one trifle or another with Pisa, the main distributor of salt years ago.  Again, this will be explained more in another section

Food- Secret Bakeries pt1

Unfortunately, I have yet to find the time to visit the secret bakeries, but allow me to explain to you what they are.  Every morning, Florentines run quickly through their favorite caffè and grab a coffee and a freshly baked pastry.  But where do those pastries come from?  They come from a local bakery that begins making them in the early hours of the morning while most of the city is still in bed.  These bakeries are not stores, they only make their pastries to distribute to the caffès that have commissioned them to do so.  Because of this, they are not marked on the maps; you have to follow your ears or your nose in order find them.  However, it’s well worth the effort.  If you are quiet and respectful- and very, very patient- you are welcome to look in on the artisans crafting their art.  Wait a little longer, and they may usher you in or slide you a pastry in exchange for a euro.  This is completely under the table business, however, and not necessarily legal.  But eating fresh, homemade pastries in the before the sun comes up is a pleasure that you cannot find readily in the United States.  I will try again soon to visit these bakeries after a night out, but right now, homework is my main concern.