Oysters are cheap in Italy, a penny a
piece. Very tempting shell-fish are the Tartufe di
mare (truffles of the deep), as costly as oysters in
England, good eating, but it must be added, very
indigestible.
There are many minor differences in the com-
ponents of similarly named dishes at different towns ;
the Minestrone of Milan and Genoa differ, and so does
the Fritto Misto of Rome and Turin. I fancy that,
as a compensation, only an expert could tell the dif-
ference between the soups di Vongole at Naples, di
Dattero at Spezzia, and di Peoci at Venice.
The Zabajone , the sweet, frothing drink beaten up
with eggs and sugar, is made differently in different
towns. At Milan and Turin Marsala and brandy
are used in it ; at Venice Cyprus wine is the founda-
tion ; and elsewhere three wines are used. It is a
Italy 235
splendidly sustaining drink, whether drunk hot or
iced ; Italian doctors order it in cases of depression,
and it might well find a place in the household
recipes of English and American households. The
wines of the various towns I have noted in writing
of them. Vino nostrano or del paese brings from the
waiter his list of the local juice of the grape, and
the wine of the district is the wine to drink. Roughly
speaking, the red wine is the best throughout Italy ; the
white of Bologna ; of Umbria, especially of Orvieto ;
and the Veneto being the exceptions. Finally, do
not be alarmed if at a trattoria a waiter puts before
you a huge flask of wine. It has been weighed before
it is brought to you. It will be weighed when the
waiter takes it away after you have finished, and what
you have drunk, plus the great gulp the waiter is sure
to take if he gets a chance, is what you will be charged
for.
The Italian Lakes
The huge modern hotels which have risen at all
the beauty spots of the Italian lakes have by no means
made this beautiful tract of country a gourmet’s para-
dise, and the shabby old Italian inns and taverns all
seem to have grown shabbier in contrast to their much-
decorated monster neighbours, where the cookery is
French and the food has no national characteristics.
There is plenty of excellent fish in the lakes and ex-
cellent game in the forests and on the hills. Chamois,
gemsbok, black game, hill partridge, and hares are shot
in considerable quantities on the mountains of Lom-
bardy, and woodcock and snipe in the plains. The
chestnuts and walnuts of Civenna are said to be the
best in Italy. On the slopes of Tremezzo and Cad-
denabia sub - tropical fruits ripen, and strawberries,
peaches, and nectarines grow in abundance ; and on
the hills about the Lake of Orta most of the fruits we
236 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe
Page 128
Presented as published in 1903. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Oysters are cheap in Italy, a penny a piece. Very tempting shell-fish are the Tartufe di mare (truffles of the deep), as costly as oysters in England, good eating, but it must be added, very indigestible.
There are many minor differences in the components of similarly named dishes at different towns ; the Minestrone of Milan and Genoa differ, and so does the Fritto Misto of Rome and Turin. I fancy that, as a compensation, only an expert could tell the difference between the soups di Vongole at Naples, di Dattero at Spezzia, and di Peoci at Venice.
The Zabajone , the sweet, frothing drink beaten up with eggs and sugar, is made differently in different towns. At Milan and Turin Marsala and brandy are used in it ; at Venice Cyprus wine is the foundation ; and elsewhere three wines are used. It is a
Italy 235
splendidly sustaining drink, whether drunk hot or iced ; Italian doctors order it in cases of depression, and it might well find a place in the household recipes of English and American households. The wines of the various towns I have noted in writing of them. Vino nostrano or del paese brings from the waiter his list of the local juice of the grape, and the wine of the district is the wine to drink. Roughly speaking, the red wine is the best throughout Italy ; the white of Bologna ; of Umbria, especially of Orvieto ; and the Veneto being the exceptions. Finally, do not be alarmed if at a trattoria a waiter puts before you a huge flask of wine. It has been weighed before it is brought to you. It will be weighed when the waiter takes it away after you have finished, and what you have drunk, plus the great gulp the waiter is sure to take if he gets a chance, is what you will be charged for.
The Italian Lakes
The huge modern hotels which have risen at all the beauty spots of the Italian lakes have by no means made this beautiful tract of country a gourmet’s paradise, and the shabby old Italian inns and taverns all seem to have grown shabbier in contrast to their much-decorated monster neighbours, where the cookery is French and the food has no national characteristics. There is plenty of excellent fish in the lakes and excellent game in the forests and on the hills. Chamois, gemsbok, black game, hill partridge, and hares are shot in considerable quantities on the mountains of Lombardy, and woodcock and snipe in the plains. The chestnuts and walnuts of Civenna are said to be the best in Italy. On the slopes of Tremezzo and Caddenabia sub - tropical fruits ripen, and strawberries, peaches, and nectarines grow in abundance ; and on the hills about the Lake of Orta most of the fruits we
236 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe