Paolo Arrigo of Seeds of Italy came to talk to what I thought was a disappointingly smallish group of about 16 CHAS members – I think the flu had taken its toll. Franchi Seeds is based in Bergamo and has been in the same family for seven generations and Paolo is the latest. He was very proud that they are both Vegan and Vegetarian approved.
Paolo’s talks are very rarely structured and he tends to roam throwing out tips and advice as he goes. I was amazed he had a list of bullet points, to which, to be fair, he did occasionally refer.
The main point of this talk was that traditionally Preserving = Living. Without a fridge, a supermarket down the road or door to door deliveries, if you did not save the summer abundance, then you risked starving in the winter. Two generations ago, our grandparents were I believe the last generation to preserve, apart of course from jam/marmalade and chutney makers.
He made the point that, although we think of Italy as a warm country, the north can be very cold (in 2012, -48°C was the record), so that some of his varieties can easily withstand an English winter. Sow in autumn for vegetables throughout the winter. For example, Lambs Lettuce sown in August/September will see you through the winter.
Italy is made up of 20 different provinces so there is no national dish – some regional specialities that spring to mind are pizza from Naples, spaghetti carbonara from Rome. Don’t bother eating pizza in Venice as they are not allowed to have proper pizza ovens due to a potential fire hazard. Food is very regional; for example – they sell more Cavolo Nero seeds in the UK than in Italy as it is only eaten in Tuscany. In Piedmont, they don’t use olive oil; they use butter.
At previous talks, he had mentioned that each area has its own tomato and that some vegetables are only eaten in a particular province. He specifically mentioned the Principe Borghese tomatoes where the entire plant is hung up to dry. These seeds will be available in the Trading Hut.
I made the mistake of looking tomatoes up on Wikipedia – something I can recommend. The recorded history of tomatoes in Italy dates back to at least 31 October 1548. In certain areas of Italy, such as Florence, the fruit was used solely as a tabletop decoration, until it was incorporated into the local cuisine in the late 17th or early 18th century.
Plants with strong scents, like onions, chives, garlic, mint, basil, oregano, spearmint and French marigold are thought to mask the scent of the tomato plant, making it harder for pests to locate it, or to provide an alternative landing point, reducing the odds of the pests from attacking the correct plant. These plants may also subtly affect the flavour of tomato fruit.
Sow Basil in open ground at the end of May and sow lots so you can have enough for pesto and also let some flower for the bees. In Italy, pesto is served with pasta trofie – a short, thin, twisted pasta from Liguria, Northern Italy.
I am sure you know but never put tomatoes in the fridge, ditto garlic. If you want to make your own sun dried tomatoes put them in an oven at 40C and let them desiccate.
If you are growing chillies, words of wisdom from Monty Don is to only water them with warm water – cold checks their growth.
Thanks for th summary or the talk, very interesting. I was intrigued by the photograph of the accordion player.
We couldn’t get to the talk, so summary was very welcome.
Aileen