La Prima Settimana (First Week)

It’s been unseasonably warm and sunny this past week, interspersed by a few days of rain. Only a few weeks ago, it was snowing in Bra, something the locals tell me is not uncommon at this time of the year.
Flock of Sheep, Bra, late winter with Albanian shepherd

Flock of Sheep, Bra, late winter with Albanian shepherd

Suddenly the paddocks we pass in the bus on the way to UNISG are a vivid green.  On Wednesday a large flock of sheep appeared on one of the farms still covered in corn stover (those rather dirty looking leaves and stalks of corn which are left in a field after harvest). Gasps of delight could be heard throughout the crowded bus as baby lambs were spotted. Apparently it’s the first time sheep have been seen in these parts for a long time.
Baby lambs

Baby lambs

One of the pleasures of this first week has been walking home through the fields and up the hill to Bra at the end of the day. Given that we’re often in class 9am – 4pm, with a break for lunch, I really needed the exercise to clear my head, especially after one day of 5 ½ hours of Molecular Gastronomy/Chemistry. I must admit these classes have been something of a shock to me as I haven’t looked at a chemistry book since I was in high school, and never excelled at it.
Gabriella Morini's Molecular Science Class

Gabriella Morini’s Molecular Science Class

“Chefs such as Ferran Adria have been teaming up with researchers to create avant-garde dishes and increasingly want to know more about the molecular sciences” our teacher Gabriella Morini told us. “Chemistry is like cooking.  Just don’t lick the spoon.” When I was at school, it was easy to blame the science teacher who never explained anything clearly. But Gabriella is clear and precise, and she peppered the slides with concrete examples We sped through 155 slides in the first few days.  They included everything from the Periodic Table of Elements to organic molecules – those with carbon atoms (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids), essential amino acids, enzymes, gluten formation, emulsions, gels and the Maillard Reaction.
Maillard Reaction

Maillard Reaction – yikes!

It was when she told us that we humans know how to handle scarcity but don’t know how to handle excess that my ears pricked up. “Food is both a need and a pleasure,” she told us. “It’s also addictive – nature made it that way so that we eat. “Putting on weight is very easy, and nature doesn’t care if we put on weight. We go to the supermarket when we’re hungry, and we buy calories, not food,” she continued. “But human health depends on traditional foods and the bioactive compounds (extra-nutritional constituents that typically occur in small quantities in foods) they provide.”
Baby cabbage, Saluzzo Mercato delle Donne (Women's Market)

Baby cabbage, Saluzzo Mercato delle Donne (Women’s Market)

On our walk home one afternoon we met some of the local farmers (contadini) when we stopped to admire the daffodils growing near their barn and were overwhelmed by their kindness.
Daffodils, early Spring, Bra

Daffodils, early Spring, Bra

Not only were we given two bright yellow daffodils each (for me, the first time ever I’ve ever had a sweet-smelling daffodil), but they showed us their citrus trees (still inside under cover) and the spinach, parsley and garlic they’re growing outside under plastic covers.
The Daffodils given to us by the farmers

The Daffodils given to us by the farmers

They also told us they grow peperoni (capsicums) in summer, though not the ones Carlo Petrini, president of the University and founder of Slow Food, mentioned in his introductory talk to us during the week.
Carlo Petrini

Carlo Petrini

“A few years ago on my way home to Bra, I stopped in a small Osteria where they serve a traditional dish called peperonata,” he told us. “But it had no flavour. “So I called the owner over and asked where the peppers came from. He said they came from Holland. We grow them hydroponically so you can fit 30 in one box, not more nor less, so they are perfect for the box! They last longer than ours and they are also cheaper than ours.’‘ ” ‘Right,’ I said, ‘well, they’re not good.’  The man said that in this region they had wonderful peppers, the square pepper from Piedmont, with nice flesh and a good flavour but that farmers were no longer growing these because the Dutch ones were cheaper. “So I asked, ‘What do farmers now grow in the greenhouses where they used to grow peperoni?’ “And he told me they now grow tulips there. “
Peperoni

Peperoni: but which variety has the most flavour?

“Ah yes,” sighed our farmers. “We only get a few peperoni from the traditional plants, but the yield is so much higher from the new varieties.” Don’t get me wrong: they admire Carlo Petrini (or Carlin as he’s known locally) and the work he is doing, but they make more money from the new (less flavourful) variety. “We treat “terra madre” (mother earth) as  though she were an industry,” Petrini told us. “ Which means we encourage only the strongest razze (breeds). “And we promote and concentrate on recipes while we lose farmers and fishermen.”
Ida Viale, one of the wonderful "nonnas" (grandmothers) at the Mercato delle Donne, Saluzzo (CN)

Ida Viale, one of the wonderful “nonnas” (grandmothers) at the Mercato delle Donne, Saluzzo (CN)

“At this University we cover a wide range of subjects including molecular gastronomy, the history of food and cooking, anthropology, the molecular basis of taste plus a number of study trips in Italy and overseas with the aim of making you gastronomes. “A good gastronome is humble, someone who respects the wisdom and thrift of “la nonna” (our grandmothers), not one of those male celebrities on MasterChef. “We’re not striving to produce chefs, we want to produce people who can interpret and understand food in many different ways.”
On the walk home to Bra: some of the students cycle (up and down the hill)

On the walk home to Bra: some of the gastronomes cycle (up and down the hill)

And as Maria Popova so wisely says,…” in order to survive — both as individuals and as a civilization — and especially in order to thrive, we need the right balance of critical thinking and hope.”