Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well (Lorenzo Da Ponte Italian Library)

Product Information

If it were not for this recommendation, I may have been inclined to dismiss the book as irrelevant to today's cooks, given the wealth of Italian cookbooks from Marcella Hazan, Lydia Bastianich, Michelle Scicolone herself, and a dozen of scribblers on the cooking from the various regions (Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Sicily, etc.) and `superregions' (north versus south) of Italy. So, here I am to say that there is much of value here for the foodie and the professional cook. For all you casual cookbook clients out there, you may want to give this one a pass. In spite of its title, it has absolutely nothing in common with the kind of kitchen science written by Harold McGee, Shirley Corriher, and Alton Brown. One hundred years after his death, both his birthplace of Forlimpopoli, as well as other Italian cities are celebrating this figure with various publications and events.

My client, one of the UK's largest independent travel companies... Travel Trade Recruitment: Tailor-Made Travel Consultant (Homeworking) However, in the meantime, the recipe had become part of the Italian cuisine and it spread throughout the national territory with new variations and new ingredients such as the use of tomato, which appears for the first time in 1790 in the “Maccheorni alla Napolitana” recipe, contained within the cookbook “The modern Apicius” by Francesco Leonardi. Pellegrino Artusi (July 28, 2011). La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiare bene. Bur. pp.1–. ISBN 978-88-586-2202-5.

Develop

Although Artusi was himself of the upper classes and it was doubtful he had ever touched a kitchen utensil or lit a fire under a pot, he wrote the book not for professional chefs, as was the nineteenth-century custom, but for middle-class family cooks: housewives and their domestic helpers. His tone is that of a friendly advisor – humorous and nonchalant. He indulges in witty anecdotes about many of the recipes, describing his experiences and the historical relevance of particular dishes. The 790 recipes accumulated in successive editions of Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well (never out of print since its first edition in 1891) can't be said to herald the birth of Italian cuisine. That consists of the cookery of many regions, and Pellegrino Artusi's masterpiece takes too little account of most of them (Sicily and Calabria, to name a pair) and too much of others (his favoured areas, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany). Nonetheless, Artusi's cookbook appeared shortly after the political unification of the country, and its unremitting culinary patriotism in the face of French domination is one of its most endearing qualities. This is not a sit down and read start to finish type book. So I read out of it every morning to inspire and give colour to my day - I presume like some people read the Bible.

Between the years 1835 and 1850, Artusi spent a great deal of time in student circles in Bologna (in one of his works he claims to have been enrolled at the University). In the bar Tre Re he met the patriot Felice Orsini, from Meldola another town near Forlì. Science in the Kitchen and The Art of Eating Well' by Bologna native, Pellegrino Artusi, recently republished in English with a new introduction by American food writer, Michelle Scicolone is a work originally written in Italian and published by the author almost 115 years ago. I was drawn to it by a very positive reference to it in Paul Bertolli's cookbook, `Chez Panisse Cooking'. My wife and I came across this while watching Stanley Tucci Searching for Italy which is a must see for foodies. My wife went nuts over the show and her interest in the book. Just wish the show continued. It was too short. Although Artusi was himself of the upper classes and it was doubtful he had ever touched a kitchen utensil or lit a fire under a pot, he wrote the book not for professional chefs, as was the nineteenth-century custom, but for middle-class family cooks: housewives and their domestic helpers. His tone is that of a friendly advisor - humorous and nonchalant. He indulges in witty anecdotes about many of the recipes, describing his experiences and the historical relevance of particular dishes.It would be a poor desert island book - anything that made you think of food would be a burden - but one I might take along anyway, just for the asides and joyous anecdotes that give it personality. "Life has two principal functions: nourishment and the propagation of the species. Those who turn their attention to these two needs of existence make life less gloomy". In 1904, Artusi published a practical manual for the kitchen, with over 3,000 recipes and 150 tables, simply entitled Ecco il tuo libro di cucina ("Here is your cookbook") with the anonymous participation and influence of the baroness Giulia Turco. Artusi's book stands with Manzoni's great novel, " I Promessi Sposi "(The Betrothed), and the music of Verdi as works that not only are great unto themselves but represented a sense of identity and self-worth to a nascent country with no nationalistic feeling ? Artusi chose to give Italians their definition by telling them how they ate ? Anyone who seeks to know Italian food avoids Artusi at his or her peril. He is the fountainhead of modern Italian cookery.?--Fred Plotkin "Gastronomica " The following year, the family moved to Florence. Here, Pellegrino began working in finances, and he also dedicated his time to two of his favorite hobbies: literature and the art of cooking. His sisters got married and his parents died and so he was able to live off his inheritance thanks to the land the family had in Romagna (in Borgo Pieve Sestina di Cesena and Sant'Andrea di Forlimpopoli). He bought a house in D'Azeglio Square in Florence, where he quietly lived out his life until 1911 when he died at age 90. Single, he lived with just a butler from his hometown and a Tuscan cook. He was buried in the Porte Sante cemetery, part of the basilica of San Miniato al Monte.

Pellegrino Artusi (1820-1911) was an Italian businessman and writer and is credited world-wide as the Inventor of Italian Cuisine. Originally a silk merchant, Artusi brought his passion for science, health, and food to the entire nation of Italy. La Scienza in Cucina E L'arte Di Mangiar Bene, Grandi Tascabili Economici 1975. ISBN 88-7983-555-6. Poi ho scoperto che alcune di quelle ricette erano ricopiate (e modificate) dall'Artusi, di cui mia nonna possedeva una copia andata perduta durante la guerra. Artusi's book stands with Manzoni's great novel, " I Promessi Sposi "(The Betrothed), and the music of Verdi as works that not only are great unto themselves but represented a sense of identity and self-worth to a nascent country with no nationalistic feeling ... Artusi chose to give Italians their definition by telling them how they ate ? Anyone who seeks to know Italian food avoids Artusi at his or her peril. He is the fountainhead of modern Italian cookery.'--Fred Plotkin "Gastronomica " I'm constantly fascinated at how these 125-year-old recipes are still perfectly useful in today's kitchen. A good, trustworthy classic doesn’t need any alterations, variations, or remakes—when a good thing works well, there’s integrity in passing it down as is and upholding traditions. As Italians say in true Italian fashion, " La squadra che vince non si cambia": Don’t change a winning team.From France this preparation arrived to the kitchens of the Neapolitan Bourbon court and those of the Vatican, but it was still just a way of cooking meat with significant variations and ingredients, depending on the area of Italy. One of the reasons for the undying popularity of Artusi's book is because it's such a good read. He opens his recipe for minestrone, which he says “recalls memories of a year of public anguish and my own singular case,” with possibly my favorite anecdote in the entire book: It's 1885. Artusi is staying in Livorno, a Tuscan port city not too far from Pisa, at a time when a deadly cholera outbreak was snaking its way through the peninsula. Poking his head into a trattoria, he asks, “What’s the soup?” “Minestrone” is the reply. “ Ben venga il minestrone,” says Artusi: "Welcome the minestrone." The definitive transformation takes place at the end of the first decade of the twentieth century, when Tagliatelle officially replaced Macaroni and tomato became an essential ingredient. The recipe for “Classic Bolognese Ragù” was patented at the Bologna Chamber of Commerce on October 17, 1982, by the Bologna Delegation of the Italian Academy of Cuisine. Soup is only as good as the Sofrito" this is not only true of soup but also of life. Select every ingredient with attention, prepare it with your soul, add some good music and you can be sure to have a dish that will not only fill you, it will also satisfy.

Murtha Baca’s translations include several manuscripts of Leonardo da Vinci, An Italian Renaissance Sextet: Six Tales in Historical Context (edited by Lauro Martines) and Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

Open Library

Also in Forlimpopoli, Casa Artusi is described as "a living museum of Italian cookery that was created to honor Artusi, one of its most famous citizens". [5] Editions [ edit ] Artus's book stands with Manzon's great novel, I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed), and the music of Verdi as works that not only are great unto themselves but represented a sense of identity and self-worth to a nascent country with no nationalistic feeling ... Artusi chose to give Italians their definition by telling them how they ate ... Anyone who seeks to know Italian food avoids Artusi at his or her peril. He is the fountainhead of modern Italian cookery.' - Fred Plotkin - Gastronomica But where does Ragù come from and where do its two most famous versions (the Neapolitan one and the Bolognese one) come from? While the value of this book is unmatched, I give it only four stars to warn anyone to read the review carefully before buying this book with mistaken expectations.