Pellegrino Artusi

Translation of: La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene.

Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well

La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene

'The fountainhead of modern Italian cookery' Gastronomica Pellegrino Artusi is the original icon of Italian cookery, whose legendary 1891 book Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Welldefined its national cuisine and is still a bestseller today. He was also a passionate gastronome, renowned host and brilliant raconteur, who filled his books with tasty recipes and rumbustious anecdotes. From an unfortunate incident regarding Minestrone in Livorno and a proud defence of the humble meat loaf, to digressions on the unusual history of ice-cream, the side-effects of cabbage and the Florentines' weak constitutions, these writings brim with gossip, good cheer and an inexhaustible zest for life. Throughout the history of civilization, food has been more than simple necessity. In countless cultures, it has been livelihood, status symbol, entertainment - and passion. In the GREAT FOOD series, Penguin brings you the finest food writing from the last 400 years, and opens the door to the wonders of every kitchen.

Exciting Food for Southern Types

Olga Ragusa

Pellegrino Artusi's Italian Cook Book is a collection of Italian recipes first published in 1891. This version was edited and translated by New York-based academic Olga Ragusa in 1945. It contains nearly 400 recipes that highlight the art of traditional Italian cooking at a time when French cuisine had long dominated the kitchens and plates of gourmands. Pellegrino Artusi (1820-1911) was an unlikely person to revitalize Italian cuisine, being neither a professional chef nor a formal culinary scholar. Artusi was born in Forlimpopoli to a wealthy merchant father, and he successfully took over the family's business as a young man. His life-and that of his family-was violently disrupted in 1851, when the criminal Stefano Pelloni arrived in town. He and his gang disrupted a play and held all the wealthy families hostage in the theater while they robbed and sacked the town. One of Artusi's sisters was assaulted during the raid and the ensuing shock placed her in an asylum. (Pelloni was killed just two months later in a gunfight.) After the trauma, Artusi and his family moved to Florence, where he began working as a silk merchant and later in finance. During his free time, he devoted himself to the art of Italian cooking. French cooking had been considered the "gold standard" in culinary circles for centuries, but Artusi rejected the notion that French food was superior to his native Italian. He devoted himself to learning more about the cuisine of his ancestors. By 1891, at the age of 71, Artusi had completed what is considered the original Italian cookbook. He had compiled and edited recipes from much of the newly unified Italy, creating for the first time a broader manual to the nation's various culinary styles. Still, the book's recipes lean toward the northern culinary styles of Romagna and Tuscany. Unable to find a publisher, he funded and self-published the work. It was a modest success at first, selling a thousand copies in four years. But word spread, and before his death in 1911, the book had sold over 200,000 copies. This version was edited and translated by the New York-based linguist, scholar, and academic Olga Ragusa. It was published in 1945 by the S.F. Vanni publishing house, then owned by her father. Containing nearly 400 recipes, the instructions in the Italian Cook Book are simple to follow and can be easily recreated in the modern kitchen-with some exceptions. Sourcing the two dozen large frogs for Frog Soup may prove a challenge. But the recipes for handmade pasta, gnocchi, and ravioli in the Romagna and Genoese styles are simple and approachable. Crostinis, slices of toast piled with savory toppings, make delicious appetizers when topped with anchovies, caviar, or chicken liver. Italian-style sauces are abundant, including caper sauce for drizzling over boiled fish, meatless sauce for spaghetti, and "the sauce of the Pope"-a briny sauce from the caper vinegar, sweetened olives, chopped onions, butter, and an anchovy. The home cook will find some meats that are easy to source-chicken, lamb, turkey, beef, pork, and plenty of fish. Others will prove more difficult to find, like partridge, blackbird, wild boar, and thrush. Some of the less common organ meats are also used, including tongue, kidneys, and liver. Italian home cooks will want to linger in the dessert section, full of simple cakes, pies, and puddings, as well as rustic fruit dishes like pears in syrup and peaches stuffed with candied orange peel and nuts. Artusi is considered by many to be the father of modern Italian cuisine. Since 1997, he has been celebrated each year in his birthplace of Forlimpopoli with Festa Atrusiana, an Italian food festival.

Italian Cook Book

An Italian culinary classic includes recipes for soups, sauces, fried dishes, stews, fish, and pastries and ice cream

The Art of Eating Well

First published in 1891, Pellegrino Artusi's La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangier bene has come to be recognized as the most significant Italian cookbook of modern times. It was reprinted thirteen times and had sold more than 52,000 copies in the years before Artusi's death in 1910, with the number of recipes growing from 475 to 790. And while this figure has not changed, the book has consistently remained in print. 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. Artusi's masterpiece is not merely a popular cookbook; it is a landmark work in Italian culture. This English edition (first published by Marsilio Publishers in 1997) features a delightful introduction by Luigi Ballerini that traces the fascinating history of the book and explains its importance in the context of Italian history and politics. The illustrations are by the noted Italian artist Giuliano Della Casa.

Pellegrino Artusi

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