Yesterday I tried two new things: Jewish-style fried artichokes and I then went to a lecture/seminar about Roman cheese and wine. Both were entirely enlightening, and the foodie in me was quite happy.
Jewish-Style Fried Artichokes
I had heard from my Italian teacher that the Jewish Ghetto in Rome has two really amazing things: a world-famous bakery for bread, and fried artichokes (carciofi fritti. While I entirely intend to buy some Challah at some point, my mission for this week was fried food.
I gathered a group of friends after class and we headed in the direction that I felt was correct. Before departing, I had looked at a map and had a general idea of where we were going, but as we began our trek, I was worried - I was in charge of this adventure, and I really, REALLY didn't want to get us hopelessly lost or disappointed by the lack of fried artichokes at our destination.
All of my worrying was for naught, though, and we found a place with fried artichokes called Mamas. They were a little pricey (4 euro for one artichoke), but we split them, which was a good choice. We waited anxiously for our artichokes to finish frying (they took a long, lonnnng time), and were delighted when they finally appeared on the counter to grab.
We each grabbed a crispy leaf and bit.
It was amazing.
There was an extremely satisfying crunch, and a taste that was a cross between potato chips and the mellow flavor of a steamed artichoke. We quickly worked our way through all of the leaves, and then came to the heart. Usually, I'm not a huge fan of the artichoke heart, but man oh man, give me a fried artichoke heart any time! I savored every bite and even closed my eyes to focus on how good it tasted.
It was a great adventure, and I'm so glad I got to eat one. When I go to the Jewish Ghetto again to get my baked goods, I may have to make a pit stop at Mamas to get another!
Cheese and Wine Class
At 5pm, after having wandered around the old part of Rome to work off some of the fried goodness of lunch, I headed to a cooking class that my school was offering. It was free, and sponsored by an Italian program that is interested in promoting awareness of authentic Italian and Roman foods. The night's theme was the different cheeses produced in the Lazio region (where Rome is located). It was SO fascinating. I took extensive notes, and I'll reiterate some of the amazing things I learned to you.
Our speaker (who spoke only Italian - we had one of our school staff translating for him) began by telling us how all cheese is made: milk + curd/acid + salt, and the differing quantities and production methods (ie temperature of the milk, size of the curd, amount of salt, duration of aging) effected what kind of cheese would be produced.
The caglio (what was translated as curd, but I really think he meant the acidic agent) comes from the lining of sheep stomachs, but some cheeses use the white stuff that comes out of figs or wild artichokes. Once the caglio is added to milk and begins to curdle, the size that the cheese-maker cuts the curd into effects the texture of the cheese: the smaller the curd pieces, the harder the final cheese is.
He explained that while salt is sometimes added to the mixture, the main purpose of salt is to absorb moisture from the cheese so that it doesn't go bad. I think that this is how many cheese rinds are formed - they rub salt on the outside and the moisture gets drawn out.
The first cheese that we had to sample was ricotta romana. I found it interesting that Italians don't consider ricotta to actually be a cheese. It comes from the whey (the watery stuff that isn't the curds), so it's basically the leftovers from other cheeses. Ricotta actually means recooked, so they just take the leftover whey, heat it, and add vinegar or lemon juice to curdle it.
We then got to taste the cheese, but were given specific guidelines on how to do this. First, you have to visually inspect the cheese: check to see what color it is (is it very white? is it yellow? that can let you know what animal it comes from or how old it is). Then, you have to smell the cheese. He had us close our eyes and smell all of the cheese components: the hay from the animals, the boiled milk, the feint scent of tanginess from the acid. Finally, we got to taste it.
I think that even if art and history from a place like Rome doesn't do anything for you, you should go to Italy just for the ricotta. I've never tasted anything in my life as good as that cheese. It was creamy and buttery (the least fatty cheese though, interestingly enough), and so complex and smooth. Having smelled all of the different scents within the cheese made the tasting of it so much more meaningful, because it really was like tasting a piece of art.
While I was in cheese heaven, a wine guy came around and poured us all a little bit of white wine (I don't remember the brand, but it was from 2009). Our host said that softer cheese such as ricotta, mozzarella, and mascarpone go best with white wine because the wine cleanses the palette from the cheese's creaminess. We went through a similar 3-stage process of inspection for the wine, and when we finally took a sip, I was amazed. My mouth was completely void of any cheese taste! It was SUCH a good complement to the cheese, that I kept going back and forth between the two, being awestruck every time. I've never had white wine before, but it was actually quite good! I loved the taste of the fruit and the slight sweetness of it. So nice with ricotta.
Next, we had a firmer cheese (caciota), which felt so smooth. It looked like a stick of butter on the plate, and when I picked it up to taste it, I was blown away by how soft it felt, despite being quite firm. When I tasted it, my mouth once again thanked me for traveling to Rome for the great food. Tangy and slightly subtle, this cheese was like royalty, giving the Princess Wave to its consumers. Our host also told us to notice that the cheese didn't stick to our teeth (I was shocked to see that my teeth were cheese-free). This is the mark of good cheese, so I guess that means that when I'm in America I should just throw all of my cheddar cheese out the window (impossible to find here, by the way).
Our last cheese type for the evening was Pecorino Romano - the pride and joy of the Lazio region. It is considered the saltiest cheese in Italy (let me tell you they got that right), but is celebrated so much that it's served on holidays. Cheese is taken so seriously in Italy, that I literally have pictured the two families from Romeo and Juliette duking it out as to which region's cheese is better.
Anyway, we were told that there are two standards for pecorino romano: the quality for grating over pasta has to be aged for only 5 months while the quality for eating cheeses is 8 months. This cheese (when authentic) is literally only produced in the Lazio region, because the air temperature, the enzymes in the animals' foods, and the differing water compositions all effect the milk product that goes into making the cheese. Also, the place where the cheeses age is very region-specific (the conditions have to be just right).
To go with this last cheese, we were given red wine. Our host said that with a cheese as strong as pecorino (also other hard cheeses, such as Parmesan), the strong qualities of red wine would compliment it well. He was very right. I think that the subtleties of the white wine would have been lost against the intense flavors of the cheese, so I'm glad we had red instead.
After we finished our last cheese and our wine, we applauded our host for providing us with so much insightful information. It was such an amazing experience, and I'm so glad that I now know how to better shop for cheeses while in Rome. In fact, I went to the cheese stand in the grocery store today and bought myself some ricotta (I think I'm in love). The clerk was impressed with my skills at ordering cheese, and I was happy that we had such a pleasant interaction (sometimes Italian store clerks can be pretty scary). I went right home and spread some ricotta on a fresh loaf of mini-ciabatta. It's definitely going to become a daily thing.
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