Week 1 Heather Weiss

1)                        Although the tomato is not originally form Italy, it has become an intrinsically Italian ingredient. Served fresh, cooked, or preserved, it appears at almost every meal (excluding of course, the requisite pastry and cappuccino for breakfast). It took 300 years from the introduction of tomatoes form the old to the new world for them to be accepted as nonpoisonous and even then, they were treated with care. After their diffusion through royalty, botanical gardens, and monasteries from Spain to Italy, it was the Sardinians who first picked up the tomato (History of the Tomato in Italy).  They were wary however, of the notorious reputation the tomato had as a poisonous fruit that would petrify your insides, and so they were sure to cook it twice, or preserve it through vinegar r the sun and not eat it fresh (History of the Tomato in Italy). Thanks to their concerns, tomato paste and sundried tomatoes were born. These cheap but labor intensive plants became the staple of the Italian rural poor who’s diets through the 19^th and 20^th centuries were predominantly vegetarian (What They Eat).

                         This diffusion of ingredients is evident in both Italian foods in Italy, and in the food presented by Italian emigrants. Castelvetro gave us a prime example of Italians importing their cuisine to the rest of Europe as they moved there. He noticed that in his new home did not use herbs and vegetables like fennel and parsley that the Italians used, and sent the Countess of Bedford specific instructions on how to cultivate, produce, and prepare asparagus (The Fruits, Herbs, and Vegetables of Italy). Within Italy, vegetables and fruits were imported as well, with a markedly important import being the tomato from the new world.

2)                        Tomatoes in Italy are eaten in a wide variety of ways. While most of the tomatoes I have eaten have been cooked, the essence of tomato was best conveyed when I ate bruschetta. Bruschetta has an unfair advantage as the first bite of the meal, the one you are anticipating most, and the one you are the most hungry for. This appetizer, consisting of fresh tomato, salt, pepper, olive oil, and basil all atop a crispy piece of toast, is an ode to the tomato. The bright red minced tomatoes, shiny with oil, catch your eye as they are brought your table and the sharing style of the appetizer means that the entire experience is collective and can be enjoyed by all. The tomato as a cold, wet vegetable (a galenic categorization that holds true in descriptions today), balances perfectly with the crisp toast. This tomato was tart with a hint of sweetness, countered by salt and mellowed by oil, the perfect bite to start a meal. Biting into a tomato recalls the comfort food of my childhood, tomato soup along with eating cold tomatoes with my friends as a kid in the garden in the height of summer. The ability of food to transport me to another place is a testament to its cultural importance and ability to communicate a feeling.