[CH] Hot, Hot, Hot: Chili Culture in Calabria
Ashkenaz, Scott (Scott.Ashkenaz@kla-tencor.com)
Tue, 12 Jun 2001 11:50:05 -0700
http://www.iht.com/pdfs/italydaily/it03.pdf
Hot, Hot, Hot: Chili Culture in Calabria
The New World Discovery Is a Spicy Little Vixen With Many Lovers and
Admirers on These Shores
By Renée Tannenbaum
Special to Italy Daily
In 1992, a group of chili pepper enthusiasts from the Calabrian town of
Diamante decided to hold a festi-val commemorating the 500-year anniversary
of the "discovery" of the hot pepper on Christopher Columbus's famed 1492
voyage. It was meant to be a one-time celebration but became an annual
tradition, as pepper devotees clamored for more.
It became apparent to chili promotors that there was a lot of interest in
Italy surrounding this hot little pod. And so the Accademia Italiana del
Peperoncino, the Italian Chili Pepper Academy, was born, dedicated to the
cause of further-ing a true chili pepper culture.
The Academy was founded in 1994 in Diamante, the designated peperoncino
capital of Calabria, to research the sci-entific and culinary aspects of a
spice so vital to Calabrian cuisine. Initially a regional association, the
Academy went national in 1996. They refused to go international, however.
The Academy's president, Enzo Monaco, explains that such a move would have
been presumptuous, as other countries have a much older and deeper rooted
chili pepper culture. There is evidence dating to 3300 BC of natives in
Mexico using cultivated chili as seasoning, and wild chilies were gath-ered
and eaten there as far back as 7000 BC.
Chilies vary in size, shape, color, fla-vor and potency. Monaco explains
that there are over 2,000 types of chili pep-per, but it is nearly
impossible to classi-fy them all. For one thing, the names of the different
types often differ not only from country to country, but also from region to
region. In addition, they cross breed so easily that new types are
con-stantly being created.
At the time of their introduction in Europe, spices were a highly valuable
commodity. After all, obtaining season-ings was one of the main purposes of
Columbus's travels to what he thought were the Indies. When he arrived in
the Caribbean, he found the locals using hot peppers in their food and
brought home these curious items, among other unusual plants. Unlike some of
his other New World finds like potatoes, sweet pep-pers and tomatoes, chili
peppers were immediately adopted and spread quick-ly from one country to
another.
Rich in vitamins A and C, chili adds an exciting punch of flavor at a
relative-ly low cost. Its warmth stimulates the appetite and digestion and
it is believed that the burning provoked by their addictive heat, caused by
the capsaicin found mainly in the inner ribs, releases endorphins to block
the pain and as a result yields a sensation of pleasure.
Within the Academy there is much discussion regarding the validity of the
pepper's alleged aphrodisiac properties. Certainly the associated heat,
suggestive shape, intense red color and the fact that eating hot peppers
provokes cer-tain familiar reactions - flushed skin, blood racing, sweating
- has reinforced what some deem a myth. According to popular Calabrian
tradi-tion, the hot pepper has also been attributed miraculous powers
against baldness, and as it happens, there is a low incidence of baldness in
popula-tions that tend to consume a lot of it. Some suggest a more direct
approach: preparing a rubbing alcohol infused with peppers to be applied to
the scalp twice daily. These scientific and med-ical discussions are
fundamental to the Academy's activities and figure promi-nently at their
events.
The Academy now numbers over 5,000 members. When joining, new members
receive an introductory pack-age including a subscription to the bimonthly
newsletter, Peperoncino News, with the latest on all the hot top-ics,
several books on chili pepper, an enamel key chain, a chili pepper bumper
sticker and, for the true addict, a pocket pen that holds an emergency
supply of chili powder for any unfore-seen pepper crisis.
Ever growing, there are approxi-mately 60 branches around Italy and 10 or so
scattered around the world in such far-flung places as Tokyo, America and
Australia. As Monaco explains, for the numer-ous Calabrian emigrants there,
"peperoncino is a sort of umbili-cal cord to their homeland." These branches
organize smaller events, dinners and exhibits. The Academy itself organizes
several events throughout the year. "Primavera Piccante" takes place each
spring in Bologna; "Peperoncino sul Lago" is held on Lake Lugano in the
summer; and the Academy holds its National Confer-ence on a different
Italian island every December.
The Academy's crowning event is the Peperoncino Festival on the first
week-end in September in Diamante, a small seaside town on the Riviera dei
Cedri, named for the locally grown citron, the lemon's large, bumpy cousin,
and famous also for the large painted murals that decorate the walls of
nearly every street. Art and peperoncino are integrally linked in Diamante
and this connection has always been reflected during the three-day
cele-bration. More than a food event, the festival dedicates much attention
to artistic expressions of the hotter side of life, through erotic art and
photo-graphic exhibitions, and shows of racy cinema, cabaret and spicy
satire.
Of course the culinary aspect is not overlooked. Cooks line the seaside
boardwalk and prepare all sorts of fiery delicacies to be sampled. One of
the highlights is a pepper eating con-test wherein contestants consume
50-gram portions of pepper until a winner is declared. The current record
stands at 800 grams: more than a pound and a half of spice. Recipes new and
old are explored, through tastings and contests. One of the more famous
recent inno-vations is chili pepper jam which can be eaten with boiled meats
and earned its greatest fame in the crostata del diavolo, a dessert created
by Sabbia d'Oro restaurant, located between Diamante and the neighboring
Belvedere Maritti-mo. This fruit tart made of a peppery shortcrust pastry,
filled with a combina-tion of chili pepper jam and orange marmalade is more
than a novelty; the restaurant barely keeps up with orders for this
pleasingly piquant dessert. The surprisingly agreeable combina-tion of spicy
and sweet can also be savored at Caffè Ninì in Diamante in a refreshing, hot
ice cream cake - Ninì's (as owner Antonio Belcastro is known to his friends)
creation of vanilla ice cream flavored with chili pepper, offset by a tangy
ribbon of orange-peach syrup and bits of candied orange peel.
All over Calabria restaurants and household menus will invariably include
dishes fired up with chili pep-per, whether fresh or dried, whole, crushed,
or in powder form. It's hard to imagine Calabrian cook-ing, or much of
southern Italian cuisine without hot peppers, or tomatoes for that matter,
both relatively recent acquisitions to Italy's ancient culinary history.
ON THE SIDE
A fruit and vegetable stand in Diamante, Cal-abria, shows off the town's
favorite ingredient. Diamante claims to be the chili capital of Italy, and
is the home of the Chili Pepper Academy.
Recipe for Gnocchetti Sabbia d'Oro, specialty of Ristorante Sabbia d'Oro,
Belvedere Marittimo (CS), and winner as new creation in the food contest "La
riv-iera nel piatto" in "Calabria '97" organized by the Italian Chili Pepper
Academy.
INGREDIENTS:
* garlic
*extra virgin olive oil
*200 g shrimps, shelled
*30 g arugula, chopped coarsely
*30 g radicchio, chopped coarsely
*fresh chili peppers, torn into small pieces
*300 g small or cherry tomatoes, chopped coarsely
* salt
*700 g gnocchetti (small gnocchi, prefer-ably homemade with flour, water and
potatoes)
PREPARATION:
In a frying pan sauté the garlic in the olive oil. Add the shrimps, arugula,
radicchio, chili, tomatoes and salt. Cook the gnocchetti separately in
boiling water, drain and toss in the frying pan with the sauce. Serve hot.
GNOCCHETTI