1I-Search Paper
I.Introduction of the Problem
Statement of Purpose
I began cooking when I was little, I helped my mom make cookies and cakes. I learned how to use the range top when I was nine or ten. I felt that I could make anything if I really wanted too. But in 6th grade I began making cookies on my own, my first batch ending up being a disaster. Needless to say I enjoyed making the rock hard cookies with an odd after taste. I continued determined not to mess up my next batch. I was right, they turned out perfect. Now out of all of my friends and family, I’m considered to make the best chocolate chip cookies. I’ve been cooking various things now since that year. Last summer I traveled to Italy, and fell in love with the food. I can still taste everything now, from the Nutella in the morning with fresh croissants and cheese to the rich lasagna and Roman style pizza. I felt combining my love for Italian food and cooking would allow me to do the best senior project for me. This I-Search will help me understand the different regions of Italian food and why they are so different.
I chose to focus my I-Search on how demographics, social and historical aspects affect the foods of three regions in Italy that I visited on my summer trip. When cooking I have never really thought about why foods in other regions are different. Through my project, I will come across many Italian foods that will seem very diverse from each other. Since I wish to inform others about Italian food and wish to demonstrate various recipes, I need to know why they are one of a kind and not just show how they are unlike to fully be able to say I know how to cook Italian food.
Statement of the Question and Hypotheses
Why are the regional foods of Toscana, Veneto, and Lazio (Roma) different?
- There is a difference because of the different climates
- There is a difference because of the history of the regions
- There is a difference in the people and customs of the regions
- There is a difference in the geography of the regions
- Null hypothesis: There is no difference between the regions
II. Summary of Sources and Analysis of Credibility
Blanchard, Paul. Northern Italy from the Alps to Bologna. London: A & C Black, 2001. 35-36.
This book is a travel guide to Northern Italy, in it I found a few pages on the customary foods of the region of Veneto. It was helpful because they gave some of the main foods that were in a variety of dishes from the area. I found that rice is a main component to most dishes in Veneto. Dishes, usually called risotti are rice and seafood and/or vegetables. Fish and others sorts of seafood are common in the area, as Venice is one of the main cities is located on the Adriatic Sea. Tiramisu is a favorite dessert of the area. Location and prime conditions for rice and catching fish provide and abundant source for most meals.
I believe this source to be credible because it is primarily used as a traveler’s guide. It has been revised every four years. Most of the information was gained through the Ente Nazionale Italiano di Turismo (Italian state tourist office). It is also part of the Blue Guide series. The information I gained is also something I noticed when I was in the area. I found it to be a good general source and I do not believe there is bias, it seems strictly factual without glittering words to make Italy seem better then it is (if that’s possible.)
Roden, Claudia. The Food of Italy. South Royalton: Steerforth P, 2003.
This book was an excellent source for my I-search. Giving a couple pages of history and information on each of the three regions I have been researching, it confirms some of my hypothesis. The first region of Veneto cooking is said to be delicate and colorful. Venice played the central role in spice trade of the region, and got dried fruit and nuts from the east. It said that the entire region was one of water with rivers and streams and lakes and canals and lagoons. So most of the cooking revolves around fish. Veneto is said to have a cosmopolitan and exotic touch from their old connections with Germany and the Orient. The Arabs brought rice, but also many short-grained types grow in the marshes around the Po River. The Toscana or Tuscany region is said to be simplistic. Tuscans do not like their food to be covered in sauces. The Lazio region where Rome is the main city is said to be very cheap and simply prepared without anything fancy.
I believe this is a credible source. The author is a chef herself and the book is a based off of a series of articles she wrote for the Sunday times for London. She spent a year in Italy traveling and visiting the kitchens of cooks and listened to their stories. Her humor in the book makes it an exciting read and one you can believe. But I do see hints of bias in the book, you can tell how much she loves Italy.
Trattoria Italia. New York: Rizzoli, 1999.
This gave a good general overview of the differences in the regional foods. It said that the Venetian food was colorful and vibrant due to the colors from the vegetables they used. The Tuscan food was described to be rustic and simple. Letting the natural flavors to shine through. A lot of Tuscan food is grilled with the aromatic plants of the countryside. Everything is served with their own olive oil. Lazio is said to be cheap and seasoned with pork fat. The old saying is “the more you spend, the worse you eat!”
I found this source to be less overwhelming of information then the last source. This seemed to have the same points without all that extra information. Yet the other book kept my attention. I believe the source is credible based on the fact that it mentioned some of the same information as it did in the previous books.
Ricci, Richard. Personal interview. 20 Jan. 2005.
I traveled to Bellevue to Angelo’s Restaurant to interview chef Rich Ricci. I told Mr. Ricci about my project. I first asked him what he thought of my question and how he could answer it. He stated of that the null hypothesis was defiantly not correct. He has been cooking Italian food from all over the country since he learned from his father. He couldn’t really tell me any specific stories, he said he probably had millions but he couldn’t think of anything at the moment. The best he could give me was that most foods had names that meant something in Italian that related to a story and the cultures created the foods.
I believe Mr. Ricci is a reliable source because he cooks Italian food on a daily basis. He has been to the country many times, and like Italian recipes being passed down in families, he learned everything from his father, who was the Angelo. I could see he was passionate about his food, and that as he said it was more then a career to him, more like a great hobby. I think Mr. Ricci is bias to Italian food, but you can tell it’s what he loves and my books confirmed everything he said.
Hess, Reinhardt, and Sabine Salzer. Regional Italian Cuisine. New York: Barrons,
1999.
What I like about this book is a map with the regions along with a short but simple statement of each region and the geographical setting along with the foods. Tuscany is covered with small hills. Olive oil is the main ingredient. The people eat a lot of meat and they use a thing called a spit, which is a type of grill or an open wood charcoal grill to cook their meats. In Rome once again is described as hearty, and robust. The regions love for sheep milk and cheeses are often incorporated in the meals. Rice cultivation is prime in the Veneto region around the Po River.
I believe this book is credible because Mr. Hess was once the editor of he largest cooking magazine in Germany. He has had a love for culinary arts since he was young and his life is built around food. Also the information in the book has matched all that I have found to be true in the other sources. Since he was editor of the largest cooking magazine he could be bias, but the magazine was cooking in general not Italian cooking, leading me to believe his words are factual.
III.Application of Sources to the Question
Blanchard, Paul. Northern Italy from the Alps to Bologna. London: A & C Black, 2001. 35-36.
This book gives an excellent summary of the food of Veneto, and how it actually varies within the region, which helps identify the region so I can compare it with the others. It states “Rice is a basic ingredient… it was once grown extensively on the low, wet plains at the foot of the Alps” (pg 36). Rice is served throughout the region in a variety of ways. Fish and seafood also form a base for most meals, and example of the combination is “Risotto Nero (coloured and flavoured with the ink of cuttlefish)” (pg. 35). The book says the Trevisans claim to have invented Tiramisu, but does not confirm the statement. It does affirm, “You’ll find rich cakes and pastries of Austrian inspiration” (pg. 35). This does suggest that the climate and location and influences of other countries have an effect on the Veneto region, but I did not find anything about how it differed from the other regions I selected.
Roden, Claudia. The Food of Italy. South Royalton: Steerforth P, 2003.
This is an excellent book with all the regions of Italy and answers my entire question. The First region, Veneto compared the food to “Venetian mosaics and tinted marbles”(pg. 76). The history of Venice went back to the middle ages, when Venice had a central role in the spice trade and the dried fruit and nuts that came from the East (pg.76). The author met people of the region and they said, “their cooking was la fantasia dei poveri (the fantasy of the poor)” (pg. 76). This came from when the region lived off the land. What I liked was how she described the exact location and boundaries of the region. Veneto rests between the Po and Tagliamento rivers, and to the north, bordered off by the DolomiteMountains. History claimed Venice was a point of contact, and Venetians gained their culinary tastes and ideas from the Arabs. Lakes, rivers, streams, canals, lagoons make the primary ingredient, seafood. The author said the special thing about Veneto is the cosmopolitan and exotic feel. This comes from their old connections with Germany and the Orient. Spices were used much in the middle ages, but after the 19th century when the French took over, they went out of fashion (pg 77). In many other books it says rice is common in the area, but the Arabs first introduced the idea of rice. Rice is often mixed with vegetables. And Veneto is richer in vegetables then any other region of Italy. Verona was the capital of pastry making before the Second World War. History, climate, geographical and social reasons all had major influences on Veneto cooking.
The next region Toscana that they talked about in the book gave many reasons to the diverse cooking habits of the people. What I like about this book is after first it gives an historical reference, it stated that in during the fifteenth century, Florence dominated over all other capitals in the Italian regions. Described as “one of the wealthiest cities, a mercantile city or artisans, bankers, and traders… a city of intellect and passions, the powerhouse of the Renaissance, whose influence was felt all over Europe” (pg. 120). When King Henry IV’s marriage was celebrated in Florence, they served twenty-four cold dishes as only the first course, followed by three more courses. King Henry, married Caterina de’Medici, and when they returned to France, she brought cooks with her, who are said to have revolutionized the Parisian court. From this Florentines brought their simplicity to the French. Tuscans were described as liking “natural food undisguised by sauces and elaborate artifice. They hated excess” (pg. 121). Tuscany is enclosed by the Apennines and the Tyrrhenian Sea. During what the book calls the “golden age” between 1300 and 1600, all Tuscan people had political rights, everyone had a job tied to the land, and farms were run by the “mezzadria system” where the owner and the farmer shared the profits. On farms like these, produced olive oil, wine and a variety of vegetables. Many of the foods the workers ate during the day, was what the nobles ate. “Tuscan cooking is the simplest in the whole of Italy, but it is not poor” (pg. 122). They say what makes it so good is wine and the use of olive oil. Tuscan hills, with full benefits from the sun produce the best olive oil. Another specialty is cooking over wood embers and grilling. In Tuscany they love red meat, where in the rest of Italy they are fond of white meat(pg.24). Many enjoy the fresh and light taste of Tuscan food.
Less historical influence took part on the region of Lazio. Roman style food is what you will find, as Rome is the center of the region. Romans like to eat out, and go up to the hills around the city and eat at the taverns. Years ago, Romans used to gather their friends and family and take their own food to these taverns and simply buy wine. “Roman cooking has few elements and all of them are cheap, simply prepared, and without frills”(pg. 154). In the past, pork fat was used regularly. Almost every family had a pig, but today olive oil is taking over. The base for Roman food is pasta, dried beans, and offal. “This is a characteristic of peasant cooking everywhere in Italy, but nowhere more then here”(pg. 154). This is because the nobles only ate the prime cuts of meat, and they ate meat a lot, so there was a lot left over. Another tradition is deep frying which was used to tempt passers-by in a Jewish ghetto (pg. 156). Another thing I found fascinating is that the countryside is rich in volcanic soil, which is prime for growing such vegetables as artichokes.
This book was an excellent resource, answering my entire question. It got me greatly interested in my topic and some of the history was fascinating. What was greatly surprising to me though, is that like I thought, all the regions have different foods yet one thing remains the same. They all seem to like simple recipes.
Trattoria Italia. New York: Rizzoli, 1999.
This books explains the differences between the foods of the regions. Veneto is once again described as colorful and simple. Like the food you’d find out on a farm. While Toscana is also described as simple, but more elegant. They use wood burning grills and herbs to bring out natural flavors (pg. 110). Roma or Lazio, is also described as simple, but I feel it has a more fast food type atmosphere. Mostly everything is fried in pig fat, and they hardly use oil (pg. 146). This is surprising and almost sounds not tasty at all, but I know from experience that food from Rome and the area is quite delicious.
Ricci, Richard. Personal interview. 20 Jan. 2005.
Mr. Ricci was very helpful in answering my question. From the interview and what I had learned from my books. I can say there is a difference of the foods in Veneto, Lazio and Toscana. He said “In Tuscany there is more game, and beef” and in Veneto, being one of the largest regions, there’s horse and donkey, along with seafood being around lakes and the ocean. I thought it was interesting to hear him say that he thought the most important reason of why the regions differ is because they simply use mostly what’s only available to them. After all that makes the most sense. I was surprised how he got into the business of being a chef. When he mentioned that family life and lunch was a big time for families and friends to get together. This fact didn’t really hit me, until he said he had in fact taken over his father’s restaurant and his father passed on everything he knew to him, is a prime example of family life and how food is so much a part of that.
Hess, Reinhardt, and Sabine Salzer. Regional Italian Cuisine. New York: Barrons,
1999.
This book also answers my entire question. It’s broader on the regions, for example the Po Basin includes Veneto and two other regions of similar tastes. The book states, “the humid regions of the Po Basin are best suited for rice cultivation”(pg. 50). Later in the chapter is shows examples of recipes from the regions, supporting that rice is a main component to the meals in this region. This book also concurred that Venice had been one of the most powerful cities in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. One of Veneto’s classic dishes is said that it “should be made only in the spring, with peas that are grown in fields located between Chioggia and Burano along the shores of the Venetian Lagoon” (pg. 51). In the Tuscany region the food is the best I’ve seen described as “a mixture of sophisticated simplicity and country type cooking” (pg. 128). As in many other books, it says the wide valleys with fertile land and gentle rolling hills for olive groves describe much of Tuscany. The region surrounding Rome and Rome take pride in their food and its said they are skeptical of outside foods. Dishes are stronger in flavor and this book confirms that they used more fat for flavoring then places such as Tuscany. This book was great, and I enjoyed seeing the recipes after each section that confirmed what was used commonly.