Food With A Point

While doing some research before a recent Chianti tasting I attended, I came across a rather interesting random fact.

Chianti is one of the more famous Italian wines and regions (located in Tuscany). There is so much history surrounding the area, the regulations, the wines and the winemakers that one, no five posts, probably wouldn’t cut it. As a sidebar however, SuperTuscans (click here) are essentially rebel Chiantis. There was a period of time when Chianti wines were identified by being bottled in slim-necked, fat bottomed bottles with the telltale straw surrounding the base. These bottles are actually called fiascos – appropriate for a wine that has seen its fair share of these in the occurrence sense… Fiasco is actually the Italian word for flask.

The first mention of this type of bottle dates back to the 1300’s and the production of them continues today. The Comissionaria Industria Fiaschi (manufacturers association) was established in city of Empoli and to this day maintains strict control over the use of the trademark packaging. With the arrival of Super Tuscans, who not only use Bordeaux-blends in their wines but Bordeaux-style bottles for their wines, the fiasco is now only authorized for officially designated DOC Chiantis.

Mae West, American actress and seductress once said: "There are two things in life I like firm and one of the them is jelly"...

This term doesn’t refer to particularly amazing wines or beverages capable of delivering extra (fill in desired superpower). The origin of this term comes from  a break from tradition during the 1970’s when some of Tuscany’s wine makers decided to eliminate the white grape from the typical Chianti blend, which is regulated by the DOC(G) classification. This lead to wines that had more Bordeaux-esque blends but also meant that these wines, the first being the Tignanello, were now simply categorized as table wines. While the wines remained Tuscan in origin, they were considered region less. However, while being rebel products, they also managed to garner tons of media attention and capture numerous awards – much to the surprise of the more traditional wine makers and the oenological community in general. As such, they were named Super Tuscans because they were turned out to be “miraculously” great products.

When you go to your local fish monger, you should be advised that not all is what it seems. In fact, some varieties behind that counter have actually gone through official name changes. They have modified their identities… it’s true, I promise.

The top three culprits are:

Dolphinfish (aka. Mahi-Mahi): Renamed by restaurateurs who were tired of trying to convince patrons that they were not eating Flipper.

Patagonian Toothfish (aka. Chilean Sea Bass): Endangered species who adopted his trade name in order to increase sales in the market place. Now, he can't keep up with the demands of celebrity.

Goosefish (aka. Monkfish): Decided he didn’t like living between two families of the animal kingdom so officially became a dedicated pescatarian…

Whether you drink a single or a double espresso, that doesn’t really matter to Italians. What matters is that the standard of the espresso is respected. Yes, there is such a thing as the National Espresso Insititute (www.espressoitaliano.org) and it was founded in 1998 “with the specific goal of safeguarding and promoting the original Espresso”. You don’t mess with the best and understandably, the Italians have mastered the art of caffeine extraction. Morning, noon, and/or night, nothing beats a great shot and there is nothing worse than a bad one. We all have our favourite spots where to get our fix, but next time you go, see if it has the following features*:

“A hazel-brown to dark - brown foam – characterised by tawny reflexes – with a very fine texture (absence of large mesh and larger or smaller bubbles). The nose reveals an intense scent with notes of flowers, fruits, toasted bread and chocolate. All of these sensations are felt also after swallowing the coffee in the long lasting aroma that remains for several seconds, sometimes even for minutes. Its taste in round, substantial and velvet-like. Sour and bitter tastes are well balanced and neither one prevails over the other. There is no, or a barely perceptible, astringent taste.”

Standards are meant to be respected and when it comes to my coffee, it's best to do so... otherwise the uncaffeinated beast that lurks within might rear it's ugly head... Italians are right to keep that one in check!

* Text was taken from the web site of the institute in order to ensure that there was no distortion in the standard… This also accounts for the writing style...