ITALY MAGAZINE ROUND-UP - 16

Here is my pick of last week's Italy Magazine articles:

On September 20th we explored the reason why there is a via XX Settembre in every Italian town, then we headed to a town near Turin, the first capital of united Italy, to find out why a mysterious character from  French history is remembered there every year:  the reason is that the Man in the Iron Mask spent some of his long years of imprisonment  at Pinerolo, the "most French town in Italy".

A news story which impressed me was this one about the Comune of Milan's efforts to spot and ban anorexic models from Fashion Week.  Let us hope that these young women also receive the help and support they need.  The saddest story of the week was the loss of the great actress and comedian Sandra Mondaini just five months after her husband Raimondo Vianello's passing but for her, it seems, death came as a friend.  If you thought that denim jeans were invented in France it is time to think again and the whackiest story of the week has to be this one.  Finally, in the news section, if you've ever been at a loss as to how to use up those euro notes when leaving Italy here is the answer.

For my Patti Chiari column, I wrote about carob and included a traditional recipe.  Take a look to find out why carob is the gold of Sicily.

Happy reading.

VERDURA

Fruit and vegetables on display outside a small greengrocer's in Modica Bassa this morning:

Above: There are carob pods in the basket on the left.

Above: French beans are very popular here. I was amazed to see a woman inspecting a whole boxful of these by running them all through her fingers in the market on Thursday . No one chided her for doing so or for not having a pair of plastic gloves on.

Above: oregano is sold in dried bunches, as in the box. Sicilian oranges are just coming into season.

A GIFT FROM THE CAVA

Sicilians, as I've mentioned before, never even come to visit you for five minutes without bringing a gift and it was with great delight that I received, on Sunday, this carob tree from Linda and Gino. It is from the Cava D'Ispica so is very special indeed and, sitting as it now is on my balcony [it looks quite happy there] it is my ray of hope for the New Year. [I have written about carob trees here. ]

GROUND STREWN WITH GOLD

The more etymologically minded among you will be aware that carob seeds were once used for weighing gold and from this practice we derive the word carat, from Greek keration.

The Ragusa area is famed for its numerous carob trees, which are evergreen, provide excellent shade and of course, their fruit in the form of pods and seeds. The tree is a protected species. This is the time of year when the carob pods fall from the trees, though I am told that it is quite difficult to get the last few off as they like to hook themselves around the branches. They have to be knocked and shaken down. Those lucky enough to have carob trees on their land take the pods to warehouses – where they are piled literally as high as houses – to be weighed. The buying rate is 40 centesimi per kilo and you need very few to make a kilo.

Carob is also known as il pane di San Giovanni [St John’s bread] because the seeds are said to have nourished St John in the desert:
"And John was clothed with camel’s hair and , with a girdle of skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey. " - Mark 1: 6.
"And his meat was locusts and wild honey." - Matthew 3: 4.
There is some confusion here, though it is generally accepted that the “wild honey” was carob. The carob tree is sometimes known as the “locust tree” because the insects are attracted to it, so this could also be a reference to the tree and to other vegetation beloved of locusts.
Another probable Biblical reference occurs in the Parable of the Prodigal Son:
"And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. " - Luke 16: 15.
The husks were almost certainly carob pods.

Today, here in Sicily, carob is used to make a flour, from which biscuits are produced, it is used in some types of Modican chocolate, the manufacture of a liqueur and it is the main ingredient in some local cough sweets. [I hated the taste of the latter but they cured my cough!] A pasta called lolli is also made from carob flour and I am told it is very heavy in texture. Carob is also used in cattle feed.

My friend Gino makes a pudding, a type of blancmange, from carob and he was good enough to give me his recipe over the phone today:
Budino di carrubo
2 kg carob pods, washed and bashed into small pieces with a stone
a little cornflour
a little honey

Put the carob pieces in a bowl of water and let them soak for a few hours. Drain them. Boil the liquid and reduce it to about 0.5 litre. Mix a little cornflour with some of the liquid, then stir this into the remaining liquid. Put a little honey into the base and onto the sides of some moulds and pour in the thickened gel mixture. Chill.