Glossary

(Glossario)

Baked ricotta: Baked ricotta is made from cow’s, sheep’s or goat’s milk ricotta that is oven baked until it is dry and slightly browned.

Blood orange agrumato olive oil: Agrumato olive oils are made by simultaneously grinding fresh olives with fresh citrus fruit to produce a high-quality citrus-flavoured olive oil. Blood orange agrumato olive oil has a blood orange and olive oil aroma and flavour.

Buffalo mozzarella—Aged: An aged mozzarella made from the milk of the domestic water buffalo in the Campania region of Italy. If you cannot find aged buffalo mozzarella, any aged cow’s milk mozzarella or provola cheese is a suitable replacement.

Buffalo mozzarella—Fresh: A highly prized fresh mozzarella made from the milk of the domestic water buffalo in the Campania region of Italy. Buffalo mozzarella is now also made outside of the Campania region of Italy; however, its quality can be significantly inferior.

Cime di rapa: Cime di rapa are the clusters of green buds that resemble small heads of broccoli that surround the spiked leaves of Italian turnip greens. The leaves (also known as rapa, turnip greens or turnip tops) can be used with, or instead of, the green buds. Both have a mustardy, nutty and bitter flavour.

Emmental: A yellow, medium-hard Swiss cheese that has a savoury flavour typical of Swiss cheeses. Although originally from Switzerland, emmental cheese is widely used in Italian cooking, particularly in northern Italy.

Fontina: Fontina is a cow’s milk Italian cheese that has been made in the Aosta Valley in the Italian Alps since the 12th century. It is a hard cheese with a flavour profile that can range from mild to intense (depending on its age and production), with nutty and herbaceous characteristics.

Garum (fermented fish sauce): Used in Roman times, garum is a salty, pungent sauce made from fermented anchovies.

Gorgonzola: A famous blue-veined soft cheese made from cow’s and/or goat’s milk. It can be creamy or firm, depending on its age, and quite salty, with a ‘bite’ from its blue veining. There are two kinds: Gorgonzola Piccante and Gorgonzola Dolce Latte. Piccante is more intense, with a much stronger taste and veining, and Dolce Latte is creamier. Today, the cheese is made in two Italian regions: Piedmont and Lombardy.

Lardo: Lardo is a type of salume (Italian charcuterie) that is made by curing strips of pork back fat (prosciutto-style) with rosemary and other herbs and spices. The most famous is made in Colonnata in Tuscany. However, good-quality cured lardo is now made all over Italy and abroad.

Moscato wine: A sparkling white wine produced mainly in the province of Asti in north-west Italy. Sweet and low in alcohol, it is made from the Moscato Bianco grape.

Mosto cotto (vino cotto): Mosto cotto is made from the must or juice of freshly pressed premium dark wine grapes. The must is slowly cooked and reduced to a syrup. It can be used immediately or cellared for many months or even years. With cellaring, the flavour will naturally intensify over time. It is used extensively in desserts and cakes.

Mustard fruits: Originating in Cremona in Italy, mustard fruits are made by preserving different fruits in a sweet, viscous, mustard-flavoured syrup.

Nduja sausage: A very spicy, spreadable Calabrian salami that can be made from various pork cuts, such as shoulder, belly, jowl and tripe. It also contains a mixture of spices as well as chillies that are boiled then roasted dry before being added to the meat, which gives the sausage a very paprika-like flavour.

Ricotta fresca (fresh ricotta): A soft, sweet, white curd cheese made from cow, sheep, goat or buffalo milk, or any combination of these milks. It is widely used in Italian cooking, particularly in baked pasta, filled pasta and desserts.

Ricotta salata (salted dried ricotta): Ricotta salata is fresh ricotta that has been pressed, salted, dried and aged for 2–4 months. Ricotta salata is hard and white, with a salty, nutty and milky flavour. It can be shaved or grated over salads, pastas and vegetable dishes.

Scamorza: An Italian cheese similar to aged mozzarella or provola. It is often smoked and exhibits a mild, smoky flavour. Predominantly made from cow’s milk, it can also be made from other types of milk. Sheep’s milk scamorza, for instance, is a traditional product of Puglia.

Scorzanera (black salsify): Similar to a carrot in shape, scorzanera or black salsify is one of the more uncommon root vegetables. Black salsify differs to regular salsify in that it has a black skin as opposed to beige-white. Both have the same flavour, but the black variety is much more prevalent in Italy.

Squid/cuttlefish ink or nero di seppia: A naturally occurring black ink found in small sacs inside squid and cuttlefish. It is used as a condiment, flavouring and/or colouring in various Italian dishes. The ink can be used fresh or bought in jars at specialty food stores.

Stinging nettles: A green, weed-like plant with hollow, stinging hairs on its leaves and stems. When touched by humans or animals it can inject chemicals that produce a stinging sensation. Stinging nettles must be handled with gloves, but once cooked (or blanched) they no longer produce their sting. The plant has a long history as a medicine and food source.

Strutto: Strutto is rendered pork lard. Nowadays, strutto is often substituted with other cooking fats, such as olive oil or a combination of olive oil and butter.

Truffle—Black: Tuber melanosporum or black truffle is the fruiting body of an underground mushroom that grows symbiotically within the root system of trees, predominantly oak and hazelnut. Thoroughly black in colour (unlike the inferior black summer truffle, which has a black skin and cream-coloured inside), it is highly prized for its unique flavour and aroma.

Truffle—White (Alba): Tuber magnatum or white Alba truffle (also locally known in Italy as the Alba madonna) is the fruiting body of an underground mushroom that grows symbiotically within the root system of trees, predominantly oak, hazelnut, poplar and beech. Thoroughly cream in colour and mainly found in and around the town of Alba in northern Italy, it is the most expensive and highly prized of all truffles because of the uniqueness of its flavour and aroma.