Great article! I'm so happy you mentioned the Amaro. We had Amaro after almost every meal when we were in Rome last month. You should have seen the beaming looks of joy from the waiters. Americans who know how to drink like Italians! Many of them went so far as to recommend their favorites and told us not only do they help with indigestion, but Amari also aid "digestion" to keep things "moving", so to speak. We brought home two bottles; Amaro Lucano and Amaro Nonino. Our friends brought home the same.
Another great article, Valerie. But I wonder how the bitter amaro squares with another common after-dinner drink -- the sweet limoncello. Or is limoncello mainly in the south, or mainly for tourists? I have often had it offered gratis when dining in Italy.
grappa or amari...?... okay, i must confess i like both. usually its grappa after a big meal and, when i've had too many espresso, a nice shot of branca menta soothes the internal me.
come to think of it, all that alcohol probably soothes the outside me, too.
valerie, i would love to see a photo of your nonna as a young girl.
Valerie, great piece, thank you.....I've been interested in alternative health (alternative by US standards that is) for over 3 decades now and trusted the Italian eating habits as soon as I came to Italy many years ago, as they correspond to things I learned that were healthier ways to consume food.
I especially like the idea of eating foods both locally grown and seasonally. Also, the concept that insalata should be eaten after the main meal, appeals to my sense of "internal affairs" being properly irrigated (if that's the word I'm looking for,,).
One of my Italian friends calls grappa the "coffee killer" as he likes to drink a cafe after dinner but doesn't want to stay awake. Assuming you drink enough grappa to nullify the caffeine.
So, now I eat my salads at the end of my meals and take my grappa after the coffee.....my tummy seems very happy about this arrangement.
Oh Valerie, I love this article so much already! It perfectly sums up my year in Italy. I just found the obsession with digestion fascinating, and honestly, endearing almost. (I enjoy relaxing after a meal, blaming my digestion instead of my general laziness.) Although I had to make fun of my friends at times, for instance one who insisted he could not just digest oregano. I guess I am a rather schedule and rule obsessed person, so these eating rules are strangely appealing to me.
Shannon, have you tried drinking milk before a meal? According to many sources that is a real culprit of clamp-down.
Kristina, Amaro Lucano and Amaro Nonino I rather like. I also like the liquore al caffe (get your coffee and digestivo in one glass!)
Roz, apparently limoncello defies the sugar = bad effect of the grappa proponents because even those friends will drink a limoncello. Boh. It really all comes down to personal taste. We don't see limoncello as much around here as in the south, though.
Elizabetta, brava if you can drink the grappa! I can't get it down. The after-dinner digestivo does soothe inside and out, I think. I will have to look through the boxes of photos when we are in the US to find some of my nonna. I didn't bring any precious photos along, just in case luggage went missing. I plan to scan and archive some when we go back at the end of May for a couple of weeks.
Cheryl, me too. I do prefer the longer meals divided into courses, relaxed, composed of fresh ingredients. I had taken that home from our first trip to Italy so we've been eating this way for many years. I agree that all kinds of ailments can be directly tied to unhealthy foods and poor digestion.
Chiocciola, it is generally endearing...until you get those diatribes that can go on infinitely about some personal-taste item. Oregano? That's a new one. I've heard sweet peppers, red onions, corn, and of course chile, but not oregano!
Just wanted to let you know that my friend Luca, who teaches Italian in Tulsa, Oklahoma, posted a link to your article to share with his students, I am sure they will enjoy it!
I can see much shame in store for me should I be in Italy. I prefer to drink a pint of milk before dinner, and a pint with dinner. I NEED my milk. The only time I won't drink it is when I have a cold. I guess when in Italy I'll go into the closet.
Posts: 214 | Location: Mississippi | Registered: 31 October 2004
Chiocciola, thanks for letting me know. That's fantastic!
Kendall, best to take your own milk and hide in your backpack. Or maybe a brown paper sack?
Sandra, thanks. It does make sense in a country so very obsessed with food. I can tell you that all conversations, regardless of where they start out, always come around to a food reference at some point.
Originally posted by valerie:I can tell you that all conversations, regardless of where they start out, always come around to a food reference at some point.
When I’m visiting my cousins in Palermo and we’re just about to sit down to rest after lunch, the conversation always starts with planning what we’re going to eat for dinner. And in the morning we deliberate the lunch menu while we drink coffee.
When we talk on the phone she always asks me what I ate or cooked today. If it’s a holiday, she’ll recite over the phone every dish they ate and you know that for Christmas and Easter that’s a lot of different dishes! And if I show interest on a particular dish, she will tell me the detailed recipe over the phone interjecting a few “hai capito?”
Valerie, that was a delightful story! I love the bitter liqueurs, myself. I've spent a lot of time and money trying to imitate Strega.
I also like the florals. My favorite is probably green tea and jasmine.
Not big on grappa.
Deborah Horn In a previous life I was an Umbrian sunflower farmer. I want to do a past life regression and stay there. ----------------------------------- www.petsburg.com My blog: Old Shoes - New Trip
Posts: 4629 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: 04 September 2001
Valerie, this was so much fun to read! I love these differences in our cultures....so many things to learn from each other.
About dairy products, I always ask why they can eat gelato at any time of the day, but not drink milk....hmmm. They never seem to have an answer for that one.
And what is it about ice?!!! My Italian friends nearly have a coronary if we have ice in our drinks late at night. Very obviously another digestive no-no to them. Cold is bad for internal affairs, too, I suppose.
Years ago in Sorrento, my husband had stomach cramps. I mentioned it to the lovely woman at the hotel reception to see if I could find some broth or something for him to eat. She said, "No! He has had too much olive oil! I have just the thing for him." She brought a glass of Fernet Branca and said tell him to drink it all. It was black, herby-smelling, and ugly, but he drank it. He felt better immediately.
Valerie, I've never seen green tea and commercially, either. It's just one of the "what if" concoctions I tried when I started my liqueur making hobby. Many of them were horrible flops, but Green Tea and Jasmine is wonderful. The green tea gives it the herbiness, the jasmine is the exotic light floral note. You should try making it yourself. It's very easy. Soak your favorite jasamine scented green tea in equal parts vodka and grain alcohol for a few days. Then strain out the tea and add simple syrup to taste. I think it is best at room temperature, but in the hot summer, you may want to drink it chilled.
My attempts at Strega have come within the ballpark, but nowhere close to home plate. I call my version "Witches Brew" , so given your stated aversion, you probably wouldn't want to try it.
Deborah Horn In a previous life I was an Umbrian sunflower farmer. I want to do a past life regression and stay there. ----------------------------------- www.petsburg.com My blog: Old Shoes - New Trip
Posts: 4629 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: 04 September 2001
Gail, ice is certainly to be rationed and used very sparingly. In the caffe we frequent when some American students ordered Coca Cola and asked for ice, they were each given one cube and no more! Apparently the sugar in the syrupy iced tea doesn't lock up the stomach like other sugars...little quirks in the system, I guess.
Deborah, of course; I should have known the liqueur would have been of your own creation. Sounds yummy, though. Will have to give it a try.
My Nona always had a big bottle of Brioschi in the kitchen. It was her remedy for "agita", i.e., the physical "agita" not the mental although they always had a lot of both!!
Carole
Posts: 1041 | Location: Laguna Beach, CA | Registered: 09 February 2006
Valerie I just loved the part about the barista! It's perfect!
And yes, health and food are an Italian obsession, but a couple of things can be actually explained:
1) drinking milk with a meal: first of all this is a matter of taste. Most of our savory food simply does not go with milk nor with sugary drinks. We are used to simple mixtures of flavors. I can't even imagine having a good prosciutto sandwich or a plate of spaghetti alle vongole with a glass of milk or a soda.
So we generally keep milk for breakfast and soda for garden parties, pizza and assorted junkish food. It's just a different way of pairing.
In addition, even though they might not be aware of it, many Italians are lactose intolerant, so fresh dairies are difficult to digest, aged cheses are relatively easier. When eating ice cream, because of the temperature, one might have the wrong impression that it is easier to digest, but it is obviously as heavy as the milk....sigh......
2) digesting one or another ingredient: Oregano like other herbs is difficult to digest in high amounts. Some of us might be more sensitive than others and so not be able to tolerate even small amounts. Try to eat fresh pesto everyday for a week: you'll be intoxicated!
Aromatic herbs contain flavor chemicals that are not used by the plant for our own pleasure.
In fact, there is plenty scientific evidence that aromatic chemicals are produced by plants to make them indigestible to herbivore animals. Bell peppers are stuffed with indigestible chemicals which are mostly present on the skin. That's why peeling them makes them easier to process.
It is part of the Italian culture to evaluate the role of a certain ingredient in a dish, so people is automatically aware that that particular ingredient gives them a problem rather than the whole dish.
Letizia, how interesting! I always figured the amari were useful specifically because of the plants and herbs (knowing fennel seed, etc. are good for the digestion). But this explains why bell peppers don't always like me too well!
I have never been a milk drinker...just in my morning cappuccino, and I never drink soda pop of any kind. For me a nice glass of water is my choice with meals, and maybe a little vino.
Americans who know how to drink like Italians! Many of them went so far as to recommend their favorites and told us not only do they help with indigestion, but Amari also aid "digestion" to keep things "moving", so to speak. 
We brought home two bottles; Amaro Lucano and Amaro Nonino. Our friends brought home the same.
, so given your stated aversion, you probably wouldn't want to try it.
