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Autumn Fairs & Salone del Gusto e Terra Madre.
-Lara Statham- 9 0ttobre 2012-?Despite what I?ve said so far about change not all changes are borne of globalisation and financial crises. Some changes are natural and therefore much more reassuring as they follow the seasons.
Autumn is my favourite season in Turin and Piedmont and marks the leisurely transition from summer to winter. A lush abundance of harvested seasonal foods from the countryside, including pumpkins, apples, chestnuts, mushrooms, truffles and grapes make this probably the best season for gourmet food lovers wanting to sample Italy?s best culinary treats. Nights may be drawing in and temperatures starting to slowly fall but the crisp mornings and mainly sunny days mean it is also arguably the best time of year to combine eating with spending time outdoors, taking advantage of the wide variety of gastronomic food fairs held in towns and villages throughout the region.
Historically Piedmont?s towns and villages have a strong agricultural heritage and agriculture contributes around a third towards Piedmont?s economy with the car and aerospace industries making up the other two thirds. The intrinsic importance of food and drink to the economy and cultural background of Piedmont is annually manifested in food fairs called ?feste? or ?sagre? to celebrate and promote the gastronomic foods and wines of the region.
The fairs are held outdoors in the narrow streets and cosy squares in Turin?s surrounding hill towns. Each fair gives prominence to its own locally produced food or drink speciality. In Migiandone near Lago Maggiore it?s wild boar; in Cavour it?s apples; in Piozza it?s pumpkin; in Carmagnola it?s peppers; in Barolo it?s red wine; in Cherasco it?s snails; it?s cheese in Bra, mushrooms in Giaveno and in Passerano Marmorito (Asti) it?s tripe ?- to name just a few.
The main eateries in town offer 3-course menus using their local speciality as the basic ingredient to theme their antipasti, first course pastas and risottos and second course dishes. As an alternative to the more formal style trattoria or restaurant, dishes can also be enjoyed at trestle tables in the main piazzas, and in some cases bales of hay provide the seating for al fresco dining or you can seat yourself in a marquee to avoid any threats of bad weather. The serious business of food and drink appreciation is pleasurably combined with mingling with locals at music, theatre and sporting events, races, open castles, folklore themed events and craft and antique street markets.
Alba?s White Truffle Fair, south of Turin in the Tanaro valley is one of the best in Italy and this year starts on 6th October with the weekend festivities continuing until 18th November. Entertainment kicks off with an evening of concerts and punctuates the weekends in between with its local speciality food stands, craft market and al fresco and refined dining following the truffle theme. Locals get into the swing of things by donning traditional folklore costumes, games keep children and young-at-heart adults entertained and a there is even a donkey race. All reaches a climax with the internationally famous Truffle World Auction where prices for the rounded, rutted, knobbly fungus reach eye-watering levels. For those who need to recover from all that truffle-eating afterwards, a white truffle walk brings the festivities to a satisfying conclusion.
All the fun of the local town fairs in the Piedmont peripheries creates the frivolity to offset the more serious tone of ?Salone del Gusto e Terra Madre? at Lingotto Fiere (25th ? 29th October).? When, as reported in the Italian press last week, an alarming number of Italians are said to be cutting back on their food budget but yet people are queuing up to get their hands on the first iphone 5s; we know that the Salone?s theme of ?how food can be used as the key to combating a world in crisis? hasn?t come a moment too soon. I don?t suppose the organisers had the iphone 5 in mind when fine-tuning their theme but nevertheless it signals a timely moment to remind people of the importance of making healthy eating choices and emphasising eating as a social pleasure against a backdrop of the more serious message of environmental and production system issues.
Changes have also been at work here with Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre opening as a single event for the first time since Terra Madre was held in 2004, with the 49 Terra Madre conferences and meetings on issues such as biodiversity, land-grabbing, GMOs and animal welfare being more easily accessible to all. Food producers, chefs, workshops and educational activities will create a combined stir to make this a truly inspirational event. Food producers from Italy and around the world will be exhibiting mouth-watering vinegars, mushrooms, truffles, cheeses, wines, grappas, genepy, teas, coffees, olives, ice-creams, sorbets, liquorice, yoghurts, honeys, nougats, mustards, syrups, chocolates, micro-vegetables, fish, anchovies, cured meats, foccacia, pasta, bread, flour, figs, walnuts, almonds, pine kernals, pistachios, citrus fruit zests and jellies ? to name only a few delights on offer!
So, I know summer is over and a natural sense of melancholy pervades the air at this time of year as we fall towards winter, but pack away your sandals without sorrow, shake out those walking boots, zip up your padded waistcoat, arrange your scarf stylishly to keep the cool, crisp air from penetrating your neck line and get yourself off to a fair or two and the ?Salone? this autumn. Go to www.sagrepiemonte.it and www.salonedelgusto.it to find out more?Have fun!
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Source: http://www.articolotre.com/2012/10/a-change-in-the-season/112878
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