The latest and perhaps the most important agricultural feature that proved decisive in the formation of Piedmontese cooking was the way the countryside was heId and exploited in terms of ownership and social structure, especially in the hilly and wine-growing areas. From the very beginning, the presence of small peasant holdings led to the establishment of a thousand and one small and medium-sized farmhouses scattered here and there over the hillsides each with its own proudly independent family economy. Until major changes began to take place in recent decades, just about everything was reared or produced with great attention to quality. In part, indeed, this is still true today.Chickens and turkeys, rabbits and guinea-fowl, ducks and geese, capons and pigs were all part of the scene, reared and well fed with unadulterated products and the benefits of free-range management. Laying hens were there to supply even city folk with plenty of eggs with soft, deep yellow yolks.
Hence the abundance of omelettes and thick soups, pastries and souffles in which eggs are combined with one or more cheeses, or one or more pureed vegetables), creams, buns and sweets, the renowned "bonet" , whichare based on a combination of milk and eggs with sugar and one of the flavourings most dear to the Piedmontese "ab antiquo", an essence of peaches, crushed almonds, both sweet and bitter, rum, and, in more recent times, chocolate and coffee, and lastly, ever since the Unity of Italy and virtually
to the point of a monopoly, Marsala
Pride of place, however, has certainly been held since the first half of the 1 7th century, by zabaglione, the most typical combination of wine and eggs, whose popular name is probably a corruption of St. Jean de Bayonne, the patron saint of pastrycooks. The wine used for this purpose was initially an old raisin wine that only the well-to-do could afford- Madeira. Then it was the turn of rum associated with any Piedmontese white wine. Last of all, and the definitive preference came the triumphing Marsala,
so greatly appreciated in the Piedmontese countryside. Today, a zabaglione is sometimes made with Barbera. This produces a strong bitterish, virile taste. The result is known as "arsuma" in the vernacular. The usual choice, on the other hand, is Moscato d'Asti. Here one obtains a fine, scented cream poor in alcohol and over-sweet, regarded by some as "a woman's drink".To be continued
Last updated 30-Jun-97
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