Snippets from the Italian Scene Lardo di Colonnata: Protecting
traditional foods from EEU regulators
Moving in another legislatory direction, last week I attended a
conference on Lardo di Colonnata, the cured lard that Colonnata's quarrymen
have been using as sandwich meat for thousands of years. Before you get queasy,
a little history: People have known about Carrara's white marble since
Pre-Roman times, and have been extracting it since they discovered it. In the
days before mechanized transportation most people went on foot, so having the
town as close to the workplace as possible was important, and the Roman
quarrymen (for the most part slaves) founded Colonnata on a ridge between two
quarries. Steep forested hills where they could gather chestnuts, acorns, and
such, but not much in the way of arable land, nor a place where one could
easily raise goats, sheep, or cattle. But pigs do very well with acorns and
chestnuts, so every family had at least one, which they would butcher in the
winter. The meat, of course, got eaten, but pigs also have lots of lard, and
the townspeople discovered they could cure in their cellars it if they put it
in marble tubs, covering it with salt and herbs (garlic, rosemary, peppercorns,
anise, and other things): The salt draws the water out of the fat, forming a
brine, and in its dehydrated state the fat is much more receptive to the oils
in the herbs, which flow into it and flavor it over a period of several months.
The production technique guarantied a safe food because the salt tied up all
the water, making it impossible for any form of bacteria to grow, the herbs and
spices made it amazingly delicate and flavorful, and the calories made it
perfect for the men to take into the quarries. People were already writing
admiringly of it in the mid-1800s, and since then its renown has grown
tremendously.
It has even become a tourist attraction, with people driving up to
Colonnata to taste it, and though this has been very good for the town, helping
to compensate for the loss of employment that followed the mechanization of the
quarries, it has had a negative impact on the lard: Production is low, with 11
families making less than a ton a year, and though the producers are trying to
increase it some, they can only make so much in the space they have. But demand
is very high, and as a result people from elsewhere began salting lard and
selling it as Lardo di Colonnata. But it wasn't: the tubs they were using were
different, and so was the air -- there's something about the air currents
around Colonnata that imparts unique flavors. Rubbish, some might think, but
one of the Colonnata producers tried taking one of her tubs to the neighboring
town and what came out of it didn't taste like the rest of the lard she had in
her cellar. Things came to a head in 1996 with many arrests for fraud; at
present the producers, who have formed an association, are waiting for official
recognition of their product (something called DOP, Denominazione di Origine
Protetta, which states where and how a product can be made) from the
authorities. Once that's in place, all Lardo di Colonnata will really be from
Colonnata (now you have to read the fine print). Problem is, though the DOP
should have been granted quickly, those who are making Lardo outside what will
be the DOP area have been fighting it, under the theory that it's easier to
make Lardo di Colonnata, which has a name, even if you're really in Garfagnana,
than it is to establish a name for Lardo di Garfagnana. And though this is true
in the short run, it's also short sighted, because consumers will read the fine
print about where the product is made and pay more for what comes from the
source than for what's made elsewhere -- better to have your own name,
especially since a town that becomes famed for a specialty will attract
tourists.
Getting there: Colonnata is inland of Carrara; you dive into the city,
find signs for the town, and follow them, through a succession of quarries and
marble stands until the road stops and you're there. There are several places
that sell Lardo right on the square, and there's also a well known restaurant
called Venanzio, closed Thursdays and Sunday nights, which you should make a
reservation for on 0585 758062. Once you're done buying, or eating, there are
beautiful views into the quarries, and pretty winding streets to explore.
The second major problem to beset Lardo di Colonnata is the EEU health
service: when the inspectors came to look, they were horrified. No tiled
industrial halls, but rather people's cellars (some with dirt floors), no
easily sterilized steel tanks to hold the lard, but rather marble tubs (many
stained by decades of use), no climate control, but rather fresh mountain
air… It was unsanitary! No matter that the brine makes
bacteriological contamination impossible, no matter that people have been
curing the lard this way for thousands of years. The EEU ordered
production be halted until the proper practices of the sort one might find in a
pristine industrial plant could be implemented. Since one couldn't build an
industrial plant in Colonnata even if one wanted to for lack of space, this was
a death knell for Lardo. Fortunately for us, the people of Colonnata have been
wrestling marble blocks for millennia (read
about the lizzatura, how they used to bring marble down from the quarries)
and were quite willing to wrestle the EEU as well; they went before the health
commissioners and argued four points, while all the other lesser artisanal
productions of Europe looked on:
a) History -- Lardo di Colonnata has been made for thousands
of years.
b) Tradition -- It has played an important role in shaping the
area's dietary customs
c) Local -- it's made in a small area
d) Technique -- There are precise steps in making Lardo di
Colonnata, which guarantee a safe product.
It was probably point d that swayed the commission, which has now
decreed that Lardo di Colonnata can be made following the traditional
techniques, and in the wake of the decision many other producers of artisanal
foods have stepped up to the plate. The tide of regulation continues to
advance, but a breakwater has been erected to shelter traditional food
production and the ways of life associated with it, thanks to the efforts of a
bunch of quarrymen from Colonnata. Now, if only the Tuscan regional Government
would approve the DOP…
Should you buy some Lardo di Colonnata, what to do with it? Slice it
very thinly and serve it on warm slices of toasted bread as an antipasto. There
are other fancier pates and spreads, but I find this to be the most satisfying
use. Or use it in the kitchen: Finely sliced, and tied over a drier meat, for
example pheasant or turkey breast, or even a lean boned pork loin. Saves
basting and adds a delightful touch.
A presto, Kyle Phillips Webweaver, About Italian Cuisine
| 