Doing a tomato souce

Beginning of the work

Life in Italy is an adventure, every day something old-new to learn. Specially the way they cook! We all love it, don't we? Preparation of fresh tomato paste for winter is one of the cooking traditions here, more popular nowadays in South-Italy. Preserve it in a cellar for the winter. Without chemical preservatives added. Home made. Nowadays we enter in a big supermarket to buy one, bottled, full of chemistry. But as we continue our path, we search the convenience in our lives. Although food made at home is always appreciated. If it is ready on the table waiting for you, who of us could deny? 

Stirring the tomatoes

Tomatoes ready to the next step- mincing

This summer I had one great opportunity to participate in making "sugo di pomodoro", like tell Italians for tomato paste, sounds beautiful, don't it?  The day before the tomatoes were harvested and put into the boxes, we had them about eighteen, each box about 20-25 kilogram. Our day started early in the morning at 6. We went to a country side. Ready to work, most of us! First step was to wash all tomatoes, cut them to half. Cutting them we needed as well to check the "quality". The black marks we had to cut, if tomato was soft to smell it, if it smelled bad, we through it away. After we put them to boil and stirred sometimes so it would not be burned. For boiling we used big pot, one that maybe you see in the place of your grand-grand mother. Put a water, about a quarter, after added the cut tomatoes. And boiled them about a half an hour, as tomatoes were soft. Following action was to drain them, and to make a sauce. To drain, we used as you can see as well from the picture, very simple things: box and a cloth. Continued with mincing the tomatoes, using one special machine, like the one we know used for mincing the meat. Putting in as much as possible, using truncheon to press and out comes a delicious sauce. If all this is done were needed to put all this into the bottles, that were ready, washed and cleaned. The last step was to put the bottles correctly closed to boil all, so they could be preserved for winter time. For this, like one time, we used cisterns, where we put as much bottles as possible. Under the cistern was the fireplace. Once the bottles were in the cisterns, fire were up, was left to do only one thing: to rest. The boiling procedure was about three hours. After when the fire was distinguished, the cisterns were left to cool down for the night. The next day we collected the bottles and storaged them to cellar.

Mincing process, who work, who watch that work
is done correctly. 

The work seemed to be so easy for me, I imagined why we do not do this anymore? As the day continued, I understood that the end is far-far away. It takes all day. Wake up early in the morning, invite all your family. Moreover before all, is needed to take care of the plants... It all needs time, passion and will to do it! Making this paste is not only a work, it is something more, it is one of the actions, where family comes together, tell the stories, do jokes. 
All the hard work that was done was worth it.  Now we can enjoy a dish of pasta with fresh tomato sauce and polpette for example. Or use it to make fantastic and famous sauce of bologna! 

Walk through the centuries

"Full of palaces beautifully situated, set on a narrow side of the rock [...] Amazed by so many views that present themselves on every side. In Gerace every rock, sanctuary or palace, seemed to be placed and colored intentionally for the artists ..." 

E.Lear

How many of you have heard one little village called Gerace? Masterpiece of human hands which is situated near to Ionic coast in South Italy. Maybe some of us has even travelled there, has enjoyed fantastic walking through the centuries, sat down in Belvedere Bombarde letting your mind to flow watching the view. 

Arms of coat

Gerace is considered to be one of most beautiful villages in Italy, what is still remained to delight us. It is founded by the inhabitants of the Locride, who ran there from the attacks of saracens, following a sparrowhawk, tells the city legend. The name Gerace is belived to derive form  "jérax", sparrowhawk in greek.The bird is represented nowadays on the city arms of coats, which you can find also on the piazza di tocco. 

Village is little, but has a lot of religious buildings, which some of them are damaged by the earthquakes or reconstructed. They are built in different centuries. In Cattedrale dell'Assunta, the biggest religious building in Calabria, is possible to see the altar of paganism which was discovered in '50's during the reconstruction. 

One village worth to visit if your are adventurous, as to this city the public transport do not go. Arriving there is little bit difficult, as it is situated in the mountains, but worth all the trouble the road put you through. 

The sights to see: 

Castle of normans

- The castle of normans (XI sec.)                                

- Cathredal dell'Assunta (1045)
- The church of San Francesco (XIII sec.)
- The church of San Giovannello (XI sec.)
- The church of Santa Maria di Monserrato (XVII sec.)
- The church of San Martino (X sec.)
- The church of Santa Maria del Mastro (XVII sec.)
- The churchch of San Giorgio

- The church of Sacro Cuore (XVIII sec.)
- The church of Sant’Anna 
- The church of San Nicola (VII-VIII sec.)
- The church of San Siminio  

 - Monastery of Cappuccini  (1534)
- Monastery of Minori Osservanti (1612)
- Monastery San Francesco d’Assisi (1252) 

(for women) 

- Belvedere Bombarde (viewpoint) 

Cathedral dell'Assunta view inside

- l’Arco dei Vescovi (arc of bishops)

  - Palazzo del Balzo
- Palazzo Vitale
- Palazzo Delfino
- Casa Marvasi
 

- Porta del Sole
- Porta delle Bombarde 

Village is more alive during the "italian vacation time", 20.07-31.08, when all Italy rest from the year's work. During this period is as well open the wine bar (website in italian) of Gerace, where is possible to taste and buy the wine from the region, as well the one of Gerace, called Greco di Gerace. Which they tell, is impossible to find in another place.  
One very fantastic video of the view that offers you the village : 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IxhgZzAvaI&feature=player_embedded#!

Dialect in Basilicata

Basilicata is another region in South-Italy, surrounded by Puglia, Calabria and Campania. This is one region that has changed the name through the history,before was called Lucania, it's habitants still are called "i lucani".

As all regions in Italy, as well Basilicata have it's own language-dialect lucano. More or less we can tell it is a mix, lucano is influenced more or less by the regions that surround it, cities more near to Campania use the accent more similar to napoletano, those near to Puglia to pugliese, near to Calabria to calabrese. As well can found words that are similar those regions dialects that surround it.

Some proverbs as an example:

*Nun ten pan e vol savcicchia!

Non ha il pane e vuole salsiccia!

Don't have bread, but want sausage!

*Campa cavallo ca l'erba cresc.

Vivi cavallo che l'erba cresce.

Live the horse and grow the grass.

*A lava la capa a lu ciucc s'perd tiemp acqua e sabne.

A lavare la testa all'asino si perde tempo, acqua e sapone.

Washing the head of donkey, is loosing the time, water and soap.

*Si l'invidia foss cuglia, fosse gia arrivat mber' li pere.

Se l'invidia potesse parlare ne raconterebbe delle belle.

If jelousy could talk, it would tell beautiful things.

*Quand s' sciogl a nev venn fuor i strunz.    

Quando si scioglie la neve vengono fuori gli stronzi.

When melts the snow,come out the shit.

*In tiemp di guerra ogni buc e purtus.

In tempo di guerra ogni buco, cioè ogni donna può andare. 

When do not saty more women around you, every woman is good. 

Pronouncing is more or less similar to napoletano, soft and more or less understandable to the foreigner as me.

Written form is understandable for those who speak good italian,some similarities I think is possible to find, or no?  

My source: Monica Messina from Potenza.

PS! My translation is not the best one, but ...better than nothing ;);)