User:Montecara/Sandbox 3: Difference between revisions

Jump to navigation Jump to search
(Blanked the page)
Tag: Blanking
 
(313 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
Montecara must import nearly all of its basic foodstuffs because of its lack of arable land. It does, however, harvest a great deal of seafood, which is reflected in traditional dishes. The limited farmland is devoted to high-value crops suitable to the climate, mainly grapes (mainly for wine production), citrus, coffee, saffron (''zafràn''), and flowers.


== Ingredients ==
[[File:Bergamot_orange_cross_section.jpg|thumb|''Xinòta'' cut in half]]
Montecara's island location and long culinary tradition has led to a great variety of specialties making use of local ingredients.
===Seafood===
Montecara has always enjoyed access to an enormous variety of fish and shellfish as well as aquatic plants, seaweed, and other forms of marine life. Cuttlefish braised in ink, fried sardines, and ''bixàto'', or roast eel, are all typical dishes. Other local favorites include ''sepe col nero'' (squid with its ink), ''gó'' (a small, local fish, often fried), small soft-shell crabs which are eaten after molting, razor clams, and sea urchin. One of the most iconic dishes is ''bàcala'', creamed salt fish, which is usually served with ''polènta''. ''Sardi a saor'', a dish consisting of sardines in a sweet-sour sauce, is another dish synonymous with Montecaran cuisine.
===Fowl===
Fowl is also a traditional favorite, especially duck and other water birds, and duck eggs are still more popular than their chicken-borne counterparts. Songbirds were also eaten in large numbers up to the 1980s, when their capture was banned by environmental legislation. Montecara is on a major {{wp|flyway}}, so stakes covered in {{wp|birdlime}} (''vignòla'') were used to catch birds for culinary use. Though illegal, it is reportedly still possible to find some chefs who will prepare songbirds in the traditional manner.
===Meat===
Meat from land animals is a small part of the diet and consists mainly of lamb and mutton, though goat is also popular. Most meat is imported from [[Tsabara]]. Historically, horse and donkey meat were eaten, especially by the poor, and they are still consumed on occasion. ''Fegato'' (liver) is traditional.
===Fat===
Cooking fat was historically an expensive and rare commodity given Montecara's relative lack of arable land on which oily vegetable crops could be grown or milk-producing ruminants could be raised. When cooking fat was available to ordinary people, it was usually duck fat from hunted wild ducks or olive oil produced locally or imported a short distance from mainland Euclea. This lack of fat led Montecaran cuisine to rely heavily on water-based preparation methods like steaming, boiling, and stewing as well as dry methods like grilling and slow-roasting. Fortunately, these methods are well-suited to the delicate flavors of seafood.
===Grains===
Historically, rice (''rixo'') was the supreme staple food for Montecarans. There was always some domestic production, but Montecarans have relied on the sea trade for the bulk of their rice import for centuries. This is reflected in traditional dishes such as ''rixoto'', a soupy preparation of rice simmered in broth, and ''rixi e bixi'', rice and peas cooked together. In modern times, corn (''biàva'') is popular as well, and is used to make bread, ''polènta'', and many other dishes.
=== Cheese ===
[[File:Tronchetto cheese.jpg|250px|thumb|''Conçàta'' cheese; indentations from aging in wicker are visible on the exterior]]
Although a lack of pasture land has traditionally limited the local production of milk and therefore cheese, farmers have been able to coax enough product from their herds to sustain a cheesemaking tradition that goes back millennia to pre-Sotirian times. Milk from sheep and goats was historically preserved in {{wp|rennet}} and either {{wp|Brined cheese|brined}} in seawater or aged in one of Montecara's many caves. These methods are still in use to make heritage cheeses today.
Most favored are sheep's-milk cheeses, especially those aged long enough to take on a finely grained texture. Goat cheeses enjoy somewhat less prestige but even greater popularity thanks to their lower price and multitude of styles. Perhaps the most common is a local variant of a crumbly brined-curd cheese originating in northwestern [[Coius]] known locally as ''livàni''. It is one of the four Montecaran cheeses that enjoy {{wp|protected designation of origin}} status, along with ''dozòcoli'', a firmer brined cheese made of a mixture of sheep's and goat's milk; ''conçàta'', a highly complex cheese made from 100% sheep's milk formed in wicker baskets and cave-aged for at least 12 months; and ''perùt'', a strongly flavored goat cheese with a moldy rind.
=== Herbs, spices and flavorings ===
The all-importance of salt
* {{wp|Mastic}} (''lentìscio'')
* Saffron (''zafràn'')
* {{wp|Mahleb}} (''sbolsafrìn'')
Herbs:
* {{wp|Hyssop}} (''ìsopo''), in fatty lamb dishes, baked goods, and as an herbal tea
* {{wp|Lemon verbena}} (''melìsa''), especially in sauces and marinades for fish
* {{wp|Rue}} (''rùa''), as a flavoring for liquor and egg dishes or battered and fried shoots
== Meals ==
Montecarans generally have a light breakfast on the way to work or school at cafés or stalls located throughout the city. This often consists of a pastry, sandwich, or fruit accompanied by coffee or juice. There is a traditional mid-morning break for coffee around 11:00, and shops and offices often close briefly to allow for this. Lunch, usually the largest meal of the day, is eaten around 14:00 to 15:00, and workers generally take a full hour to do so, often eating at home. It usually consists of a main dish and at least one accompaniment, such as a salad or antipasti. Dinner is eaten at about 21:00.
=== Courses ===
A full meal with all the traditional courses consists of the following:
;Aperitìv : Sparkling wine, liqueur-based cocktails and accompanying snacks such as nuts or dried fruit
;Antipasto : Cold, light pre-first course
;Primo : Starchy first course
;Secònd : Meaty second course
;Contorno : Accompaniment to the second course, usually cooked vegetables
;Salàta : Salad
;Formàxi e fruti : Cheese and fruit
;Desèr : Dessert
;Cafè : Coffee or orzo
;Digestivo : Stronger, bittersweet liqueur
== Eating establishments ==
[[File:Italy-0339 (5154206528).jpg|250px|thumb|Ruins of the ''taberna'' of Graccus, Montecara]]
Eating meals outside the home has been a tradition in Montecara since the days of the Solarian Republic at least. Solarian Montecara had many taverns (''tabernae''), usually located in the ground floors of a typical apartment building (''{{wp|Insula (building|insula}}''), where cheap and simple food and wine was available. As the poor and middle classes who made up the vast majority of the population lived in small dwellings without their own kitchens, the tavern was the main source of food for most. Typical dishes included soups and stews served out of large cauldrons, fresh and dried fruit, olives, nuts, cheese, bread, and grilled or roasted fish, goat, or pork. It was typical for urban dwellers to meet for a meal and conversation at the neighborhood tavern at least once a day.
The tradition of dining out seems to have faded during the post-Solarian period as supply lines and the complex urban life they supported withered. Even as Montecara recovered and prospered, fine dining was limited to the homes of the elite who could afford well-equipped kitchens and professional cooks. Evidence suggests that commercial dining establishments were not common again until the thirteenth century at the earliest, when the concept of a public tavern where food was prepared and served daily was revived. These taverns usually served essentially a {{wp|Table d'hôte|prix-fixe}} meal with no choice on the customer's part, usually at a common table. As Montecara prospered during the high middle ages, dining reached new heights of sophistication.
The first restaurants in the modern sense, with a menu of options at various prices and private tables, appeared in the seventeenth century amid the craze for new imported luxury foods like coffee and chocolate.
=== Restaurants ===
=== Ristorànt ===
=== Tratorìa ===
=== Osterìa ===
=== Paninerìa ===
=== Bars ===
Montecara has a rich and storied bar culture. Bars range in size from gardens that can seat hundreds to tiny nooks that seat four or five. Some establishments are centuries-old.
Bars (''bacàri''), by definition, emphasize drinking over food. However, nearly all offer some type of ''chixeto'' (snack) to complement the drinks. Chixèti are eaten with fingers or a toothpick, never cutlery, and are usually priced at [[Montecaran libra|Ł]]5-15 each. Chixèti include:
* Marinated or fried:
** Artichoke
** Zucchini
** Mushrooms
** Cheese
** Squid
* Arancini di risotto
* Fried polenta alla marinara
* Bean paste on toast
* Bacalà on toast
* Grilled or boiled baby octopus
* Boiled duck eggs
* Oysters
* Clams
* Charcuterie
* Cheese
* Olives
* Snails
* Sea urchin
* Radish with salt
* Crudi of scallops or shrimp
A bar specializing in beer is a ''birrerìa''.
=== Street food ===
Traditionally served from carts in the shadow of towers and big buildings in public squares. In some areas, upgraded over time to permanent booths with one vendor inside. These one-man kiosks are now considered icons of Montecaran life.
== Drinks ==
[[File:Grappoli di uva vespaiola in appassimento tradizionale.jpg|thumbnail|Spaiòl grapes drying indoors]]
=== Wine ===
Montecara produces wine in a range of styles and varietals, but by far the most popular type, and the one most closely associated with Montecara's culinary identity, is ''xàca'', a {{wp|fortified wine}} made from white grapes. Three varietals enjoy protected status as heirloom crops in Montecaran law, all white grapes: Garganèga, Verdùxo, and Spaiòl. Garganèga is used to make still wine noted for its lemon and almond notes, Verdùxo is favored for the sparkling white Caràxa, and Spaiòl is used to make both a golden {{wp|dessert wine}} with notes of honeysuckle and apricot and a light, acidic still wine. All three are used to make ''xàca'', which can range in color and sugar content from nearly clear and dry to almost black and very sweet. Under Montecaran law, only wine that is produced from 100% domestic grapes can be sold as "Montecaran wine" (''vin Montecarà''). Montecara has some of the highest per-capita alcohol consumption rates [[Alcohol consumption in Esquarium|in the region]], and in addition to wine, beer and spirits are popular.
=== Liquor ===
=== Beer ===
''Bìra crùd''
=== Coffee and orzo ===
== Sweets ==
Montecara is known for its sweets, notably ''xinòta''-flavored marmalade and hard candy and ''formàxo giàço'', a frozen dessert and snack similar to ice cream that is flavored with soft cheese and usually served in a split-open sweet bun (''brioxa'').
== Holiday food ==
Special foods are eaten around {{wp|Easter}}. These include ''galani'', a rum-flavored fried pastry served with lemon zest, and ''pandòr'', a sweet egg bread. Easter lunch traditionally includes a feast of seven different types of fish, the exact components of which vary but which generally include clams, scallops, salt cod, anchovy, and sea snails.

Latest revision as of 17:53, 21 March 2024

Retrieved from "https://iiwiki.us/mediawiki/index.php?title=User:Montecara/Sandbox_3&oldid=783502"