L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano A s k a n I t a l i a n what they think of la mostar- da—a linguis- t i c " f a l s e friend" for mustard—and be prepared for a strong opin- ion. A friend of mine intro- duced it to me over text a while ago, when it appeared while visiting her family in Padova, but wasn't sure how t o d e s c r i b e i t s i n c e s h e never eats it. "I don't like it," she mentioned. Though I'm an Italophile and foodie, always sniffing out a good culinary tradi- tion, I was surprised not to h a v e k n o w n m u c h a b o u t this condiment. Research has revealed much about it, s o l e t ' s g e t o n e t h i n g straight: mostarda is not mustard. While it sounds like it would be the same thing, similar to the French word la moutarde, the Ital- i a n w o r d f o r t h e y e l l o w condiment that we know of i n E n g l i s h a s m u s t a r d , which is derived from the seed, is senape. Mostarda derives from the Latin mus- tum ardens. Mustum refers t o l a m o s t a , o r m u s t , a boiled-down grape or fruit r e d u c t i o n , a n d a r d e n s means piccante, or spicy. While today's versions of mostarda in Italy can vary, with Cremona's mostarda b e i n g a m o n g t h e m o s t famous (and it does include mustard seeds), it is not a requirement for the sweet, saucy side. However, if it's c a l l e d l a m o s t a r d a , i t should either contain mus- t a r d o r s o m e g r a p e m u s t and fruit of some kind. A s t o a p p e a r a n c e s , i t ' s hard to generalize since it is made differently according to which region or city of Italy one is in. Some ver- sions look like candied fruit, g l i s t e n i n g t r a n s p a r e n t l y with sugar syrup, while oth- ers might resemble chutney, a f r u i t j a m s p i c e d w i t h cloves and cinnamon. Today, mostarda is sold in fancy packaging and often eaten with meat or a cheese plate, but one thing is cer- tain—its origins are com- pletely unpretentious. The sweet compote was created as a way of giving longer life to fruits and vegetables that would otherwise have gone to waste, and its creation d a t e s a l l t h e w a y b a c k t o R o m a n t i m e s . I n D e R e Coquinaria by Apicius, the first book of Roman cook- ery, there is instruction "to keep grapes fresh" by creat- ing a must reduction that is essentially so sweet it "can be given to the sick as honey water." Where it discusses h o w t o m a k e o t h e r f r u i t s last longer, it advises that, i n o r d e r t o k e e p q u i n c e s fresh "...put them in a recep- tacle, and pour over honey and defrutum" (the grape m u s t r e d u c t i o n ) . S i n c e sugar was not yet available, this sweetened syrup could extend the lifespan of fruit that would otherwise rot. Its popularity continued in Northern Italy, as evi- denced by written documen- tation. During the 14th cen- tury, Duke Gian Galeazzo V i s c o n t i w r o t e t o t h e Mayor of Voghera, a small town in Lombardy just out- s i d e P a v i a , a s k i n g f o r " a receptacle filled with mus- tard-flavored candied fruit." According to food histori- an Carla Bertinelli Spot- ti, the first written recipe for mostarda appeared in 1604 b y a n I t a l i a n c o o k f o r a prince of Liège. His recipe i n c l u d e d o r a n g e s , p e a r s , candied fruit, quince, sugar syrup, and mustard. Typi- c a l l y e a t e n w i t h r o a s t e d meats, it was also suggested that it had been an accom- paniment to tonno al burro a n d b o i l e d f i s h a n d m e a t soup. (This type of bollito is actually one of the dishes that la mostarda is com- monly eaten with today). By 1666 a recipe for la mostarda in Cremona was established—grape, bitter orange zest, candied fruit in honey, cinnamon, and mus- t a r d d i l u t e d i n b o i l i n g water. A s e a r l y a s t h e 1 5 0 0 s , Cremona's mostarda gained popularity and was used in diplomacy, being gifted to officials in Milan as well as visiting government workers from Spain. By the 1700s, there were several botteghe, or little shops that sold both t h e p o p u l a r d e l i c a c i e s m o s t a r d a a n d t o r r o n e . L a t e r o n , e v e n G i u s e p p e Verdi would be known to stop into a drogheria to pick u p s o m e o f h i s f a v o r i t e condiment. While Cremona is most famous today for its iconic version of mostarda, with w h o l e p i e c e s o f f r u i t l i k e apples, pears, oranges, and quince glistening in a mus- tard-scented sugar syrup, other cities and regions in Italy have their own distinct v e r s i o n s . I n M a n t o v a , mostarda is usually made of apples soaked in syrup and mustard, while in Veneto, quince is the primary fruit u s e d t o m a k e t h e s e p r e - serves. In Piedmont, mostarda is known in local dialect as la cugnà, and is traditionally m a d e w i t h f r e s h a n d / o r dried fruit or nuts, spices like clove and cinnamon, and is boiled and soaked in m o s t o . A n d i n S i c i l y , m o s t a r d a , o r m u s t a t a r i vinu cottu appears around the fall grape harvest, and can alternatively be made with grape must or a reduc- tion of fichi d'India (prickly pear), which grows abun- dantly on the island. Neither of these versions contains mustard seed—just the fruit, spices, and mosto, and in t h e c a s e o f t h e S i c i l i a n m o s t a r d a , s o m e f l o u r t o thicken it and give it shape as a jelly budino, or pud- ding. For centuries, mostarda h a s b e e n s e r v e d a s a n accompaniment to meats, and that is no less the case even today: you may like it or not, but mostarda is a true icon of Italian cuisine! La mostarda: an unusual condiment JESSICA S. LEVI Some types of mostarda look like chutney … (Photo: Urii Mykhailets/Dreamstime) ...others like candied fruit (Photo: Andreadonetti/Dreamstime) LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES

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