TREND: The People's Chef, Pellegrino Artusi

The MAG - 08.23

By Cristina Morozzi

Trends of Pellegrino Artusi

Recent health, political, and climate events have reintroduced into our lexicon words that have fallen into disuse, such as tradition, heritage, and parsimony. Events, celebrations, and banquets are less frequent, and the time spent at home has increased. We have rediscovered the value of furnishings and things. As philosopher Emanuele Coccia, a professor at the University of Paris, writes, we realise that we do not inhabit empty spaces. Still, we live with things ("The Good in Things," Il Mulino, Bologna, 2014). Our society has produced objects that, in variety and quantity, have no equal in history.

We live in a society that has placed goods instead of myths. "The good is in things, because all things are our ornament" (ibid).

The book "La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiare bene" by Pellegrino Artusi (edited by Valeria Saura, Edimedia, 2014) also calls for parsimony. Born in Forlimpopoli in 1911, Artusi published the book at his own expense in 1891, printing a thousand copies. It is a cookbook and more, narrating food in its geographical, social, and linguistic aspects, providing moral evaluations of the relationship between food and behaviour, and encouraging collective storytelling and cooking.

Many recipes also provide a moral evaluation, such as the Tuscan lean soup, for the peasant, "who modestly calls herself a peasant, but I am persuaded that it will be appreciated by everyone, even by the gentlemen."

Ode to the meatloaf: "Mr Meatloaf, come forward, do not hesitate, I want to introduce you to my readers too... I know you are modest and humble. But take courage, and do not doubt that with a few words said in your favour, you will find someone who wants to taste you." Or an egg for a child: "Do you not know how to quiet a crying child because they would like some delicacy for breakfast? If you have a fresh egg, beat the yolk well in a bowl with two or three tablespoons of powdered sugar, then beat only the egg white and mix it, stirring so that it does not fall apart. Perhaps if all children's meals were as harmless as this, there would be fewer hysterics and convulsions in the world" (ibid).