Traditions, Value and Food

Today I was watching an Italian cooking show and naturally part of the show was shot in Italy… Venice to be exact.  When all of the sudden out of nowhere, something struck me about the value of traditions.  Why it hit me so hard like an epiphany I have no idea, as the show wasn’t even talking about traditions.  Perhaps all the pieces just fell into place inside my mind:  food – Italian food – people enjoying food – family around the table – friends – same simple ingredients – same age old recipes = tradition.   I see it when I see the Italian fishermen in Sicily still using the same techniques for catching fish early in the morning for the local fish market.   I see it when the Italians go to the town market each Wednesday to get the fresh local produce for the following week’s meals. 

Tradition is not a planned event, it cannot be orchestrated, it can only be lived.  A tradition comes from the  the day to day practices, that over time become known as a “tradition”.   As romantic as it sounds the tradition can be easily forgotten and when this happens so goes the history, the culture, the people, and the values which were established around that particular tradition. 

For example, a tradition may be the way a certain recipe is prepared.  Maybe a dish is prepared in a dutch oven pot over the stove then put right into the oven to finish baking.   This tradition of cooking all in one pot can come from the fact that earlier generations did not have the various cookware options we have today.  Previous generations used 1 pot and that is how the dishes were made.  The pots were probably made out of cast iron and not over a “stove” and “oven” but simple over a fire.   The tradition of 1 pot for that recipe holds history because it reminds us why 1 pot is used in the recipe, where the 1 pot was used, and by whom the pot was used.   Now we use 1 pot for this part of the recipe, transfer it another pot while at the same time using 2  different saucepans to finish up the dishand alas… the original tradition is lost.

Another example for a tradition is eating together with friends and family for the main meal.  We instantly think of dinner, but in Italy (at least in Southern Italy) it is “pranzo” or lunch.   When I was in Italy, pranzo was around 1:30PM and the father would return from work and my cousins would stop working in their garage and we all would sit around a modest table and eat a huge meal which normally consisted of 2 courses.   This practice goes back many generations.   Unfortunately it is different here in America, we work through the day and then break at night for dinner.  I say unfortunate not to criticize our culture, as nothing is wrong with eating in the evening, I only mean unfortunate in the terms that a tradition had to be lost, and therefore a piece of family history was lost.  I never knew about eating the main meal at “pranzo” until I was in Italy visiting my Italian relatives. 
       Ironically today, my husband and I prefer to eat our main meal around 2 PM.  I love taking the time during the day if I can, to prepare a meal and serve it and then return to work where I continue working into the later evening.  We are fortunate to have a work style where this is possible and I hope to carry on this tradition in the future, even if only on a certain day of the week such as Sundays.  

There is great importance found in some traditions, especially when it comes to food.  History is often found in the oddest places, like how we eat, what we eat and when we eat.   I think it is time for me to think seriously about our own family traditions, and decide which ones I should pull back out of the family history books and bring back to life for future generations to enjoy.   If you have anything to comment on about traditions, specifically Italian traditions, please feel free to post a comment.

Liz
Simple Italian Cooking – Easy and Simple Recipes

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