The Extraordinary Italian Taste

The extraordinary Italian taste

Have you ever returned home from the grocer only to discovered that the expensive bottle of what you thought was Italian olive oil is actually not Italian at all? The label sure looks Italian and the name sounds Italian, but what’s in the bottle has never set foot in Italy.

It’s not just olive oil, but many Italian foods get knocked off  and appear on supermarket shelves, like San Marzano tomatoes, Parmigiano Reggiano or the world famous Prosciutto di Parma. In fact, in Canada alone, consumers spend $3.6 Billion on food products that look or sound Italian as opposed to $950 Million on certified D.O.P. or I.G.P. Italian food products and this figure does not include wine or alcohol.

So what is a DOP or IGP anyway and why should I care?

As a chef, the answer can be deep, providing a flavour “ground zero” for some things that have been copied the world over. When I think of how we arrived to the green shaker of Parmesan (cheese?) many of us sprinkled on our pasta as children, from the king of Italian cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, I am glad there are hard working people protecting the authenticity and heritage of the real deal.

A DOP, or PDO in English, is a protected designation of origin or in other words exacting laws set out to protect the name of a food product to assure authenticity, quality and taste. A PGI or Protected Geographical Indication marks the exact place on the map where these food products must come from in order to be considered authentic.

So a piece of Parmigiano Reggiano that has the official DOP and IGP stamps on it was traditionally produced from milk of cows that only grazed on grass from the lush meadows of Parma. Adhering to standards that are as precise and serious as heart surgery to assure its consistent production.

The smallest IGP and DOP in Italy

One of our favourite spots to visit, and I believe to be the smallest IGP and DOP in Italy, is the tiny hilltop town of Colonnata where they make lardo. Quite an “in” food at the moment, lardo is the cured pure fatback of a pig, yup pure fat! The history of lardo is far different than the hipster version served on an old vinyl record on the east side of town (yes that really happened).

Colonnata is perched on a hilltop looking up to the famous marble quarries of Carrera. Since Roman times, hard working marble cutters have cleaved huge pieces of marble from the mountain for the likes of Michelangelo and other ambitious sculptors. Somewhere along the way a clever cook decided to try and preserve the lowliest part of the pig and turn it into sustenance for the poor quarry workers.

Marble tubs

Using marble tubs carved from the very marble from under their feet, they stack the slabs of pork fat with salt, sugar and wild herbs and then cure them into lardo, over time.

A few slices of lardo, a hunk of bread, and a piece of fruit would easily be burned off after lunch while cutting a 5 ton piece of marble. Being cured, it would not easily spoil. Even better was the magical transformation the fat made in the process, from something only useful to render, to a delicacy enjoyed by many.

A big enough transformation to elevate lardo from its hyper local cucina povera roots to receiving the greatest form of flattery from around the world. Thankfully, today you can still stand in Colonnata and smell the sweet aroma of curing pork wafting on the breeze and taste a slice of lardo exactly like Michelangelo may have tasted and for me that is worth protecting.

275 DOP and IGP Italian food products

275 food products across Italy are certified as DOP and IGP products and are easily identified by the official blue and red seals designating their status. For most, buying only certified Italian foods will be out of reach because of the premium you must pay for authenticity and availability. Balsamic vinegar would be a good example, holding a very special DOP and IGP near Modena, but is reproduced like beer for consumers worldwide, yet if I want a true aged balsamic to drizzle over my steak Florentine I just need to look for the DOP and IGP seals.

Analogies

The analogies are endless, but the bottom line for me and I imagine many, is that when I want to buy anything, food, music, art, etc…, I want to know that what I am buying is what I am told it is and not something posing as the real thing. Millions of dollars are spent on creating deceptive labels for food to try and fool us about their nutritional content or origin. Educated shoppers have the upper hand with authentic Italian products by looking for the DOP and IGP marks and making an informed decision. At the very least you owe it to yourself to try the real thing and experience the extraordinary Italian taste.

A word on Brexit

It is interesting to note that DOP and IGP laws are not restricted to Italy and are governed by the EU. This means that Britain’s exit from the EU would also mean they will leave behind an established protection for sixty five of their beloved food products and beverages. Another item on the endless list of things to rebuild for Britain and the possibility of hard won recognition to get lost in the shuffle. Hopefully not in jeopardy, though, the idea is still unsettling that beloved British foods like Stilton cheese will be unprotected.

“Italeave” don’t even go there!