The recipe : “Tiramisu to Beer”

I recently met through a mutual friend, Marco and Mario, an artisan furniture and a real estate agent, two brothers who have changed their way of life by diverting it to the world of beer.  Il loro progetto è quello di far conoscere birrifici artigianali e diffondere cultura birraia.

Given that what intrigued me a lot, I went to visit them in their beershop Al Frate brewer, e davanti a una birra mi sono fatta raccontare.

• So ... how taken the "spark" that has transformed your life?

Siamo da sempre consumatori e amanti della buona birra. Spinti da uno spirito di cambiamento e dalla situazione economica attuale, we decided to turn our passion into work.

• As a reputed beer culture in Italy?

Cynthia, We can only tell you that it is hard to speak of a true beer culture in Italy. One of the goals of our project is precisely to bring many people as possible to the world of beer.

• What are the main differences between the beer and the craft beer industry?

The biggest difference between a beer and a craft industry, is that the latter have not undergone heat treatment and no filtration, keeps yeast "alive and well",  e quindi in continua fermentazione.

• Si sente spesso parlare di birra “cruda”. A voi la parola…

For birra cruda means a non-pasteurized beer, not filtered and therefore free to express many beneficial properties for the body.

– The pasteurization is a heat treatment conducted at a sterilizing 60 ° C for about twenty minutes, employed by the industry to eliminate the beer every organism,  extending the duration and standardizing the taste.

– A beer is not filtered is a beer complements of vitamins, antioxidants and live yeast.

• I'm discovering a real world of craft beer. Describe some of them that particularly impressed you?

In order not to hurt anyone, we will say that each craft brewery has its own story that deserves to be heard ... We will give everyone the right space.

• His friends jokingly tease me because I love to use the glasses "right" for wine, per la birra, and not only ... I often see beer drinking from the bottle.  This habit can penalize the tasting?

First of all, each style of beer corresponds to its glass. As for the habit of drinking directly from the bottle, in addition to heavily penalize the tasting, ingests a lot of carbon dioxide causing the classic "brewer's belly".

• Women and Beer… What is your opinion?

"Women and Beer" is a nice combination to grow, because too many women consider the beer a bitter drink. Cynthia, even though we know you love red beer ... do you remember the cherry beer that we made you taste?  A different enthusiast, aromas and flavors perfect for pairing with a tart cherry!

• What do you propose for the present and for the future with your project?

The ideas ... so many projects also! For now spreading good beer culture, is our highest aspiration.  Things will come gradually.

• Beer and food… Can you tell me a recipe?

Sure Cinzia! We know that you like tiramisu… but you've never tasted beer?

– Same as for the classic tiramisu,  the only difference is that you have to soak the ladyfingers well in the beer.

– When ready to serve and serve with a fresh mug of beer used in the same recipe. When the two meet in the mouth it tastes feel ... an explosion of taste!

The recipe : “The flowers of elderberry jelly”

Fausto Delegà

Collect the flowers of Elderberry is a gesture that has great joy and fills the nose with an intense aroma and unique. The magic is done then the possible transfer of aroma and flavor in all preparations in which the flowers of elderberry can be used. A kind of eternalising spring that you can do to break out again every morning at breakfast, in any meal marrying this jelly with cheese.

Caution: the plan of the Elder, excluding flowers and fruits, is a toxic plant.

Even the fruits are to be avoided raw, for their high laxative property that retain in part also from cooked, in the form of jam, for another exquisite. Scurissima, con colore intensissimo e che marca in modo quasi indelebile ogni cosa che tocca. Attenzione anche a Do not confuse the normal Elder with the ebulus, by herbaceous larger fruits, inedible and toxic, true purgatory deadly.

 I close with some curiosity ...

• The generic name Sambucus could arise from a woodwind musical instrument, known in Latin as “sambuca”.
• From the fruit you get a blue dye and an ink.
• The juice of the root is used to dye hair blacks.

La gelatina di Sambuco

A complete maturation collect 20 Elderberry flowers possibly sunny days, warm and dry.

Soak them in a liter of water with the juice of one organic lemon for three days, then strain through a special paper and add to the liquid, filtered and perfumed, a gelled kg of sugar per liter. Boil over medium heat for 8 minutes.

Remove the white foam which generally form a bit’ in surface,  and then invasettare hot.

Immediately close,  Leave to cool and store at room temperature. You will get a perfect jelly that capped, and vacuum, will keep up to a year. Once opened, keep refrigerated.

The recipe : “The Amaretti Abruzzo”

di Claudia Marcucci

People and their stories ... popular kitchen

It was Christmas Eve 1998, and like every year my parents that evening with my grandparents went to Mass in the church of San Rocco Atessa. I, as usual, I remained with my great-grandparents Mary and Nicholas.

Like all children waited impatiently midnight for the arrival of Santa Claus. In the meantime I was helping my great-grandmother Mary in the preparation of a trick that tradition in our family was prepared the night before.  We would have then eaten during the opening of presents for us children accompanying him to a glass of milk, and for the older ones with a good glass of wine.

The grandmother began to pull out of the fridge the preparation made with almonds, sugar well mixed with the clear egg,  then held at rest for three hours. With the dough grandmother told me to make balls of average size, after that she rested on a greased baking sheet at 150 degrees for infornandole 30 minutes.

While the macaroons cuocendosi in oven gave off an intense perfume that intoxicated,  Grandma told me that it was essential to prepare this recipe for her, because her back to his youth. When I asked in amazement why this tradition, her with tears in my eyes watching my grandfather told me :

“It 'has become a tradition for the Christmas Eve 1944 while making this cake for your grandmother Etta, I heard a knock at the front door and went to open…  At that moment, after a year and a half I was able to embrace the man in my life that was left for the war and returned home safe and sound to his family. It 'was the most beautiful emotion of my life ... And' there in my mind, as a souvenir photo. Every time I smell this sweet,  memory takes me back to that emotion…”

This is the last memory I have of my great-grandmother who left us for good a few months later ...

The Amaretti my great-grandmother Mary

Ingredients:

● 1 kg of sweet almonds, peeled and finely chopped

● 1 kg di zucchero,

● 10 clear egg whisk

Preparation:

Combine almonds and sugar mix well with the clear.

Allow to stand for three hours

Sprinkle the work surface with flour and sugar in equal amounts by placing the dough

Forming the macaroons placing them on a greased baking sheet and bake at 150 degrees for thirty minutes

Combine dessert wines of great scents as Erbaluce Caluso Passito, Loazzolo Wine from Piedmont, Vino Santo Trentino, Tuscan Vin Santo, Passito di Pantelleria or Lipari.