|
Vicentine “Mostarda”
Let us start from the name, mustus ardens, or cooked must, mixed with mustard. In France the word moutarde is still used to indicate mustard. It is candied fruit in syrup, to which a pinch of powdered mustard has been added. It was used to accompany a series of cold and hot dishes, and is still used for this purpose today. Our Mostarda was mentioned specifically as early as 1397, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti wrote to the podestà of Voghera to order a “zebro grande de mostarda de fructa cum la senavra, che fa bone le robe de lo disnare et li caponi el la cacciagione et li viteli bolito e allo spiedo” (a large container of fruit jam with mustard, which dresses foods nicely, such as pork, wild game, boiled and spitted veal). Over the centuries, the method of producing Mostarda has changed. Some people produce it with many different fruits, like the Mostarda produced in Cremona and Voghera. In Mantua it is produced with only one fruit, the “Campanina” apple, or like we do in Vicenza with the quince apple. Among other things, there is a locality in the Berici Hills whose name is derived from the cultivation of the quince apple: Cotognara (N.d.T.: the quince apple is called the cotogna apple in Italian). In the area of Cotognara, the quince apple trees grow spontaneously and produce small but intensely perfumed fruit, which have always enriched Mostarda of doubtless gastronomic quality. The quince apple has waxy olive green leaves and a flower that resembles a small wild rose, with white petals that tend to pink in the centre. The fruit is similar to an apple with an irregular globe shaped and has a wrinkled and particularly bristly skin and a yellow waxy colour when mature. It has an intense, sweet,
honey-like perfume, and is even used to perfume linen, which is possible because the fruit lasts for a long time (even a full year). The quince apple has a granulous and quite bitter pulp and is not a pleasant fruit to eat. When mature, at the end of September, it can reach a weight of a kilo and a half. It is a typical fruit of the Veneto, and was imported by the Republic of Venice from the Middle East during Medieval times.
Product Characteristics
How is Mostarda actually made? It is sometimes made of rough passed quince apples but not always, with the addition of candied fruit. Quince apples that are not perfectly ripe must be used. Afterwards they are passed through a sieve and cooked. With respect to the product made by our grandparents, today’s Mostarda is “softer” and citrus aromas, cinnamon and nutmeg have been added. In our area, it is eaten with flatbreads, “panettone” cakes, but also with dishes of wild game and cheeses. Try tasting a “splinter” of Asiago Stravecchio cheese with a bit of Mostarda and you will agree with us. Another tradition completely Vicentine is the use of Mostarda with “mascarpone” cream cheese. A piece of biscuit bread and a good helping of Mostarda and mascarpone: a simple way to reach happiness.
Mostarda is a gastronomic patrimony that must be spreaded and defended from the homologation of taste that is widely present nowadays. A Vicentine industry has been producing ceramic “Mostarda jars” for over one hundred years now. These jars have become splendid knick-knacks of restaurants and trattorias that cultivate our age-old traditions.
Mustard
White mustard is one of the fundamental ingredients of Mostarda. This ingredient is the result of ground ripe dry seeds mixed with warm water. They have an extremely strong taste and odour. After maceration in warm water a particularly spicy syrup is formed and is mixed with sugar and candied fruit. Typically, contrary to the Verona variety of Mostarda, the percentage of candied fruit is quite low.
How it is produced
The pulp of the quince apples are cooked in a steel recipient, suitable for foodstuffs, at about 60° C for approximately 45 minutes in a vacuum, which has a double bottom, with about 40% of sugar. It is then left to cool and is mixed slowly. The quince apples contain densifying and gelating pectins that allow the mass to cool therefore resulting in a smooth and spreadable pasta. The right quantity of mustard is then added which may vary according to its concentration in parts per million. A small quantity of any kind of candied fruit is then added. When the processing is done the jelly is packaged in glass containers suitable for foodstuffs, not necessarily vacuum-sealed. Mostarda is itself a preserve and requires no anti-microbe protection. It has a decisive spicy taste to the palate, but is equally sweet and pleasant, with a pale yellow colour and a rather dense paste.
Recipes
Mostarda Vicenza way
Ingredients:
500 g. ripe apples (cotogna variety),
500 g. apples,
5 lemons,
white sweet wine
strong mustard oil
500 g. pears,
800 g. sugar,
500 g. mix candied fruit,
one garlic clove
salt
Cook each fruit separately, in different pans previously half filled with sweet wine and water. Obtain a firm cream of each fruit flesh separately. Add sugar and the same amount of cream.
Blend the whole and add a bit of salt. Cook for about 40 minutes.
Add mixed candied fruit, strong mustard oil and mash up garlic clove. Boil for 15 minutes to obtain the proper texture.
Put mostarda in glass jars close them while cream is still hot.
Can be used old glass jars (previously cleaned).
|
