Our founder and president, Beatrice is in the Rachael Ray Magazine serving the very best Italian food pantry advice.
As the wonderful Geraldine Campbell writes, “Beatrice Ughi, a native of Naples, Italy, and the founder of the online shop Gustiamo, shares five products from Italy that are worth the splurge.”
First on Beatrice’s list is Faella Pasta, which she says is “a planet apart from the commercial stuff, made in super-small batches from only Italian wheat. The Faella factory in Gragnano (a.k.a. the City of Pasta) makes in a year what a mass-market brand would make in a single shift.”
Next up are Piennolo Tomatoes. As Beatrice says, “Piennolo Tomatoes grown on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius are shockingly fresh-tasting with a bold flavor that is both richly sweet and pleasantly tart.”
Third on Beatrice’s list is Anchovy Colatura. To make colatura they wait “two to three years and then they poke a hole in the bottom of the barrel, and the colatura comes out, drop by drop. It’s umami on steroids.” And Geraldine adds, “No, it doesn’t smell fishy… Mix with olive oil and crushed garlic and serve with pasta, or pour it by itself over veggies.”
If you know Beatrice, you know she’s big on capers. “Ughi describes the capers that grow on the island of Pantelleria, off the coast of Sicily, as ‘much more capery-tasting’ than the usual. These are cured in sea salt that’s full of the original minerals.”
Last on the list are almonds, not just any Almonds; these are Romana and Pizzuta almonds from Sicily. As Beatrice says, “In Sicily, almond trees grow without water.” “The result?” as Geraldine adds, is “intensely sweet nuts that are dryer and denser than their Californian counterparts.”