Preserving the Italian Way

Italian Australian home cook Demaio captures the genial spirit of Italian culture with hilarious stories, touching family lore, and plenty of techniques to savor in this delightful guide to preserving foods in oil, vinegar, brine, or salt. Demaio’s roots in Reggio Calabria are evidenced by “Calabrese caviar,” a spicy relish made of eggplant, zucchini, olives, and red chilis to spread on bread, and a surplus of additional eggplant recipes. But there are more than vegetables at play: anchovies, for instance, are cured in salt and pork is turned into Venetian-style salami. Even soapmaking is explored. In a conversational tone, Demaio offers tips for sterilization (always boil vinegar before using it) and comprehensive instructions for making tomato sauce and purée. (Some recipes, though, are as simple as letting figs rest in the sun for five days.) A chapter on bread includes a recipe for making the loaves Demaio’s mother baked and sold to survive during WWII, as well as instructions for constructing a wood-burning oven. Meanwhile, an entire chapter is dedicated to olives cured in brine or soaked in a lye solution, and a recipe for zabaglione flavored with coffee is included because, while not a preserve, “it helps preserve every Italian marriage.”All of this tradition might make Demaio sound like a stickler, but he’s not above drying herbs in the microwave, and his charming anecdotes lend a welcome touch of sweetness to all the talk of salt. This is a pure pleasure. (Mar.)