Italian Cheese with Pears

Did you ever tried to eat cheese with pears ? An old Italian proverb says: “Do not let the farmer know how good is to match cheese with the pears”.

You might not expect it, but coupling cheese and pears results in a perfect match. But what is the meaning of this strange proverb ? Why the farmer should not know the secret ?

The proverb comes from old times before the Middle Ages. The cheese was considered the food for the poor people at the times of the Greeks. It comes from milk and noble people were so crazy back at the ancient times to use it only for vanity purposes, for example the Roman women that used it for bathing in the Roman Baths. On the other hand the pear was very expensive and reserved for rich and noble people.

In the Middle Ages also the rich people started to eat cheese and milk, because some new concepts about food were growing. The rich society understood that cheese and milk derivatives were healthy food, but they wanted to reserve their social difference. Here it comes the proverb, because the rich people were eating cheese with pears, but they didn’t want to share this habit with the farmers that were poor.

It is a funny story from the middle ages, and now this proverb does not make too much sense 🙂 But still, if you never tried before in your life you should eat pears and cheese !!!

formaggio e pere

Formaggio e pere

Pizza and figs

It might sound crazy but a typical food in the city of Rome is pizza and figs: “Pizza e fichi”. Don’t ask for pizza and figs away from Rome, because it is something very typical just in this city.

This meal, prepared especially in the summer, has its roots in the popular poor cousine, because it is something you can prepare with very little money. I would suggest to prepare and bring it to the beach, because it is good sweet and fresh, and you can have your lunch with it.

To eat “pizza e fichi” just buy some white pizza, and cut it to separate the bottom and the top to fill the inner part. Get the necessary figs and smash them in the pizza to have something similar to a film of marmalade. If you want, you can add also some slice of prosciutto that bind to this flavour extremely well. In one minute you should have in your hands something similar to the picture below:

Pizza and Figs

Pizza and Figs – Pizza e Fichi