TASTE TURIN (TORINO)

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Table of Contents

LOCAL PRODUCTS.
TASTE TURIN SPECIALTIES
BEVERAGES

Wines of Piedmont.                       Birra Italiana.                        Italian Spirits.

Piedmont cuisine is some of the most varied and famous in Italy. Piedmont is home to the Slow Food movement, white truffle festivals, and even a bi-annual international food fair and convention.

There is a UNESCO region of wine and over 50 D.O.C. wines. Something is going on in Piedmont. You want to taste Turin.

Fall is the high season in the Piedmont area. Between October – December, you have the white truffle and the wine harvests. Although busier than other times of the year, it still does not come close to the insanity of Tuscany. You also have fall colors. Some places in the world, its the Maple trees; in Piedmont, it is the wine vines.

In winter, you have the black winter truffles and the holidays.

Spring brings fresh herbs, spices. and spring showers. The summer has the summer black truffles. Not as earthy as the winter, but still tasty.

So there is not a wrong time to visit if you want to taste Turin.

Tasting UNESCO

The Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato are just south of Turin. This listing includes five distinct wine-growing areas that exhibit the expertise of man and his environment. The wines of Piedmont need a separate section, so they do. Click here for the Wines of Piedmont.

Slow It Down.

The Slow Food association got its start in Piedmont. It began as a response to fast-food restaurants in the heart of Italy’s major old sections. A return to traditional products, recipes, preparations, and no microwaves.

The University of Gastronomic Sciences, in Pollenzo, is the University of the association. Here, young chefs, dieticians, and others involved in the food industry learn of traditional ways. Their restaurant offers a unique way to taste Turin.

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Taste Turin through Local Products

D.O.P. (P.D.O.) products come from a specific area. They have characteristics due to that particular geoclimatic environment,  and production occurs in that region.

I.G.P. (Protected Geographical Indication) is less specific. part of the product and only part of the production has to take place in the region.

For example, in a P.D.O. wine, all the grapes come from the region where they make the wine. An I.G.P. may have grapes from various areas, and part of the wine production may take place outside the region. P.D.O. products have many more rules and regulations. You should see that in the quality and, unfortunately, the price.

Cheese

There are as many cheeses in Piedmont as there are pastures. Whether an Alpine meadow or a lower field of herbs, each diet adds a distinct taste to the cheeses. The Slow Food Foundation lists over 48 kinds of cheese unique to Piedmont.

The Piedmont area boasts 9 D.O.P. kinds of cheese, a significant number for a single province of Italy.

Cow

• Castelmagno D.O.P. – is an alpine cow’s milk cheese dating from the 1200s. The dense, crumbly cheese starts with a mild flavor and develops some spice as it ages. It naturally creates various molds on the rind and may get some blue veining into the paste. Therefore, they also classify it as blue cheese.

• Gorgonzola D.O.P. – is similar to the blue cheese from Lombardy. Using only cow’s milk, rennet, blue molds (Penicillium roqueforti), and salt brine. Gorgonzola Dolce (sweet) cheese ages between two and three months and are creamy. The Gorgonzola Piccante (spicy) cheese ages three to twelve months and becomes a semi-firm cheese you can slice.
• Grana Padano – is similar to parmesan, using unpasteurized cow’s milk, and they usually age it for two years. The end product is a dry, flaking grana (grainy) cheese with a sweet flavor. As the cheese ages, the taste becomes savory and complex.

• Taleggio D.O.P. – is a cow’s milk cheese that is sweet, with a very slight sour hint. The cheese is softer near the rind and firmer towards the middle. As it ages, the middle part gets crumbly. It may date from the 10th century A.D.
• Toma Piemontese D.O.P. – are two kinds of cheese using cow’s milk with different fat levels. The one with whole milk is called “Toma Tenera.” It has a soft texture and sweet, delicate taste. The “Toma Semidura,” with half the fat, produces a lighter flavored cheese. However, as it ages, it becomes more intense than the Toma Tenera.

Mixed Kinds of Milk

• Bra D.O.P. – Gets its name from the town where they would finish and sell the cheese. It was popular with travelers as it a cheese that travels well. From cow, sheep, and goat milk, there is a soft light color to this soft cheese. There is also a hard version with a flavor that is  more intense (hot.) It is saltier than the soft cheese and suitable for grating.
• Murazzano D.O.P. – comes from the area of the same name. It is a mixture of sheep and cow’s milk, but the cow’s milk cannot exceed 40%. It is a soft cheese, but firm. The young cheese is slightly acidic, with slight traces of sheep’s milk.

• Raschera D.O.P. – is a medium fat, semi-hard cheese that uses raw or pasteurized cow milk. It may have a small percentage of sheep or goat’s milk added. In the beginning, it has a salty/savory taste, similar to Muenster cheese. As it ages, it becomes moderately sharp.

Goat

• Robiola di Roccaverano D.O.P. –  is the only goat cheese with a D.O.P. status. Possibly because they make it using milk from the rare Roccaverano goat. The amount of goat’s milk must be at least 50%, although they may add sheep and cows milk. During curing, they remove the buttermilk. It makes a creamy cheese with an herbal finish.

Cured Meats

Cured meats are a staple of the Italian diet. Salume and hams are popular but also try the sausages and bacon. Piedmont has two cured types with the I.G.P. (Indicazione Geografica Protetta) or D.O.P. (Denominazione d’Origine Protetta,) status.

• Mortadella Bologna I.G.P. – is a pork sausage with lard and spices. It is pink with white spots, and the taste is slightly spicy.
• Salamini Italiani alla cacciatora D.O.P. – is a small, soft salami. It has a sweet and slightly spicy taste. Try it with some Piedmont cheese and local wine. It is heaven.

Fruit and Vegetables.

Turin still has a great central market. There are four buildings. One is non-edible groceries, and one is a mall. The other two are interesting. One is the seafood market. The other, the L’ Antica Tettoia Del’Orologio has butchers, produce stalls, baked goods, and cheeses. This market is where you taste Turin.

Turin only has one I.G.P. fruit, and it’s a nut.

• Nocciola di Piemonte I.G.P. – is a variety of hazelnut. It grows on the Langhe, Roero, and Monferrato hills. The same ones as the UNESCO World Heritage site mentioned above. It’s a great marriage. The hazelnuts thrive on the shady northern side of hills where the wine grapes don’t grow.

Slow Food Watch List

Many fruits and vegetables have disappeared from the fields and orchards of Italy. (And everywhere) The majority because they were not profitable enough. The Slow Food Foundation has been successful in saving many from the brink of extinction. You need to try them. Today, this is a taste Turin has, but will it later? Some of the items are:

• Ramassin or Damask Plums – have been growing around Saluzzo since ancient times. They are delicate, and picking is difficult. They perish quickly after ripening. You can taste the fresh fruit in August. For the rest of the year, you can try them dried, preserved, or as jam.

• Bella di’ Garbagna – cherries from Garbagna are another fruit they must harvest by hand. They are tasty when fresh (June), but they also preserve well in alcohol or made into preserves. They are on the Slow Food watch list as their production is dropping.
• Piedmontese Heirloom Apple Varieties – The Slow Food Foundation is also following eight heirloom apples in the Piedmont region. The  Buràs, Carla, Calvilla, Dominici, Fina, Gamba Grigia di Torriana, Magnana, and Runsé face extinction. Apples in the Piedmont date back to the monasteries of the Middle Ages. Harvesting takes place from September until the beginning of November, depending on the apple.

• Tortona Strawberry – is a unique treat. Descending from wild species growing near Tortona, these highly perfumed strawberry has a sweet, delicate flavor. They are more the size of raspberry than an American strawberry. They were extremely popular until WWII. After the war, a race was on to grow fast, cheap, bountiful crops. The Tortona strawberries are highly perishable, lasting less than a day after they pick them. The end of May is harvesting time.

Alba Tartufi

A vegetable you must try while in Piedmont is the truffle. A fungus subset of the tuber family that the culinary world highly prizes. It grows underground, usually near tree routes, making it challenging to harvest. The picking is by hand, which keeps supply low and demand high.

Truffle eating dates back to the 20th century B.C. but did not catch on until the Renaissance.

In the late 19th century, phylloxera destroys most of the vineyards in southern France. Then the silkworms drop dead in another epidemic making the Mulberry trees useless.

Farmers began planting truffle-producing Oak trees. They are incredibly successful, and soon they are making large harvests. Then WWI wipes out many of the trees and 20% of the French workforce. WWII takes care of the rest of the trees.

White truffle

Trifola d’Alba Madonna (Truffle of the White Madonna) comes mainly from the Langhe and Montferrat areas. More specifically, near the Hazelnut trees around the cities of Alba and Asti.

There are other places to find them, like Croatia, but the Alba ones are the most famous.

Climate has a significant effect on white truffles. They harvest them from October to December for the festival and auction. They also collect them in the summer.

When first shaved or cut, the white gives off an intense aroma. However, it tends to fade quickly. The summer ones are the same, but at a lower price.

Black Truffles

Grow in several parts of Europe and taste the same in each country. They grow under oaks, hazelnut, chestnut, elm, and poplar trees. The Black winter ones they harvest from November to March. The summer ones from May to August.

The Winter Black Truffle holds its aroma longer than the white truffle and is more earthy than the summer black. The summer black truffle is the least aromatic of the Piedmont truffles. They are better for cooking and truffle oils. That brings out as much of the subtle earthy flavor as possible.

Edible Diamonds

Their price reflects their availability and size. And let’s admit it, its coolness level. The average truffle weighs between 1 and 2 ounces. On average: summer black truffles go for $250 per pound.  The winter black, for $800 a pound and the winter white anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000 for a flavorful harvest.

That’s insane; I am not going to spend $4000 on a vegetable. And most people do not. Restaurants do and spread the cost. On a plate of pasta, you will get approximately 8-9 grams of shaved truffle. There are 453 grams in a pound. So that summer black is 55 cents a gram, and you’re getting less than $5.00 worth on your pasta. The black winter is about $1.75 a gram.

Sauces

• Bagna Cauda (caoda) means “hot bath.” and is similar to fondue. Instead of cheese, it is a hot dip with olive oil, garlic and anchovies paste. Some recipes may substitute butter for the oil or add cream or walnuts for thickening. They serve seasonal raw or cooked vegetables for dipping.

• Bagnet Verde – is a green sauce with fresh parsley, capers, anchovies, and vinegar. They use breadcrumbs to thicken it. When made correctly, it will give you taste buds a little buzz. And you will be anxious for the next bite. You can use it on just about any grilled meat.
• Bagnet Ross – is a red sauce for grilled meat. It starts with tomatoes, but they add hot red peppers, dry mustard, and vinegar. It is more of a paste than a salsa. Try it.
• Mostarda – is NOT mustard. It is more a sweet and spicy relish. They simmer bits of dried apricots and cherries in shallot, ginger, wine, vinegar, water, and sugar. Then they add dry mustard and dijon mustard to make a syrup. Be ready for your taste buds to wake up.

On the subject of butter, this is dairyland. You will find butter in more recipes than olive oil.

Aperitivo

The Italian aperitivo is not a suggestion; it is part of Italian life and style. Aperativo refers to the drink and the snacks (often salty) that go with them. Aperitivo comes from the word aprire, which means to open up. This course should open up your appetite.

Most agree that the concept of aperitivo began in a Torino-based bar. So you need to taste Turin aperitivos. Many places serve one with your first drink.

Every bar has its ideas and recipes.

Should Try

• Bagna Cauda – This consists of the hot sauce and something to dip in it.

• Carne Cruda all’ Albese (raw meat, Alba-style.) – is Piedmont’s take on Beef Tartare. Using the excellent local beef, they add fresh lemon juice and olive oil to the thin hand-sliced strips of meat. They serve it with thin shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. You may also find it with truffle shavings.
• Mayonnaise – Ewww, they serve you a big scoop of mayonnaise? Yes, sorta. It has egg and oil, but here the similarities end. Egg yolks, a dash of salt, and olive oil are the base. They add spices, or vegetables, or even fish and meat, making an end product that is more of a dip than a condiment. And there are no mono-nothinggoodforthehumanbody oils in them. They serve a long list of things to dip in them, from raw vegetables to fried yummy yums.
• Tramezzini – is the Italian version of the English tea sandwich. Local white bread (like Pullman, pan carré ) with the crusts cut off. From here on, the recipes differ. Legend holds that the first one hits a plate in 1926 at Cafe Mulassano. A layer of tuna, a slice of tomato, and lettuce with butter or mayonnaise. Others say it was local ham and cheese. Who knows? Today most bars have more than 20 different sandwiches.

Other Aperitivo

• Marinated anchovies – or anchovies in a green sauce are excellent finger food. Although the anchovies are not local, the green sauce is.
• Tomini – is a type of goat cheese that is so fresh, it is like ricotta. They sprinkle it with black or red pepper before using it as a spread or dip.
• Local cheeses and Salame – You will not find these at bars in other towns, so sample while you can.
• Nuts and Chocolate – what? The local hazelnut (often with salt) and white or dark chocolate in bite-size creations.
• Grissini – Did it come from Turin? Legend is that in 1675, a doctor asks a local baker to make it for a duke with chronic disorders. The long, crisp bread works wonders. Today, you can find this in bakeries and some bars during Aperitivo time.

Plus, the other aperitivos/Tapas/hor’s d ‘oeuvres/small plates you can find in most European bars. Taste Turin local appetizers first.

Antipasto (First course)

• Vitello Tonnato is slices of veal with a creamy, mayonnaise and tuna sauce. They serve it cold or at room temperature, usually in warm weather. As the Primi Course, they do a more substantial portion.

Pasta

• Tajarin – is the local favorite of fresh egg-noodle pasta in long strips. You can find it in many first course dishes. They often simmer the noodles in the beef broth before topping with fresh butter, grated local cheese, and shaved truffles with nutmeg. In the winter, they usually have a meat ragu.
• Tajarin delle Langhe is the family Sunday dinner version. They simmer chicken and rabbit parts, vegetables, sausages, parmesan, spices including parsley, sage, rosemary, and wine into a sauce.

• Agnolotti Piemontesi – is also popular. This ravioli-like dumpling they stuff with a mixture of roasted meat, beef, rabbit, pork, and vegetables). They serve it with a gravy/sauce from the roasted meat drippings.
• Agnolotti del Plin – are smaller pieces of the same pasta that they stuff with a mix of veal and pork. They “pinch” (plin) the noodle to close it. They may serve them in a meat-based broth, a ragu, or just butter, sage, and cheese.

Risotto

The rice-producing area of Vercelli is east of Turin in the Po valley.  Here they grow rice varieties such as Carnaroli, Baldo, and Arborio, which are preferable for various risotto dishes. These include risottos made with local red wines, cheeses, and fresh vegetables. That’s a taste Turin is known for far and wide.

• Risotto al Barolo is unique. O.K., risotto usually includes a little white wine, but in Piedmont, they use the best local red wine, generously. The local Venere Nero is black, short-grain rice that turns indigo when they cook it.

Polenta

This corn-based starch appears on many Piedmontese menus. Unlike pasta and risotto, though, it is more of an accompaniment to rich, meat-based entrees. Polenta Cùnsa is the cornmeal with Toma and Fontina cheeses.

• Gnocchi alla Bava – are potato dumplings, with local cheese(s) and melted butter.

Secondi (Meat, fish)

Piedmont is home to a prized breed of cattle, the Razza Piemontese, so expect beef dishes on the menu.

• Brasato al Barolo – is beef slow-roasted in the famous local red wine with herbs and vegetables. It is fall-off the bone tender.

• Gran Bollito Misto Piemontese – is similar to a stew, but it isn’t. The master recipe calls for seven different cuts of beef and veal, plus an additional seven of other meats. They boil this with little salt or vegetables keeping the meat flavors pronounced. The preparation takes all afternoon so try it at a restaurant, so you do not have to make it. They serve it with several sauces on the side, including the Mostarda, Verde, and Ross.

Grilling and roasting are popular. In addition to beef, there is local veal, lamb, and kid (goat.) Game birds, poultry, and rabbits may also appear on the menu.

Poultry and Fish

• Finanziera – is a chicken stew. Originating in Asti, it was a way to use ALL of the chicken. Today’s recipe includes not only many parts from the chicken but also beef and veal scraps. They simmer them in a broth of mushrooms, pickles, butter, and marsala. It should not taste good with a recipe like that, but it does. It became a favored dish of the Savoys.

As Piedmont has no coast, you do not find many fish and seafood on the menus. The tuna, salt cod, and anchovies come from neighboring Liguria. You will see swordfish, salmon, sole, trout, or sea bass on a menu.  Just know it has been out of water longer than a few hours.

• Lumache (snails) – come from the area of Cherasco. The typical presentation is in a sauce of garlic, tomato, and olive oil.

Taste Turin Dulche (sweets)

Sweets were a delicacy for the nobility, and Turin had a fair share of nobles. Therefore, several desserts call Turin home.

• Bonet  – is a traditional molded pudding that they prepare with cocoa and amaretti cookies.

• Torta di Nocciola – is a cake consisting of local hazelnuts, sugar, eggs, and butter. Great with a glass of Muscato.
• Panna Cotta –  is a creamy dessert made with cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, gelatin, rum, and marsala. They pour this mixture into a mold with caramel and let it set. Many believe Panna Cotta comes from the Piedmont area around 1900.
• Zabaglione – is a light custard they make with egg yolks, sugar, and sweet wine like Moscato d’Asti. It may have come to Turin with the Savoys from France.

• Bignole – is another transplant from France. In Turin, this cream puff will often have hazelnut or dark chocolate cream filling.
• Paste di Meliga – are crumbly shortbread cookies they make with the same cornmeal they use in polenta.
• Brutti ma Buoni (ugly but good) cookie is a nut cookie you can find all over Italy. In Turin, the nut is the hazelnut.
• Baci di Dama – are pretty and tasty too. Two buttery hazelnut cookies with a dollop of dark chocolate in the middle. Try one, and see if you can stop.

Taste Turin Chocolate

No conversation about Turin can be complete without mentioning chocolate. You must taste Turin through its chocolate.

Legend has it that Emanuele Filiberto, the Duke of Savoy, serves everyone hot chocolate to celebrate the relocation to Turin. The year is 1560.

In 1585, the new Duke of Savoy married Catherine, daughter of Philip II of Spain. Spain is importing cocoa from their colonies. Soon the Savoys and their guests are drinking cocoa. Cocoa seeds are also finding their way into recipes as a seasoning.

It is not until 1606 that Francesco Carletti introduces cocoa to the Medici court in Florence. Even with their wealth, they cannot import as much cocoa as the Savoys can with their family connections to Spain.

For most of the 1600s, the drinking of hot cocoa is a luxury of the bourgeois and the royalty. It is scarce and expensive. Confectioners create small biscuits and meringues for dipping in the drink.

For the People 

In 1678, with royal permission, the first chocolate house opened in Turin.  Antonio Battista Ari, an expert chocolate maker, is the owner. He is serving a hot chocolate beverage.

In the early 1700s, they are producing soft chocolate for eating. It is more a dried version of the chocolate drink that they pour into molds.

By the mid-1700s, the “new” steam engine makes grinding cocoa beans easier. It mixes better, creating creamier chocolate. By the late 1700s, Turin is the chocolate capital of Europe. They are exporting chocolate to Austria, France, Germany, and Switzerland.

High Octane Hot Chocolate

In 1763, Caffe al Bicerin began serving a hot beverage called Bicerin. It is a hot chocolate with cream and espresso. Some believe it was the Caffe Fiorio who invented it in 1704. Who knows? (Who cares?) Just try one. They also add liqueurs and brandies to the chocolate drink.

By 1800, the chocolate industry in Turin is rocking. Nothing can go wrong. And then, Napoleon arrives. In 1806 he put a blockade in place, stopping the arrival of goods from the colonies. Cocoa supplies drop dramatically. Is it the end of chocolate?

John-do-what? 

A chocolatier named Michele Prochet looks for something to extend the little amounts of cocoa they are receiving. He needs something local that also has the fat content that the cocoa seed does. Hazelnuts. They are sweet, plentiful, and also have a high-fat content. He can extend the cocoa by 30% with the mixing in of ground hazelnuts. The end product comes in a block that you slice.

By the time Napoleon pulls out, the new mixture is a hit.

In 1826, Pier Paul Carrafel opened a chocolate shop in Turin with a “machine” that makes chocolate. No one knows what this machine did besides mix, but it is the first step towards industrial production. A few years later, they purchase a hydraulic press to extract cocoa butter from the beans. Chocolate is becoming cheaper and easier to make.

Around 1865, they start forming the chocolate into bite-size pieces and wrapping them. They pass them out during the carnival. Possibly by someone wearing a mask of Gianduja, a character from Italian Commedia dell’ arte. The name sticks and they are Gianduja (john-doo-yah) ever since.

Chocolate for More than 100 years.

There are numerous chocolatiers in operation today who began confections over 100 years ago. Besides the before-mentioned Caffe al Bicerin from 1763, there are several others. Stratta in the Piazza San Carlos started to serve treats in 1836, while Peyrano has been serving pastries since 1915. Just down the block is Gerla 1927, who began business in 1927. The family sold the store in 2012. My last visit in 2018 was just as tasty as before. They seem to be expanding quickly.

Newcomers, Odilla Chocolat, Guido Castagna, and Guido Gobino, while younger, are keeping the older companies on their toes.

Commercial Chocolate

Besides Carrafel from 1826, there are several other commercial chocolate companies in the Piedmont area.

After WWII, the cost of cocoa once again soars. Pietro Ferrero, a baker in Alba, revisits Pasta Gianduja, the cocoa and hazelnut mixture. By 1951 he has crafted it into a spread he calls Supercrema.

His son continues to modify the spread. In 1963 he had a new formula that will be inexpensive to produce and simple to market. The following year, their first jar of Nutella rolls off the line.

In 1982, they introduced a new Hazelnut and cocoa product, the Ferrero Rocher. Initially, it was a whole hazelnut with layers of wafer and milk chocolate surrounding it. Today, machines crank out more than 24 million balls a day.

In 2019, Giovanni Ferrero, the grandson and current president of the company, has a net worth of $21.9 billion. It’s good to be the king of chocolate.

Many of the small family or artisanal chocolate stores sell Pasta Gianduja, the predecessor of Nutella. It runs about four times the cost of a jar of Nutella and is so worth it. The commercial spread contains vegetable or palm oil and sugar, and the traditional confections start with hazelnut paste and cocoa. You can taste the difference.

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Taste Turin in its Spirits

Sometime during the 16th century, an Italian merchant D’Alessio began producing a wormwood wine in Piedmont. The Germans were making a similar wine, Wermut, which the French pronounced as Vermouth.

Wormwood is an herb they use for various digestion problems. The original use of this wine was as medicine. Either the wormwood didn’t work in alcohol, or everyone had terrible stomachs. Soon it was famous all over Europe.

In 1786, Merchant Antonio Carpano began making the first sweet Vermouth in Turin. It was immediately popular with the Savoy family. By the 1800s, they are strictly apéritifs. By the 1900s, an ingredient in cocktails, such as martinis (circa 1860) and the Manhattan (circa 1874.)

The Cinzano family began producing their sweet pale Vermouth in 1757.

In 1860, Gaspare Campari’s experiments with alcohol and flavors that come together in a new beverage with a distinctively bitter taste. The recipe is still a secret.

In 1863 Martini & Rossi, begins production. They produce both dry and sweet vermouths, but their Rosso is most popular.

No wonder they consider Turin the birthplace of the aperitif.

Taste Turin Beer

Where did the modern microbrewery first appear in Italy? Of course, in Piedmont. In 1996, the owner of the Baladin Brewery no longer wanted to sell someone else’s beer. More a brewpub than a brewery in the beginning that soon changes.

He began brewing his beers, and although they did not take off overnight, word eventually got out. Today you can sample more than 30 varieties of beer at their open garden brewery. It is just over an hour’s drive south of Turin.

Now Piedmont has additional breweries. All over Italy, there are microbreweries. More than 500 at the last count making over 3,000 different beers, although many are seasonal.

Taste Turin Summary

So, where do you start? Wine and chocolate? Beer and cheese? An aperitif with an aperitif? The House of Savoy lived life large, and they passed on many of their treats to Turin. See the vineyards of UNESCO World Heritage regions. Learn about the Slow Food Foundation and taste some of the products and recipes they have saved from extinction. Just sit and have a hot chocolate and listen to life going on all around you. Are you ready?

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PIEDMONT WINE.

BIRRA ITALIANA.

ITALIAN SPIRITS.

TASTE ITALY.

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