Month: November 2012

Yesterday we had our final class on the Molecular Basis of Taste, exploring everything from what influences our food preferences to the chemesthetics of smell and taste. Professor Morini made a big impression with her stance on the importance of taste education. She stressed the value of exploring a variety of flavors, noting that you… Continue reading sweet.sour.bitter.salty.umami.

Community-supported Agriculture (CSA) is a locally-based alternative to supermarket food distribution, a phenomenon that has taken off tremendously throughout the United States. Here in Bra, GAS La Credenza is a collaboration between the student Slow Food chapter at UNISG and the Piedi per Terra Association, providing students from the university, as well as residents of… Continue reading CSA Italia style

Some learnings from our visit to the beautiful 40 hectare vineyard of Vajra: – Nebbiolo is the name of the red Italian wine grape variety predominant in the Piemonte region (where we live!) — Barbaresco, Nebbiolo and the most wonderful Barolo are all produced from the varietal of grape, each one grown in different areas… Continue reading Sunday wine tasting at Vajra Barolo

Food and love are undeniably connected…as Carlo Petrini has said many times and in many different ways, “Traditionally making food is an act of love…” So here we are less than one week in, and that passion is already bringing us together, outside of the classroom as well as in it. As Deb said, we… Continue reading A Barolo-Birthday-Thanksgiving

Since arriving in Italy yesterday, things have been a wonderful whirlwind of moving in and getting settled. There is quite a bit of paperwork to do to merit a full year stay, and typical of a first day in any new environment, we were inundated with names, faces and loads of information. Exciting for us,… Continue reading “Back to school, back to school…”

So, it’s official. I’m moving to Italy today. After living in New York for two years, on a path that seemed to be just finally perfect, I was accepted to a Master’s program that I had considered since my time at USD. Although going back to school had never really appealed to me, something abou… Continue reading Italy here I come!