A pinacoteca is a picture gallery, specifically a collection of paintings. The word is Italian, used across Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, and it names some of the most important collections in Europe: the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, the Pinacoteca Vaticana, the Pinacoteca do Estado in São Paulo. That institutional weight is the asset. The word reads as a serious … [Read more...] about pinacoteca.net
italian
salumi.org
Salumi is the Italian word for cured meats, the whole category: prosciutto, coppa, soppressata, guanciale, the lot. It's used in English by anyone who takes the subject seriously, and it's the word on the menu at every restaurant that does. The craft has a genuine following. Home curers, small producers, protected designations, regional traditions with centuries behind them, … [Read more...] about salumi.org
balsamic.org
Balsamic is one of the few food words that has become a product category on its own. People say balsamic the way they say champagne, meaning a specific thing from a specific place with rules about how it's made. Those rules are the interesting part. Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale is a protected designation with a consortium behind it, a grading system, and producers in Modena … [Read more...] about balsamic.org